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Al Qaeda Figure Claims Victory Over Bush

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From Times Staff and Wire Reports

Al Qaeda’s deputy leader said in a video that President Bush’s intention to withdraw troops from Iraq meant that Washington had been defeated.

“Bush, you must confess that you have been defeated,” Ayman Zawahiri said in the video, shown by Al Jazeera satellite television.

Bush said Wednesday that reducing troops was possible this year but that any such move would be based on decisions by military commanders.

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In Washington, a counter-terrorism official said the tape “appears to be a recitation of well-worn jihadist themes. There’s nothing particularly new.”

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