All Bush troops in Pak will go to hell: Zawahiri

Dubai, Nov 28: al Qaeda's number two Al Zawahiri has reportedly challenged US President George Bush that sending more troops to Pakistan's tribal areas bordering Afghanistan won't make any difference, and that all the troops would only end going to hell.

Zawahri said that US military action against militant tribal forces in Pakistan, who are allied with al Qaeda, would fail. "I challenge you (Bush), if you are really a man, to send the entire American army to Pakistan and the tribal regions for it to end up in hell," The Australian quoted Zawahri as saying in his latest video posted on Islamist website. The video carried English subtitles.

Referring to efforts to start a dialogue between the Afghan Government and some moderate figures from among Taliban insurgents, he said that calls for talks to end the war in Afghanistan showed the failure of US-led forces in defeating the Taliban. "All this is proof of the failure of their crusade," he further said in his 80-minute video.

Zawahiri also said that the US financial crisis was caused by Washington's military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan and taxpayers were paying the price. "This crisis is one of ... the series of American economic haemorrhages after the strikes of September 11... And these ... will continue as long as the foolish American policy of wading in Muslim blood continues," he said and added: "The ones shouldering the burden are taxpayers, whose money was spent to rescue senior capitalists and to protect the fraudulent interest-based system from collapse."

ANI