(AP) WASHINGTON — In an audio message recorded shortly before his death, Osama bin Laden praises the protests sweeping the Middle East.
In it, bin Laden predicts that the winds of change will blow over the entire Muslim world.
Though both bin Laden and the West have supported the protest movements, their ends are very different. The West hopes the movement will lead to democratic reforms. Bin Laden and his followers saw many Middle East governments as corrupt and hoped their collapse would lead to strict adherence to Islamic law.
The recording was released online Thursday and obtained by SITE Intelligence Group.
Navy SEALs shot and killed bin Laden in Pakistan on May 2.