Al-Zawahiri is claiming solidarity with Syria's pro-democracy movement, while urging protesters there to direct their anti-government uprising also against the United States and Israel. In a video message posted on Islamist websites Wednesday, Ayman al-Zawahiri directly addressed the Syrian demonstrators who have risen up against President Bashar al-Assad's rule despite a bloody government crackdown. The Egyptian-born Zawahiri accused Mr. Assad of being a corrupt tyrant and “America's partner in the war on Islam.”