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ABC News may have another Al Qaida video.

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Originally posted by: conjur
CIA can?t authenticate taped threat to U.S.
NBC: Analysts cite ?low? concern
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6345734
The CIA is unable to authenticate a videotape in which a man claiming to be an al-Qaida terrorist warns of devastating new attacks on the United States, a senior U.S. intelligence official told NBC News on Wednesday.

The existence of the tape was first reported Wednesday afternoon by Internet columnist Matt Drudge, who said it was obtained last weekend in Pakistan by ABC News. Drudge quoted an unidentified ?senior ABC News source? as saying the network was ?working 24 hours a day trying to authenticate? it.

But the senior intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told NBC News that ?we can?t authenticate? the tape, a copy of which ABC gave the CIA on Monday. He would not elaborate, adding, ?I think that is where we are going to stand.?

U.S. officials told NBC News that the tape included now-standard militant Islamist rhetoric promising widespread destruction inside the United States. The man cannot be identified, the officials said, because his face is covered by a headdress.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, described analysts? concern as ?low? because it was not clear that the tape was recorded recently and because the man on the tape, who spoke in what appeared to be an American accent, mentioned no details.

?It?s unclear what this tape is ? even whether the person on the tape is an American,? one of the officials said.

Pre-election attack widely speculated
Drudge reported the man on the tape claimed that the attacks would be in retribution for ?electing George Bush, who has made war on Islam by destroying the Taliban and making war on al-Qaida.?

The possibility of an al-Qaida attack in the days before next week?s presidential election has been widely speculated on, but U.S. intelligence officials said last week that they had no specific intelligence indicating there was a plot by al-Qaida to launch a strike designed to sway voting.

Drudge, quoting unidentified sources, said the man on the tape called himself ?Assam the American? and spoke in an American accent. He reported that the man warned that the attack would ?dwarf? the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York and Washington, which killed almost 3,000 people.

?The streets will run with blood? and ?America will mourn in silence,? the man said, because it will be unable to count the number of the dead, according to Drudge.

A U.S. official told NBC News that intelligence analysts were speculating that the man could be Adam Pearlman, 25, also known as Adam Gadahn and Abu Suhayb Al-Amriki, one of seven people mentioned by FBI Director Robert Mueller in May as someone the United States would like to locate.

The FBI said Pearlman, who is originally from California, attended a terrorist training camp and acted in the past as an al-Qaida translator. U.S. officials said Pearlman was not believed to hold any influential position within al-Qaida.
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Another dead-end October Surprise by Rove.
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Why do you think it's Rove ?



 
Originally posted by: chess9
Bummer. God help us if they pull off something worse than 9-11.

It would be terrible for Kerry as well. I think any attempt to influence the election by terrorism would backfire. We aren't Spain.

-Robert
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I think it is inevitable. It's just a matter of time before they destroy an entire city.
 
the scary part is bush gave them access to $500 million in funding plus 700,000 lbs explosives. 95% of cargo is unscanned and 6,000 illegal aliens cross our border EVERY DAY
 
Originally posted by: Pablo
According to Drudge, this has been AUTHENTICATED NOW
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Originally posted by: whalen
From Drudgereport.com:

"CIA and FBI have authenticated al Qaeda videotape"
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XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX THU OCT 28, 2004 10:44:01 ET XXXXX

CIA, FBI AUTHENTICATE NEW QAEDA TERROR TAPE; ABCNEWS EXECUTIVES CONSIDER POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS OF AIRING

**Exclusive**

The CIA and FBI late Wednesday authenticated a disturbing new al Qaeda videotape which warns the next terror attack will dwarf 9/11.

"The streets will run with blood," and "America will mourn in silence" because they will be unable to count the number of the dead, a man claims on the video.

Further claims on the video: America has brought this on itself for electing George Bush who has made war on Islam by destroying the Taliban and making war on Al Qaeda.

ABCNEWS obtained the tape from a source in Waziristan, Pakistan over the weekend. The network has withheld airing it, initially citing concerns over its authenticity.

One senior federal official alleged ABCNEWS is now holding back from broadcasting any portion of the video out of fear it will be seen as a political move by the network during election week.

One ABC source, who demanded anonymity, said Thursday morning, the network was struggling to find a correct journalistic "balance."

"This is not something you just throw out there while people are voting," the ABC source explained.

A second ABC source told DRUDGE: "We continue to report this story aggressively."

MORE

The terrorist's face is concealed by a headdress, and he speaks in an American accent, making it difficult to identify the individual.

The tape appears to be from al-Qaeda's media liaison organization. It has a banner crediting the Sahab Production Committee. The speaker refers to Bin Ladin and Zawahiri as "our leaders" and praises the 11 September attacks.

Intelligence officials believe:

Videotape message likely produced in late summer '04 due to references to current events such as the 9/11 Commission.

Individual is college educated, either American born or raised in the U.S.

The U.S. is actively seeking to identify the individual. Adam Gadhan - aka Adam Pearlman of Southern California - remains the chief candidate but another still unknown individual may be possible.

US intelligence officials say the danger is that if this individual is an American citizen, he will be immersed in the culture and customs and have the ability to travel in America freely and unnoticed.

Developing...
 
Originally posted by: chess9
Bummer. God help us if they pull off something worse than 9-11.

It would be terrible for Kerry as well. I think any attempt to influence the election by terrorism would backfire. We aren't Spain.

-Robert
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Robert, They want this war. This is Islams last stand....jmo.

 
ABCNEWS EXECUTIVES CONSIDER POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS OF AIRING
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ABC execs are a pinch away from Sinclair. they gave up HALF A BILLION dollars under disney just to avoid showing farenheit 9/11 so they could save a few tens of millions on FL tax breaks. for only $6 million too, while nearly all their other $100 million movies flopped, kinda ironic

maybe the 4 hurricanes were after teh mickey
 
Originally posted by: Ozoned
Robert, They want this war. This is Islams last stand....jmo.
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unfortunately, bush's actions have given them access to $500 million and 700,000 lbs explosives, al qaeda could now last decades.
 
Originally posted by: ReiAyanami
ABCNEWS EXECUTIVES CONSIDER POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS OF AIRING
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ABC execs are a pinch away from Sinclair. they gave up HALF A BILLION dollars under disney just to avoid showing farenheit 9/11 so they could save a few tens of millions on FL tax breaks. for only $6 million too, while nearly all their other $100 million movies flopped, kinda ironic
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This old chestnut again?

First of all, Disney did not give up half a billion dollars to avoid "showing" Moore's schlockumentary. It refused to allow Miramax to distribute the film. Miramax merely licensed it out to Lion's Gate for distribution so Miramax still made money on it.

Second of all, Disney gets absolutely no tax breaks. None, nada, zip, zilch. In fact, Disney contributes more sales tax to Florida's coffers than any other corporate entity in Florida.

Now please stop spouting such speculative and devoid of fact FUD.
 
Hmm...Drudge still hasn't provided proof the FBI and CIA have authenticated the tape.

http://www.contracostatimes.co...s/news/10035733.htm?1c
Posted on Thu, Oct. 28, 2004





CIA analyzes videotape warning of violence

By Greg Miller

LOS ANGELES TIMES

The CIA is analyzing a purported terrorist videotape obtained in Pakistan in which a disguised man claimed to be from the United States and warned of a coming wave of violence against America, according to U.S. intelligence officials and sources familiar with the contents of the recording.

The hour-long tape contains markings that indicate it was produced by al-Qaida, makes reference to recent events including bloodshed in Sudan, and includes warnings that U.S. "streets will run with blood," officials and sources said.

But U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials said that they had not been able to verify the authenticity of the recording, and that U.S. authorities did not have any information linking it to plans for a specific attack.

"We don't yet have a positive ID on the speaker," said one U.S. intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The official added that the speaker's face was almost completely covered by a head scarf and dark glasses.

"He may or may not have been born" in the United States, the official said. "But he does say in the tape that the United States is the country of his origin and he speaks English."
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http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1029/p06s01-wosc.html
from the October 29, 2004 edition

'American' voice on new terror video

ABC News is in possession of a tape purportedly from the group, threatening attacks on the US.

This is the first time a purported Al Qaeda video has featured an English-speaking messenger, and while he references the top two Al Qaeda leaders, neither Osama bin Laden or Ayman al-Zawahiri appear. This unique circumstance, as well as the highly charged timing of the tape's release just days before Americans head to the polls, has the US intelligence community approaching the tape with caution.
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Originally posted by: Pablo
According to Drudge, this has been AUTHENTICATED NOW
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Anyone have any ideas how they will make the "streets run blodd red"???

I have an idea but want to see if anyone else has the same thoughts in here on how they would make that attempt.


 
Another viewpoint on the video, from someone that's actually seen it...

Christian Science Monitor

American' voice on new terror video
ABC News is in possession of a tape purportedly from the group, threatening attacks on the US.
By Gretchen Peters | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN ? A new videotape that has surfaced in Pakistan threatens a massive attack against the United States by a purported American member of Al Qaeda. It is not yet known if the tape is an authentic Al Qaeda production, but it bears enough resemblance that some experts are taking the tape seriously.

The chilling 75-minute digital videotape, seen by a Christian Science Monitor reporter in Pakistan, where it was obtained by ABC News, shows a high degree of sophistication and bears the logo of Al Qaeda's video production house, As-Sahab.
On the video, the unknown man's face is masked with a Palestinian scarf and sunglasses. He stabs the air with his finger, which appears to be fair-skinned, as he delivers his warning in American-accented English.

"Allah willing, the streets of America will run red with blood, matching drop for drop the blood of America's victims," says the speaker, who calls himself Azzam al Amriki (or Azzam the American). "What took place on September 11th was but the opening salvo in the global war on America."

The next attacks, he adds, "could come at any moment."

This is the first time a purported Al Qaeda video has featured an English-speaking messenger, and while he references the top two Al Qaeda leaders, neither Osama bin Laden or Ayman al-Zawahiri appear. This unique circumstance, as well as the highly charged timing of the tape's release just days before Americans head to the polls, has the US intelligence community approaching the tape with caution.

"As-Sahab is an Al Qaeda propaganda outfit and engages in psychological warfare," says Bruce Hoffman, an expert on terror at the RAND Corp. in Washington. "Given the hype of the US election in general, that the jihadists claim credit for affecting the outcome of the Spanish elections, and the heightened chatter that intelligence agencies acknowledge, I'm surprised we haven't seen something like this sooner."

While ABC has not aired the video, knowledge of its existence was leaked to the Drudge Report and picked up by the mainstream press including NBC, Fox, the Washington Post, and Reuters who all reported on the video without seeing it.

"ABC News has shared this tape with both the CIA and FBI as part of our reporting process. ABC News is committed to accurate, credible, and complete journalism and is applying the same scrutiny to this tape that we apply to all raw information. ABC continues to report this story very aggressively," says Jeffery Schneider, vice president of ABC News.

At press time, the US intelligence community had yet to authenticate the video but they continued to work on it.

"Unless you can identify the individual or compare [it] to known samples, it is difficult to authenticate," says a US intelligence official. "There's no information in the intelligence community that links this video to a specific threat. So what [the speaker] is talking about doesn't appear in other intelligence."

The tape, delivered to ABC in Islamabad last Sunday by a courier who was paid a $500 transport fee, contains a lengthy Q&A session between "Mr. Amriki" and an off-camera interviewer. It ends with his warning, which cuts off abruptly when the tape runs out.

Analysts at Pakistan's spy agency, the ISI, say the tape is genuine, explaining the material bears the same "signature" as previous As-Sahab video releases, which are unique in the world of jihadi video for their sophisticated editing techniques.

It features the same gold logo that appeared, among other places, in a 2003 statement from Mr. bin Laden.

There's also simultaneous Arabic subtitling - a complicated and time consuming process to put together - and a scrolling message across the bottom of the screen (similar to the news tickers on CNN and Fox) that was featured on a recent statement from al-Zawahiri.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, as-Sahab has consistently pushed the frontiers of jihad media, publishing everything from "Nineteen Martyrs" (the story of the 9/11 hijackers) to live action terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia captured on video, says terrorism consultant Evan Kohlmann, who saw a portion of the material. "For someone to put that amount of advanced effort into fabricating an as-Sahab video sounds a little far-fetched," he says.

Ahmad Muffaq Zaidan, Pakistan's bureau chief for the Arab-language network Al Jazeera and the recipient of past As-Sahab material here, also rated the material genuine. "We have seen this style before - the translation, the logo, the scroll," he says.

The US intelligence official agrees that "there's a production value" to the tape.

"The tape itself was edited and portions were spliced together," he says. "It probably was worked on for a period of time - probably done fairly recently, as recently as late summer."

The tape's speaker references the conflict in Darfur, the 9/11 commission, Massachusetts same sex legislation, and the upcoming US presidential election.

Nevertheless, it's become easier and cheaper to produce a relatively sophisticated video. With about $3,500, one can purchase a small digital video camera and a laptop with video editing software, and create output, which as Kohlmann puts it, is worthy of "a half-decent Hollywood studio."

"Terrorist wannabes [have] manufactured an encyclopedia full of fraudulent threats and communiques on the Internet," says Kohlmann. "It is now getting easy enough that similar wannabes can produce their own jihad videos too."

Al Amriki issues several bursts of Arabic, mainly from the Koran, speaking the language well, but not as a native, say Arabic speakers who've heard the tape. And he's clearly a sophisticated news consumer - quoting sources ranging from BBC's Arabic language radio to US comedian Bill Maher.

His rhetoric - both in English and Arabic - closely mirrors past statements by Al Qaeda: calling US leaders crusaders and weaving a picture of America as a corrupt empire about to expire.

The courier who delivered the tape would reveal nothing about Al Amriki's identity, saying only that he received the material last Friday in Peshawar. He insisted it had been filmed in Pakistan's tribal belt, where militants are battling the Pakistani military.

ISI analysts believe dozens of US and European passport holders of Muslim descent have joined jihadi groups there, and say this man is probably one of them. Others believe he may be a new John Walker Lindh, the California native caught fighting with the Taliban in 2001.

US law enforcement agents have suggested it could be Adam Yahiye Gadahn, an Orange County native, suspected by the FBI to be working with Al Qaeda, possibly as a translator. Mr. Gadahn, who was born Adam Pearlman, also goes by the nom de guerre Abu Suhayb Al-Amriki.

"In the realm of psychological warfare, which is calculated to ratchet up the fear level, if it is a sworn enemy making those threats it's one thing, if it's someone speaking our language, living among us, it does heighten the sense of fear," says Mr. Hoffman of RAND. "That's what terrorism tries to do - raise the level of fear."

? Reporter Gretchen Peters is also ABC's producer in Pakistan. Staff writer Faye Bowers contributed from Washington.
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Originally posted by: dmcowen674
Originally posted by: Pablo
According to Drudge, this has been AUTHENTICATED NOW
Click to expand...

Anyone have any ideas how they will make the "streets run blodd red"???

I have an idea but want to see if anyone else has the same thoughts in here on how they would make that attempt.
Click to expand...

The thought of them obtaining ambulances and carrying out simultaneous attacks is a frightening thought...I might drive to work next week and avoid taking the metro. The metro here has been said to be viable target.
 
This is really a win/win situation for our government and Fundie Muslims; muslims get to keep spreading their message through terrorism and our gov gets to keep fear mongering.
 
Originally posted by: conjur
I just linked to that article, Pliable.
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Damn, need to learn to read & post...

Difficulty multitasking lately. Need peppermint & rose colored glasses, speaking of which where is Moonbeam?
 
If CBS has some tape with anyone implicating Bush or the Administration in connection with the terrorists attacks CBS would have aired it by now. They are not know for their ultra conservative views.
 
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