Arab television, equipped with the Western world’s best audio and video manipulation gear, seems to keep coming up with new audio tapes of Osama bin Laden every two or three weeks. Each time a new tape mysteriously appears in their mailboxes, they immediately put it on an endless loop, repeating all day.

Skeptical? Who, me?

The latest tape seeks to exploit a well-known European trait: Bin Laden Tape Offers Europe Truce, Not US.

DUBAI (Reuters) - An audio tape purportedly by Osama bin Laden and aired on Arab TV Thursday, offered a truce to Europeans if they withdrew troops from Muslim nations but vowed to continue fighting the United States and Israel.

The voice on the tape, which a European security source said appeared to be authentic, also said the March 11 train bombings in Madrid that killed 191 people were retaliation for Spain’s role in Iraq, Afghanistan and with the Palestinians.

“I offer a truce to them (Europe) with a commitment to stop operations against any state which vows to stop attacking Muslims or interfere in their affairs,” the voice said on the tape aired by Dubai-based Al Arabiya and Qatar-based Al Jazeera channels.

“The announcement of the truce starts with the withdrawal of the last soldier from our land and the door is open for three months from the date of the announcement of this statement.

”Whoever rejects this truce and wants war, we are its (war’s) sons and whoever wants this truce, here we bring it.” Security analysts said bin Laden was maneuvering to split the U.S.-led coalition and scare wavering members out of Iraq.

What would we do without security analysts?