What is the provenance of the OBL tape?

[Stephanie]

What is the chain of custody? When was it released and who received it? Who received it first in the U.S.? And is it true that the WH had it edited before release? This is very reminiscent of the Killian docs and I smell a big fat rat, especiallly with regard to the timing.

Who controlled the tape in the days before it was aired? What do we know so far?

[punpirate]

1. Aired where?

It was shown on al-Jazeera first. From an earlier story, it was dropped off at the gate of al-Jazeera's studios in Pakistan. They transmitted the tape to the main studio in Qatar, which broadcast it later the same day.

[Stephanie]

4. Do you know when it was shown on al-Jazeera?

Do we have a full transcript? Is it true the WH edited it?

[grasswire]

2. I'm with ya, Steph

I've been puzzling about it all night.

[Stephanie]

3. Have you found out anything?

What's the scoop so far?

[Stephanie]

5. Three minutes 21 seconds are missing

U.S. officials would not comment on what else is on the tape. Okay.

U.S. government officials said the tape appeared to be authentic and recently made.

The U.S. Embassy in Qatar received a copy of the bin Laden tape from the Qatari government Friday, a senior State Department official said. Al-Jazeera is based in the Qatari capital of Doha.

The length of the tape received by the U.S. government is 18 minutes. Bin Laden spoke for 14 minutes and 39 seconds. U.S. officials would not comment on what else is on the tape.

The official said that once the embassy received the video, the U.S. ambassador to Qatar asked the Qatari government to use its influence with the management of Al-Jazeera to convince the network not to air the tape.

"We are disappointed that the tape was aired," the official said.

It was unclear whether the Qatari government urged Al-Jazeera to refrain from airing the tape. However, the network did not air the tape in its entirety.

The United States regularly complains to the Qatari government about Al-Jazeera's coverage and has often asked the government to use its influence to rein in the network.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/10/30/binladen.tape/index.html