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Old 11-13-2002, 10:54 AM   #1
Timber Loftis
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I expected to see a post on this, but I don't. If I'm double-posting over someone, then someone please yell and scream at me.

WASHINGTON (Nov. 13) - U.S. counterterrorism officials believe a new audiotape attributed to Osama bin Laden is probably authentic and are treating it as new evidence the long-absent terrorist leader is still alive, a U.S. official familiar with the tape said Wednesday.

''It's probably his voice,'' said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity. ''It cannot be said with absolute certainty.''

At the White House, President Bush told congressional leaders Wednesday the new audiotaped statement was ''timely,'' suggesting that bin Laden is alive, House Speaker Dennis Hastert told reporters.

Bush told the Democratic and Republican leaders of the House and Senate that the initial analysis was not definitive, Hastert said.

''If they are authentic, certainly he has to be alive. But they're checking whether it's authentic or not,'' the Illinois Republican said.

A senior defense official said Wednesday analysts informed the Pentagon that a study of the tape indicates it is bin Laden's voice.

Analysis thus far by the CIA and National Security Agency shows bin Laden likely recording the tape, but officials said the full analysis to match bin Laden's voice to previous recordings of him continues.

''Assuming it is in fact authentic, it is an effort to boost morale among the rank and file,'' the official said. ''It is an effort to show members of al-Qaida that top leadership is still around. It could also signal future attacks.''

In the audiotape, aired Tuesday on Al-Jazeera, an Arabic television network, the speaker refers to recent terrorist strikes U.S. officials believe are connected to bin Laden's al-Qaida network. If verified, it would provide the first evidence in a year that bin Laden survived U.S. bombing in Afghanistan.

''I think there's a message here,'' Sen. Richard Shelby said on CBS' ''The Early Show.'' The Alabama Republican said, ''The message is, we better be looking closely now for more terrorist attacks.''

The audiotape was played alongside an old photograph of the al-Qaida leader, but there was no new video of him. Al-Jazeera said it received the tape on the day it was broadcast.

Officials believe bin Laden would release an audio recording, instead of a video, because they are easier to make and limit his public exposure, the U.S. official said. An audio tape also hides an appearance of illness, and anything bin Laden might have done to disguise himself in the last year.

Military officials, who have led the yearlong hunt for the al-Qaida chief in Afghanistan and elsewhere, said they view the tape as the first independent proof in nearly a year that bin Laden is alive.

Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld has said repeatedly over recent months that there was no conclusive proof that bin Laden was dead, as well as no conclusive proof he was alive.

''This indicates he is alive,'' one official said Wednesday.

The speaker on the tape also threatened new terrorism against the United States and its allies, and he castigated U.S. policy toward Iraq.

Confirmation that bin Laden is alive could pose problems for Bush, underscoring to an anxious public that the war on terrorism is far from over.

The tape is addressed to ''peoples of the countries allied with the tyrannical U.S. government'' and specifically mentions Britain, France, Italy, Canada, Germany, Australia and Israel, according to a U.S. government translation provided to The Associated Press.

''What business do your governments have to ally themselves with the gang of criminality in the White House against Muslims? Don't your governments know that the White House gang is the biggest serial killers in this age?'' the speaker says.

Recent statements from al-Qaida leaders have led U.S. and European leaders to warn of possible new attacks, particularly against railroads and oil and gas interests. A law enforcement official said Tuesday that ''chatter'' among suspected terrorists has reached the level seen before the Sept. 11 attacks.

The tape seems to have been made in the past two weeks. The speaker appears to refer to the killing of a U.S. diplomat in Amman, Jordan, on Oct. 28, the most recent event noted in the transcript. Whether bin Laden or al-Qaida had a direct hand in the attack is unknown, U.S. officials said.

The speaker also praises six terrorist attacks by suspected Islamic militants between April and October, including the bombing of a nightclub in Bali, Indonesia, on Oct. 12, that killed nearly 200 people, and the Chechen takeover of a theater in Moscow in late October.

The voice also gets personal, attacking not only Bush, but calling Rumsfeld ''the butcher of Vietnam'' and comparing Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell to marauding Mongols.

The last hard evidence bin Laden was alive surfaced late last year. A videotape recovered by U.S. forces in Afghanistan showed him having dinner with some of his deputies on Nov. 9, 2001.

Late in December, another tape of bin Laden giving a statement aired. He appeared gaunt and possibly wounded. The references in the tape suggested it was filmed in late November or early December, but officials could not be certain.

AP-NY-11-13-02 0918EST

Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
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Old 11-13-2002, 11:00 AM   #2
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I didn't post about it because NSA (and or any other official agency) hadn't released a positive voice match yet. So all I have heard is idiot reporters speculating [img]smile.gif[/img] . I will say, however, that if it is him, the content does sort of forge a link twixt him and Saddam.....thus I suppose ol GWB might be due an apology from all those who said he was fibbing about terrorist links to Iraq.....

[ 11-13-2002, 11:01 AM: Message edited by: MagiK ]
 
Old 11-13-2002, 11:27 AM   #3
Morgeruat
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an apology he will doubtless never receive, as the liberals will merely forget their mistake and find another thing to blame GWB for.
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Old 11-13-2002, 11:29 AM   #4
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True, but really, I can't say conservatives go out of their way to apologize either. I just wanted to point it out though [img]smile.gif[/img]
 
Old 11-13-2002, 11:40 AM   #5
Timber Loftis
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Either way, it's simply bashing liberals for the purpose of bashing. It's one thing to discuss idealogical differences - it's another to just spout mean twaddle.

[edit]
Oh, and did you ever perhaps think that what BL is doing just might be "absorbing" and "annexing" terrorist acts that aren't his doing. If he were smart, and as evidence that he might be I point out he is still breathing, then he *might* make a general civil unrest look like a universal movement by *hinting* that he is the prime mover. This type of propoganda has been used before on the planet.

[ 11-13-2002, 11:44 AM: Message edited by: Timber Loftis ]
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Old 11-13-2002, 01:53 PM   #6
MagiK
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Quote:
Originally posted by Timber Loftis:
Either way, it's simply bashing liberals for the purpose of bashing. It's one thing to discuss idealogical differences - it's another to just spout mean twaddle.

[edit]
Oh, and did you ever perhaps think that what BL is doing just might be "absorbing" and "annexing" terrorist acts that aren't his doing. If he were smart, and as evidence that he might be I point out he is still breathing, then he *might* make a general civil unrest look like a universal movement by *hinting* that he is the prime mover. This type of propoganda has been used before on the planet.
And do YOU not think that Saddam would denounce someone trying to implicate him where he is not involved? I have seen no denials [img]smile.gif[/img]
 
Old 11-13-2002, 01:56 PM   #7
Attalus
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I'm not gonna bash anybody but Bin Laden and Saddam. "Birds of a feather flock together."
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Old 11-13-2002, 02:35 PM   #8
MagiK
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Quote:
Originally posted by Timber Loftis:
Either way, it's simply bashing liberals for the purpose of bashing. It's one thing to discuss idealogical differences - it's another to just spout mean twaddle.

I have thought about it a bit and don't think my post was being mean, the people do owe an apology if they are wrong, and I think it is poor character to just ignore the issue. And I mean that for both sides, when you are wrong, you owe an apology.

Of course I also support enforcing slander and liable laws when it comes to politrical rhetoric, I hate that you can make up any lie you want as long as you are involved in a political campaign and not be subject to these laws.


.
[ 11-13-2002, 02:35 PM: Message edited by: MagiK ]
 
Old 11-13-2002, 02:46 PM   #9
Timber Loftis
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Actually, MagiK, I agreed with you. I was posting regarding Morgeruat's comment about liberals.

I could equally bash conservatives, especially for buying the horse puckey that BL is in control of all terrorism in the world, and for once again rushing to toe the party line and be behind-the-monkey-who-can't-even-name-world-leaders before they engage their brains. I could point out that Mr. Dummy hasn't given a press conference since 9/11 because he is too *stupid* to field questions and the smart ones (Powell and Cheney) don't let him speak because he says dumbass things like "crusade."

I could point out that the attributes ascribed to "liberals" by folks on this board are akin to asserting Jesse Helms is representative of every Republican.

I could assert that Southern Dems, who were always really conservatives anyway, have flipped over to the suck-em-dry rich man's party because the Repugs are smart enough to trigger hot-button issues like war, family values, and gun control, that make Americans switch their brains off and bask in the radiant glow of bullshit-in-a-can.

That the Dems have failed to alienate themselves from Big Labor may be unseemly and stupid, but it in no way gives poor people the excuse to think these Rebublican corporate execs care one little bit for them. That de-regulation has not saved anyone one penny, except for corporate execs, and has in fact led to rampant abuse of the system where they gouge consumers, run the company broke, steal the pensions, and jump ship, and that *even still* Republicans still have fooled the common man into thinking they are for them.

But, I didn't do all that. I just pointed out that it was rude to do so. So now I'm rude too. I think I'll call it a day here - I'm way too tense to control my [img]graemlins/rant.gif[/img]

[ 11-13-2002, 02:56 PM: Message edited by: Timber Loftis ]
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Old 11-13-2002, 03:32 PM   #10
Morgeruat
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soryr, I realize my post was overly biased, I do actually realise that neither group would apologize to teh other if their lives depended on it, if tehir funding depended on it, some knee-pads would definitely get broken out of the secret stash of political tools.
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