Gone were the guerrilla fatigues, the rambling religious rhetoric and scenes from his remote mountain hide-out. Instead, Osama Bin Laden wore a white turban and gold-coloured robe as he stood behind a lectern and spoke softly to the camera, looking more like an elected official than the most wanted terrorist in the world.
The imagery and style were different, but Bin Laden's message to "the people of America" was the same: You still do not understand why we are at war with each other.
"This is the message which I sought to communicate to you in word and deed, repeatedly, for years before September 11th," the fugitive Al Qaida leader said in a videotape aired around the world on Oct 29. "But I am amazed at you. Even though we are in the fourth year after the events of September 11th ... the reasons are still there for a repeat of what occurred."
Eight years after issuing a written declaration of war against the United States, the theme of Bin Laden's speech was disbelief that he had failed to make his point with the American people, even after the deaths of nearly 3,000 people on US soil and a succession of bombings, beheadings and other forms of bloodshed worldwide.
"This talk of mine is for you and concerns the ideal way to prevent another Manhattan, and deals with the war and its causes and results," he said, in what are believed to be his first videotaped comments in three years.
An examination of Bin Laden's speeches over the years shows that the underlying message has remained consistent: Americans have repeatedly humiliated Muslims with a foreign policy that has propped up corrupt governments in the Middle East and perpetuated conflict in the region. Until you prevail on your government to stop, we will strike back.
He justified his embrace of terrorism in layman's language, explaining his tactics as a logical response to what he depicted as US aggression.
"Should a man be blamed for defending his sanctuary?" he said, speaking in a composed manner and using formal Arabic. "Is defending oneself and punishing the aggressor in kind objectionable terrorism? If it is such, then it is unavoidable for us."
Analysts who have been studying the nuances of Bin Laden's most recent speech said it was carefully staged and worded to present him as a polished statesman and the voice of a broad movement, instead of a terrorism-obsessed fanatic.
Bin Laden looked healthy and very much in control of his surroundings, unlike the last time he spoke publicly on video.