A videotape found in a home in eastern Afghanistan leaves no doubt that Osama bin Laden was behind the September 11 attacks in the United States, US Vice President Dick Cheney said Sunday.
"It's pretty clear, as it's described to me, that he does, in fact, display significant knowledge of what happened, and there's no doubt about his responsibility for the attack on September 11," Cheney told NBC News.
The Washington Post reported Sunday that the tape was found during the search of a home in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad.
Cheney said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that the 40-minute amateur recording shows bin Laden "being interviewed or meeting with another individual, apparently a cleric, talking about the events of September 11."
Bin Laden says the damage around New York's World Trade Center -- destroyed when two hijacked passenger planes slammed into the twin towers -- was much greater than he had expected, according to US officials quoted by the Post.
The Saudi-born Islamic militant also praises God for granting a far greater success than he expected, and uses words that show he was familiar with plans for the attacks, according to the Post.
Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz called the video recording "disgusting".
"This is a man who takes pride and pleasure in having killed thousands of innocent human beings. And it confirms everything we've known about him already," Wolfowitz said on ABC's "This Week.”
On the question of whether the tape would be released to the public, Cheney said: "We've not been eager to give the guy any extra television time than he can obtain for himself."
"But I think we'd probably rely on the experts as to whether or not it'd be a good idea for us to release it."
US officials at first feared that the videotape was a fake, but after showing it to outside experts they are comfortable with its authenticity, the Washington Post reported.
US officials have blamed bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network for the September 11 attacks on US landmarks that left some 3,300 people dead.
In interviews, bin Laden has repeatedly denied being behind the attacks, though he has praised the attackers -- WASHINGTON (AFP)
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