On the 2007 tape, the al Qaeda leader had even dyed his white-flecked beard black, suggesting that as the Saudi militant entered his fifth decade, he was not immune to a measure of vanity about his personal appearance.

CNN: Commentary: Where's Osama bin Laden?

The release of the bin Laden tape follows a call by the leader of the terrorist group Hamas, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, that should war break out between the U.S. and Iraq, Muslims should threaten Western interests and strike them everywhere.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: hebubombing211

The al Qaeda leader's most recent tape, aired on Al Jazeera April 15, " appeared to mark a new strategy of trying to manipulate antiwar sentiment in Europe to bring pressure on governments that support the United States, " according to the Washington Post.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Center For Security Policy

The official noted that on a tape expected to be released Wednesday the al Qaeda leader admits even his top lieutenants were unaware until September 11 what would happen that day.

CNN: Sources: American Taliban fighter says new attack planned on U.S.

Validation of the tape would scotch popular speculation that the al-Qaeda leader is incapacitated or dead.

ECONOMIST: Politics this week | The

He has been on a personal one-man mission to uncover the tape-recordings and transcripts of those intercepts between Arafat and Fatah leader Salah Khalaf, also known as Abu-Iyad, in Beirut and Khalil al-Wazir in Khartoum.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Center For Security Policy