Arabs Skeptical of Bin Laden Video

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The United States faces an uphill battle in using the latest videotape of Osama bin Laden to influence public opinion in the Arab world, where Washington's support for Israel over the Palestinians dominates news coverage and the public tends to regard the fight to dismantle Al Qaeda as something of an American problem. Jamal Khashoggi, deputy managing editor of the Arab News daily in Jidda, Saudi Arabia, says he has no doubt that the tape is authentic. Nevertheless, he warns, "If the Americans think that by releasing this tape they will win the hearts and minds of the Arabs, they won't."