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September 10, 2007
Another Osama Video on the Way?
So says Brian Ross of ABC News:
A second tape from Osama bin Laden was recorded in the same location as the video released last week. People in the intelligence community who have seen the tape feel it is directly related to the 9/11 anniversary since the al Qaeda leader introduces the prerecorded martyrdom video of one of the 9/11 hijackers, Waleed al Shehri.And regarding that first Osama tape from last week? What is up with this?
Osama Bin Laden's widely publicized video address to the American people has a peculiarity that casts serious doubt on its authenticity: the video freezes at about 1 minute and 36 58 seconds, and motion only resumes again at 12:30. The video then freezes again at 14:02 remains frozen until the end. All references to current events, such as the 62nd anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Japan, and Sarkozy and Brown being the leaders of France and the UK, respectively, occur when the video is frozen! The words spoken when the video is in motion contain no references to contemporary events and could have been (and likely were) made before the U.S. invasion of Iraq.The author is correct, I checked it myself. The video is actually only about 3 1/2 minutes long while the voice over drones on for 26 minutes.
The audio track does appear to be in the voice of a single speaker. What I suspect was done is that an older, unreleased video was dubbed over for this release, with the video frozen when the audio track departed from that of the original video.
Is it a fake?
A former senior US intelligence official said: "It has Adam Gadahn written all over it." Mike Baker, a former CIA covert operations officer, said the tape left bin Laden with "the title of biggest gas bag in the terrorist world."I find it interesting that the CIA would mention that they have proved it was "definitely" Bin Laden but not mention the freeze framed video. Don't you think that might have been an important detail? Did they miss it?
CIA officials said voice analysis of the tape proved it was definitely bin Laden.
Lots of questions about the first video means that this second tape - if one is indeed coming - will be looked at very carefully.