Osama bin Laden apparently supported the revolts which spread across the Arab world this spring, according to an audio message found at his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, according to a U.S. government official.

CNN reported that the unreleased audio message was recorded in late April, just prior to his death, and long after the regimes in Egypt and Tunisia toppled; and unrest wracked Libya, Syria, Yemen and Bahrain.

CNN noted that bin Laden specifically referred to the political upheavals in Egypt and Tunisia, but did not mention the other uprisings.

The U.S. official described it as puzzling that the notorious terror chief would suddenly join the bandwagon on the uprisings, well after they erupted and omit some key nations.

This is particularly odd given that bin Laden hated Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi.

Why not try to inspire AQIM?, said the official, referring to al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
Interestingly, while Al Qaeda has not been heavily involved in the uprisings in the Middle East, leaders like Gaddafi and Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen have blamed the group for fomenting the unrest.

Meanwhile, US senior officials have repeatedly stated that the Arab revolts have undermined al-Qaeda since they largely eschew fundamentalism and seek democracy.

Al-Qaeda Egypt Pakistan Tunisia