A couple of letters I wrote re the bin Laden tape

[eridani]

Someone with som real expertise ought to follow this up. We've been letting them get away Shrubbie being wires for the debates and several possible fake Osama tapes. It's about time this shit got exposed. If analysis reveals that the tapes really are from a live OBL, then we need to know that, too. If he speaks both English and Arabic, and wanted to address both Americans and his Arabic-speaking supporters, why wouldn't he just make two tapes?

January 20, 2006

ROBERT FISK
C/O FOREIGN DESK
191 MARSH WALL
LONDON E14 9RS
GREAT BRITAIN

Re: your column Osama bin Laden: Is It Him?

Dear Mr. Fisk:

It may very well be bin Laden’s voice, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s him. From a Washington Post column on manipulation of audio tracks—

"Gentlemen! We have called you together to inform you that we are going to overthrow the United States government." So begins a statement being delivered by Gen. Carl W. Steiner, former Commander-in-chief, U.S. Special Operations Command.

At least the voice sounds amazingly like him.

But it is not Steiner. It is the result of voice "morphing" technology developed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

By taking just a 10-minute digital recording of Steiner's voice, scientist George Papcun is able, in near real time, to clone speech patterns and develop an accurate facsimile. Steiner was so impressed, he asked for a copy of the tape.

Steiner was hardly the first or last victim to be spoofed by Papcun's team members. To refine their method, they took various high quality recordings of generals and experimented with creating fake statements. One of the most memorable is Colin Powell stating "I am being treated well by my captors."

"They chose to have him say something he would never otherwise have said," chuckled one of Papcun's colleagues

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/dotmil/arkin020199.htm

Some voice morphing programs now available:

http://www.sonicstate.com/news/shownews.cfm?newsid=1561
http://www.vocaloid.com/en/introduction.html
http://www.ircam.fr/288.html?&L=1&tx_ircam_pi2
http://www.public-action.com/911/voice-simulation /
http://www.telecom.tuc.gr/~ntsourak/tutorial_synthesis.htm

There is some disagreement among experts as to the identity of the voice.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4628738.stm

CIA analysts have concluded the voice on the tape was that of Bin Laden, making it the first time he has been heard from since December 2004.

However, other analysts familiar with Bin Laden's voice are divided as to whether the voice really is his.

At least one native speaker of Arabic familiar with bin Laden’s tapes thinks the original speech was written in English. Since bin Laden can speak English and was supposedly addressing Americans, why go through this rigamarole? Why no mention of Allah, specifically? Can you think of any other actors on the world stage who might write a bin Laden speech in English who would benefit politically from its appearance at the present time? Like for instance, an American administration needing justification for its proposal to permanently impose the of invasion of the privacy of its citizens as the new norm in violation of longstanding constitutional norms?

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/terrorism/jan-june06/osama_1-19.html

MAMOUN FANDY: Right, but this particular tape is not terribly inspiring, just looking at the language of it. This is the first tape of bin Laden that has no single verse from the Koran. It does not have the flowery language of Arabic.

It seems to me that it is written in English first, and then translated into Arabic. It is very western style of tape. It is not very characteristic of bin Laden, at least it tells me that the non-Arabic speaking within the al-Qaida network are taking over the organization –

JIM LEHRER: You mean he didn't write this is what you are suggesting?

MAMOUN FANDY: The Arabic speakers in al-Qaida, the parts that are coming from the Arab world, are losing to the non-Arabic speaker, so it's really becoming more of a South Asian organization, rather than an Arab organization.

I’m a chemist by trade, and I don’t have the time for extensive correspondence with the Los Alamos National Laboratory. You are a journalist, and doing things like that is your job. Analysis of a tape of the tape might very well settle the question of whether or not voice morphing technology was used, as such software leaves traces that experts can detect. Would you be willing to do this?

Sincerely,


January 20, 2006

George Papcun
Sound Evidence
1081 Buckman Road
Santa Fe, NM 87501

Dear Mr. Papcun:

This is in regard to the recent bin Laden audio tape, which quite a few people suspect may possibly be a product of voice-morphing. You were interviewed by the Washington Post on this technology seven years ago.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/dotmil/arkin020199.htm

"Gentlemen! We have called you together to inform you that we are going to overthrow the United States government." So begins a statement being delivered by Gen. Carl W. Steiner, former Commander-in-chief, U.S. Special Operations Command.

At least the voice sounds amazingly like him.

But it is not Steiner. It is the result of voice "morphing" technology developed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

By taking just a 10-minute digital recording of Steiner's voice, scientist George Papcun is able, in near real time, to clone speech patterns and develop an accurate facsimile. Steiner was so impressed, he asked for a copy of the tape.

Steiner was hardly the first or last victim to be spoofed by Papcun's team members. To refine their method, they took various high quality recordings of generals and experimented with creating fake statements. One of the most memorable is Colin Powell stating "I am being treated well by my captors."

"They chose to have him say something he would never otherwise have said," chuckled one of Papcun's colleagues.

There is some disagreement among experts as to the identity of the voice on the current bin Laden tapel

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4628738.stm

CIA analysts have concluded the voice on the tape was that of Bin Laden, making it the first time he has been heard from since December 2004.

However, other analysts familiar with Bin Laden's voice are divided as to whether the voice really is his.

Furthermore, at least one native speaker of Arabic familiar with bin Laden’s tapes thinks the original speech was written in English. Since bin Laden can speak English and was supposedly addressing Americans, why go through this rigamarole? Why no mention of Allah, specifically? Can you think of any other actors on the world stage who might write a bin Laden speech in English who would benefit politically from its appearance at the present time? Like for instance, an American administration needing justification for its proposal to permanently impose the of invasion of the privacy of its citizens as the new norm in violation of longstanding constitutional norms?

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/terrorism/jan-june06/osama_1-19.html

MAMOUN FANDY: Right, but this particular tape is not terribly inspiring, just looking at the language of it. This is the first tape of bin Laden that has no single verse from the Koran. It does not have the flowery language of Arabic.

It seems to me that it is written in English first, and then translated into Arabic. It is very western style of tape. It is not very characteristic of bin Laden, at least it tells me that the non-Arabic speaking within the al-Qaida network are taking over the organization –

JIM LEHRER: You mean he didn't write this is what you are suggesting?

MAMOUN FANDY: The Arabic speakers in al-Qaida, the parts that are coming from the Arab world, are losing to the non-Arabic speaker, so it's really becoming more of a South Asian organization, rather than an Arab organization.

The notion that our government might be using your technology to play tricks like this on the public is an outrage. As a professional, you ought to be concerned about the issue of the misuse of a tool that you have developed. Surely the use of morphing technology would leave a signature on an audio tape that you would be able to detect. If it is possible to do so using a tape of a tape, the bin Laden broadcast is publicly available, and I suggest that you have at it at once. If voice morphing was not used, we ought to have public documentation of that fact as well.

Sincerely,

[ClintonTyree]

1. The mention of "the heartland" is strange as well........

is Bin Laden that familiar with present American culture that he would intentionally mention America's "heartland" in his veiled threats? :eyes:
There is something very fishy about the latest "OBL tape" indeed.

[flordehinojos]

2. without going through your research to find an answer ...

my own gut points to perhaps the possibility of a second follow up to poppy's and sonny's 911 American Reichstag: Plot to take over America.

911 being America's Reichstag.

The first follow-up to that being bin-laden's tape just before the 2004 elections.

this being the second follow-up to that.

I pray that your letters get some answers to back up your theory and my own humble gut!

:)