Holy shit... State Dept. tried to block Osama video????

[exliontamer]

What the hell to make of this....

State Department Tried to Stop Airing of Bin Laden Tape
By Barry Schweid
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - The State Department on Friday urged the government of Qatar, which finances Al-Jazeera, not to broadcast a videotaped speech by Osama bin Laden, a senior State Department official said.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the State Department spoke to officials in Qatar before Al-Jazeera showed a portion of the tape. In it, the al-Qaida leader said the United States can avoid another attack if it stops threatening the security of Muslims.

The request to the Persian Gulf government, which is considered an ally in the U.S. campaign to counter terror, was passed through the U.S. embassy in Doha, Qatar's capital.

Secretary of State Colin Powell and other Bush administration officials have appeared in Al-Jazeera interviews, although the State Department has occasionally denounced the network as biased against the United States. The reason for going on these programs is to convey the U.S. message to the Arab world, the official said.

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGB5HREYW0E.html

[Florida_Geek]

1. The Repugs have time and time again said

bin Ladem could have died in Tora Bora. This tape kills that.

[flpoljunkie]

2. Interesting...

Why would the State Department try to keep Aljazeera from broadcasting this tape?

[exliontamer]

5. Two thoughts...

One: We take it on face value... BuschCo doesn't want to remind people that he's still out there.

Or...

Two: They want it to appear that they ddidn't want the video to run, perhaps to throw off any dogs that might think thay knew it would run or (we're getting way out here) were involved in it running.

Damn.

[despairing optimist]

10. For two reasons:

1) It makes * look bad, at least to his administration. I mean, the word's out to us anyway. They just don't want to confirm it. It would be disloyal, and "disloyalty" is the dirtiest word of all to *.

2) Releasing it at this point in the campaign, so close to Election Day, makes * look bad too. It's too coincidental even for Rove's taste, and, worse, Rove and the rest of *'s spinners have no control over the content of Osama's message. They can edit it, but they still have to leave something, and that "something" is damaging enough to their boy.

The tape really breaks badly for *, so if some people argue that it's the October surprise, well, surprise! The blowback for the Repukes is worse than any damage they could have hoped to bring upon the Kerry campaign. Add in the scandal about the arms cache looting at QaQaa, and it's all hellzapoppin.

[jfern]

3. Funny

The WH liked the Azzam the terrorist Bush I mean Al Qaeda video.

[HR_Pufnstuf]

4. Yes, and fox just aired bush reponse...

.. he is standing on a air tarmack and said

"he had just been informed to the presence of the UBL tape" or something to that effect.

when did he really know?

[HR_Pufnstuf]

6. anyone have a transcript of UBL tape?

know where one is?

the media is trying to JUST play his image (and no words) in an attempt to keep this small.

watch out for the Boogeyman!

[kokomo]

12. A LIE, CNN said Bush was informed at noon before his N.Hampshire speech.

But he still opened both barrels on Kerry. Kerry wasn't briefed until late in the afternoon when everyone else in the nation found out.

[w4rma]

7. Shows that Osama should have been Bush's priority and not Saddam.

Shows another Bush failure in that Osama wasn't captured "Dead or Alive".

"I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority." - G.W. Bush, 3/13/02

[realcountrymusic]

8. Time to return to

"I'm not that concerned with him " video footage -- remember Bush's debate lie that he never said that? Let's rub it in. Kerry should say "Unlike President Bush, I *am* very concerned with catching this guy."

rcm

[diamond14]

9. so now we have the White House AND the U.S. State Dept. trying

to block the tape....don't forget...bush* BOMBED Al-Jazeera broadcast studios in Iraq..BANNED Al-Jazeera from Iraq totally....bush* has done EVERYTHING possible to keep the words "osama bin laden" out of the news, and out of America's minds...bush* has totally eliminated the words 'osama bin laden' from his vocabulary...by repeating LIE after repeating LIE, bush* has convinced most of his supporters that 'saddam hussein' has been captured, and that 'osama bin laden' is DEAD....

so today....America saw a REAL LIVE and HEALTHY osama bin laden right there....right in front of us...the most wanted criminal in the whole wide world...taunting bush* and threatening us... three years after bush* decided to just eliminate the words "osama bin laden' and hope we forget....

[LynnTheDem]

11. OF COURSE they tried to stop it; it's VERY BAD NEWS for BUSH.

OBL wants bush to win coz bush is an ineffective idiot.

OBL is not, as bush said, "dirty" in a "cave".

OBL is not even worried about bush coz bush is such a totally ineffective LOSER of an idiot.