Something about this OBL tape stinks.

[NightOwwl]

"I swear to god that the idea was not to bring down the towers" (I heard this on another thread so I don't know if it's a direct quote or paraphrasing)

Bull. Remember the tapes showing him laughing it up with his buddies when he learned the Trade Centers collapsed. Remember previous statements by him (which are also on tape.) He HATES us. Now he's a sensitive guy? Bullshit.

And if this is a direct quote, would he really say "I swear to god?"

[Stuckinthebush]

1. I thought the same thing

Right...OBL is apologizing for the accidental destruction of the towers.

Sure.

[DrRock]

2. ^

It's all just a big distraction from their gross negligence regarding the explosives blunder.

[skooooo]

3. Actually, as I remember those tapes..

...I remember him being surprised that the towers fell. I think, as an engineer, bin Laden really didn't think they would fall.

This has nothing to do with whether he hates us or not, and I don't see how any of this portrays him as being "sensitive"....

:shrug:

[DrWeird]

12. That's right.

According to the so-called "fat osama" tape he was surprised that the towers fell. Funny how somebody could watch that tape but not remember.

[skooooo]

14. What is this reference to "fat Ossama"?

As I remember, it looked like the same old Ossama, although he did have several fat guys around him yucking it up.

[MsTryska]

13. Yeah, I agree.

I don't think he anticpated the towers would fall. I think he definitely wanted ot let us know he was out there, and not happy, but his beef seems to be with the ruling powers, not necessarily with the citizens at large.


it's always easy to fully demonize someone without walking a mile in their shoes. I hate 9/11 and am disgusted it happened, but these terrorists are doing this stuff for a reason.

[NightOwwl]

15. IMO, he is apologizing for destroying the towers.

From everything I've seen and heard about him, this seems very out of character.

[progressivebydesign]

4. That other tape you're referring to was the "fat" osama tape..

.. with the messed up audio. Who knows what is the truth anymore..

[archineas]

5. could it be?

that the possibility of a kerry presidency scares the bejeezus out of him and now he has to try and stand up and say "um, sorry...my bad...uh, didn't think that shoulda happened...don't hold it against me..."


i think kerry frightens him...ALOT...

j

[burythehatchet]

6. PLEASE

this is not authentic.

[AIJ Alom]

7. Even more intriguing. Paul Begala mentioned the fact the Bush campaign has

been recently sending out fliers reminding people of 9/11/01.


Now I want everyone to remind people what Bush said "I am not that concerned by him"

[soundhead]

8. Indeed it does

There is most def something stinkin' about this tape. It looks like a guy wearing a fake beard too.

[Love Bug]

9. Wasn't that other tape the fat Osama?

Many don't believe that was really him. Doesn't mean I believe him now (if that is even him). I just heard this on Randi Rhodes. The whole thing is weird. What possible purpose would there be to trot out a "kindler, gentler" Osama?

[MsTryska]

17. Remember OBL has a kideny problems....

not uncommon to go from fat to skinny and back again depending on your meds.

[knowbody0]

10. in real life

b4 bush cheney
within 12 minutes we launch defensive aircraft to stalk hijacked airplanes.
it took 27 minutes to launch on 911
air traffic control was ordered to "stand down" by dickless

[LibDemAlways]

11. The tape is conveniently released the Friday

afternoon before the election just in time for the evening news programs, and after a particularly bad week for the chimp. I smell one big, stinking rat.

[aden_nak]

16. MISTRANSLATION! Here's a better one.

"God knows that it had not occurred to our mind to attack the towers, but after our patience ran out and we saw the injustice and inflexibility of the American-Israeli alliance toward our people in Palestine and Lebanon, this came to my mind."

Reference:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=3&u=/ap/20041029/ap_on_re_mi_ea/bin_laden_tape

What he was saying was that in the past, he would never have thought of it, but eventually he was pushed "over the edge".

[MsTryska]

19. damn...much better......

"I tell you: security is an important element of human life and free people do not give up their security." - OBL

"People who sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither." - Benjamin Franklin


:shrug:

[NightOwwl]

21. Also from that article:

"In December 2001, the Pentagon released a videotape in which bin Laden is shown at a dinner with associates in Afghanistan (news - web sites) on Nov. 9, 2001, saying the destruction of the Sept. 11 attacks exceeded even his "optimistic" calculations."

So he wasn't exactly sorry.

But the point is, what proof do we have this is real? Is the translation accurate? Do we know who the translator is? When did the tape actually surface and why release it today, 4 days before the election?

Too many unanswered questions.

[troublemaker]

18. Universal answer to republican spin on OBL>>

"Do you honestly believe that Osama Bin Laden is sitting in a cave somewhere thinking, "I'll bet my endorsement will really help Kerry!" Good lord... Osama Bin Laden is evil, not stupid. Think for a minute before talking, would you?

[hexola]

20. You cant accept the translation as literal...

We dont know much about Arabic idomatic expressions...

And yeah sure - these guys say "God"...more than Republicans...

[ROH]

22. Fat "Osama"

The fat "Osama" really didn't look much like Osama at all. That fat guy, whoever he is, has a much broader nose, and a West Indian appearance.

[Anakin Skywalker]

23. Fat Guy? Rove? Cheney?

Maybe it was Karl Rove playing dress-up again. Some of us suspected it was either him or Cheney posing as the English-speaking terrorist on the tape released two days ago :)

[chookie]

24. I disagree

The Osama who appears here, and the sentiments he expresses, are very much in line with reports of those who know him, or have met him. Michael Scheuer has said as much ("Anonymous"). He is a modest, quiet-spoken man, who is very much on message, people who know him say.

He's not a cartoon character, whatever his crimes are. Everything he said today is consistent with things he has said earlier. Like it or not, what you see is what you get, in this tape, anyway.

The anomaly was the "Fat Osama" tape. The statements made by that Osama were not consistent. I do not believe it was authentic on that basis , as well as the basis that the man did not have facial features identical to OBL.