WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. officials have obtained a videotape of Osama bin Laden that provides the strongest evidence to date that the al-Qaida leader was connected with the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center, The Washington Post reported Sunday.
In the 40-minute tape, bin Laden described the damage around the fallen twin towers in New York as greater than expected and praised Allah for greater success than anticipated, the newspaper said, quoting unidentified senior government officials.
The tape was said to have been found in a private home in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, and Bush administration officials are debating whether and how to make it public, the Post said.
While officials have said they intercepted communications that allegedly tied bin Laden or associates to the attacks, they have refused to release any materials, citing intelligence concerns.
Some officials hope that making the tape public could counter concern in the Muslim world that bin Laden has been unjustly accused of involvement in the attacks, the Post said.
The videotape makes it "very clear that bin Laden not only had advanced knowledge but is proof he was responsible for planning," one senior official who had seen a transcript of the tape told the Post.
