Bush a failure over war on terror: Zawahri

DUBAI: Al-Qaeda deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri called US President George W Bush a 'lying failure' for saying progress had been made in the war on terror, according to a video posted on the Internet on Friday. 

"Bush you are a lying failure and a charlatan. It has been three and-a-half years (since the arrests). What happened to us? We have gained more strength and we are more insistent on martyrdom," the Egyptian militant leader said.   

Zawahri was referring to the arrest of Al-Qaeda figures such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

"Bush, oh failure and liar, why don't you be courageous for once and confront your people and tell them the truth about your losses in Iraq and Afghanistan," he said.

He also called Pope Benedict a 'charlatan' because of his remarks on Islam. "This charlatan accused Islam of being incompatible with rationality while forgetting that his own Christianity is unacceptable to a sensible mind," Zawahri said.