Al Qaeda's al-Zawahiri takes aim at Obama on Middle East

(CNN) - Al Qaeda's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has accused
U.S. President Barack Obama of supporting a Palestinian state that would do the
bidding of the Israelis.

"Obama wants a Palestinian state that works as a branch for the Israeli
government," al-Zawahiri said in a nearly hour-and-a-half video, called "The
realities of jihad and the fallacies of hypocrisy."

The latest in a series of such videos was posted Monday on radical
Islamist Web sites by al Qaeda's production company, As-Sahab Media.

"Israel is a crime that needs to be wiped out," said al-Zawahiri, who
likened the policies of the current U.S. president to those of his predecessor,
George W. Bush. "The promises of the two states and ending the settlements were
made by Bush, so what's new? This is the continuation of the same Zionist
crusader crime against Muslims since the end of World War II."

He added, "Obama can come with all the eloquent words he has but it is
nothing but illusions."