Bin there before

The 18-minute videotape — portions of which were aired on Friday — contains no overt threats of an attack on US interests, particularly the kind of strike on US soil that authorities have warned about

In the tape, bin Laden lacks any of his usual trappings of warfare, including camouflage clothing, a dagger or a rifle, according to a US officials familiar with the entire tape.

In fact, what has caught the attention of the US intelligence community is the strangely conciliatory nature of his new message. Experts say bin Laden appears to be intensifying his campaign to ‘‘re-brand’’ himself in the minds of Muslims worldwide, and become known more as a political voice than a global terrorist.

‘‘In some ways the tone of the message is as intriguing, and alarming, as the timing,’’ said a US official. ‘‘The absence of an explicit threat represents a different point of emphasis for this guy,’’ the official added.

The official said ‘‘a political spinoff (of Al Qaeda) is one of the greatest fears’’ of US counter-terrorism authorities, in which bin Laden and the terror network follow the path of the PLO, Hezbollah and members of the IRA. Over the years, those groups evolved from having an emphasis on committing terrorism into broader organisations with influential, widely accepted political wings.

In the tape, bin Laden offers a critique of US foreign policy, especially the administrations of President Bush and his father. He suggests to Americans that they have the power to stop Al Qaeda attacks by rejecting candidates who attack the organisation or who cause harm to Muslims.

‘‘Your security is not in the hands of Kerry or Bush or Al Qaeda,’’ he says. ‘‘It is in your own hands.’’ —LAT-WP