NBC, MSNBC AND NEWS SERVICES
Nov. 13 ? U.S. intelligence experts scrutinized a recorded message reportedly from terror mastermind Osama bin Laden on Wednesday, the first evidence in a year that the elusive leader of the al-Qaida terrorist network is still alive. Although CIA analysis was not yet complete, U.S. officials told NBC News that the voice on the audiotape, which praises recent attacks, is that of bin Laden. ?It?s him,? a senior official said.
ON THE TAPE, played Tuesday on the Middle East TV network Al-Jazeera, the speaker lauds the recent bombing on the Indonesian island of Bali and the taking of hostages by Chechen rebels in Moscow, and threatens Western nations over any attack on Iraq.
NBC?s Andrea Mitchell reported Tuesday night that a very highly placed U.S. administration official said the analysis of the recording left no doubt that the voice on the tape was indeed that of bin Laden, confirming he was alive at least as of the recent taping. The official spoke on condition on anonymity.
Jamal Kashoggi, editor in chief of Arab News, a Saudi English-language daily newspaper, has interviewed bin Laden several times for several hours and earlier told NBC News that, in his opinion, there was ?no question about it.?
If the tape is genuine, officials said it would have serious implications. In addition to the proof that bin Laden is alive, it could also be a signal to al-Qaida operatives to launch new attacks.
The audiotape was played alongside an old photograph of the al-Qaida leader.
Officials were mystified about why bin Laden would break with his tradition of making videotaped appearances. But they told NBC?s Robert Windrem there could be several reasons, including that bin Laden?s appearance indicates he was wounded in the U.S. campaign in Afghanistan, or that he has changed his appearance for security reasons.
Asked about the tape, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said, ?If he?s alive, we know he?s on the run and this war on terrorism is about more than any one person.?
The tape is addressed to ?peoples of the countries allied with the tyrannical U.S. government? and specifically mentions Britain, France, Italy, Canada, Germany, Australia and Israel, according to a U.S. government translation.
?What business do your governments have to ally themselves with the gang of criminality in the White House against Muslims? Don?t your governments know that the White House gang is the biggest serial killers in this age?? the speaker says.
?It is time we get even,? says the voice. ?You will be killed just as you kill, and will be bombed just as you bomb. And expect more that will further distress you.?
The tape seems to have been made in the past two weeks. The speaker appears to refer to the killing of a U.S. diplomat in Amman, Jordan, on Oct. 28, the most recent event noted in the transcript. Whether bin Laden or al-Qaida had a direct hand in the attack is unknown, U.S. officials said.
He said the attacks were in response to ?what Bush is doing, killing our sons, our old people and children by American planes in Palestine.?
Indonesian investigators have blamed the Bali blast of Oct. 12 on the Jemaah Islamiyah network, which has links to al-Qaida. More than 180 people, mostly Australians, were killed in the nightclub bombings in one of Asia?s most frequented tourist spots.
The voice also gets personal, attacking not only President Bush, but calling Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld ?the butcher of Vietnam? and comparing Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell to marauding Mongols.
ASSUMED TO BE ALIVE
Bin Laden has used Al-Jazeera in the past as a conduit for his messages. The station?s head of newsgathering, Omar Hisham, told NBC that he believed the tape was authentic.
The fate of bin Laden has remained a mystery, with U.S. officials saying they would assume he was alive until presented with evidence to the contrary.
Until now, all tapes, either video or audio, released since last November, cannot be dated beyond late November or early December of 2001, around the time of the most intensive U.S. air attacks on al-Qaida in Afghanistan.
The most recent bin Laden audio tape, released a few weeks ago, was purported to be a recent message from the terrorist leader.
The voice on that tape has been authenticated as bin Laden?s, but officials say there is no conclusive evidence as to when it was recorded since it does not refer to any specific events.
Earlier on Tuesday ? before the release of the audiotape ? Gen. Tommy Franks said he?s assumed that bin Laden was alive given that he?s not seen any evidence to the contrary.
?If he?s alive, we?ll certainly get him,? Franks said. ?This I can tell you ? he?s having a bad year.?
LINK
Nov. 13 ? U.S. intelligence experts scrutinized a recorded message reportedly from terror mastermind Osama bin Laden on Wednesday, the first evidence in a year that the elusive leader of the al-Qaida terrorist network is still alive. Although CIA analysis was not yet complete, U.S. officials told NBC News that the voice on the audiotape, which praises recent attacks, is that of bin Laden. ?It?s him,? a senior official said.
ON THE TAPE, played Tuesday on the Middle East TV network Al-Jazeera, the speaker lauds the recent bombing on the Indonesian island of Bali and the taking of hostages by Chechen rebels in Moscow, and threatens Western nations over any attack on Iraq.
NBC?s Andrea Mitchell reported Tuesday night that a very highly placed U.S. administration official said the analysis of the recording left no doubt that the voice on the tape was indeed that of bin Laden, confirming he was alive at least as of the recent taping. The official spoke on condition on anonymity.
Jamal Kashoggi, editor in chief of Arab News, a Saudi English-language daily newspaper, has interviewed bin Laden several times for several hours and earlier told NBC News that, in his opinion, there was ?no question about it.?
If the tape is genuine, officials said it would have serious implications. In addition to the proof that bin Laden is alive, it could also be a signal to al-Qaida operatives to launch new attacks.
The audiotape was played alongside an old photograph of the al-Qaida leader.
Officials were mystified about why bin Laden would break with his tradition of making videotaped appearances. But they told NBC?s Robert Windrem there could be several reasons, including that bin Laden?s appearance indicates he was wounded in the U.S. campaign in Afghanistan, or that he has changed his appearance for security reasons.
Asked about the tape, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said, ?If he?s alive, we know he?s on the run and this war on terrorism is about more than any one person.?
The tape is addressed to ?peoples of the countries allied with the tyrannical U.S. government? and specifically mentions Britain, France, Italy, Canada, Germany, Australia and Israel, according to a U.S. government translation.
?What business do your governments have to ally themselves with the gang of criminality in the White House against Muslims? Don?t your governments know that the White House gang is the biggest serial killers in this age?? the speaker says.
?It is time we get even,? says the voice. ?You will be killed just as you kill, and will be bombed just as you bomb. And expect more that will further distress you.?
The tape seems to have been made in the past two weeks. The speaker appears to refer to the killing of a U.S. diplomat in Amman, Jordan, on Oct. 28, the most recent event noted in the transcript. Whether bin Laden or al-Qaida had a direct hand in the attack is unknown, U.S. officials said.
He said the attacks were in response to ?what Bush is doing, killing our sons, our old people and children by American planes in Palestine.?
Indonesian investigators have blamed the Bali blast of Oct. 12 on the Jemaah Islamiyah network, which has links to al-Qaida. More than 180 people, mostly Australians, were killed in the nightclub bombings in one of Asia?s most frequented tourist spots.
The voice also gets personal, attacking not only President Bush, but calling Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld ?the butcher of Vietnam? and comparing Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell to marauding Mongols.
ASSUMED TO BE ALIVE
Bin Laden has used Al-Jazeera in the past as a conduit for his messages. The station?s head of newsgathering, Omar Hisham, told NBC that he believed the tape was authentic.
The fate of bin Laden has remained a mystery, with U.S. officials saying they would assume he was alive until presented with evidence to the contrary.
Until now, all tapes, either video or audio, released since last November, cannot be dated beyond late November or early December of 2001, around the time of the most intensive U.S. air attacks on al-Qaida in Afghanistan.
The most recent bin Laden audio tape, released a few weeks ago, was purported to be a recent message from the terrorist leader.
The voice on that tape has been authenticated as bin Laden?s, but officials say there is no conclusive evidence as to when it was recorded since it does not refer to any specific events.
Earlier on Tuesday ? before the release of the audiotape ? Gen. Tommy Franks said he?s assumed that bin Laden was alive given that he?s not seen any evidence to the contrary.
?If he?s alive, we?ll certainly get him,? Franks said. ?This I can tell you ? he?s having a bad year.?
LINK
Facebook
Twitter