DUBAI, Dec 25 (Reuters) - A man believed to be a top al Qaeda militant who escaped from a U.S. airbase in Afghanistan last year said in a statement that the tide had turned against the West but urged Muslims to keep up their holy war. A Web site often used by Islamists posted the statement from a man identified as Abu Yahya al-Libi in which he said Muslims should remain vigilant and not give up force in favour of dialogue. "There is no way to reach what is required but through jihad (holy struggle). Leaving jihad causes humiliation, weakness and suffering, but carrying it out and excelling in it is the way," he said in the statement which appeared on Monday. U.S. President George W. Bush has said he would unveil a fresh plan for an increasingly unpopular war in Iraq early in the new year. Public discontent with the war, which has killed nearly 3,000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq, led to crushing losses for Bush's Republican party in the November congressional elections. Democrats have called for a change of course in Iraq while bloodshed is also increasing in Afghanistan. Abu Yahya al-Libi is believed to be the alias for Libyan Mohammad Hassan who along with three other al Qaeda militants broke out of the Bagram Air base last year. Libi warned jihadists not to become complacent despite what he said were Western losses in Afghanistan and Iraq. "By God's grace we are seeing a noticeable retreat and crumbling of the armies of the Crusaders but we should differentiate between joy and optimism and believing that the enemy has put down its arms and surrendered," he wrote. Libi warned militants against cooperating with "Western countries and trusting their promises." In January, Osama bin Laden warned in an audio tape that his al Qaeda was preparing new attacks inside the United States, but said the group was open to a conditional truce with the Americans. Washington said it did not negotiate with terrorists. Libi warned Sunni Muslim militants the road to defeating the West was long and arduous. "The battle, in all its dimensions, is too great to be resolved in a day or two ... but is wide open," he said.
