Bin Laden Audio?

[Guest Vern Gagne]

Credit FoxNews.com

 

In an audiotape broadcast Tuesday by the Al-Jazeera television network, a voice purported to be that of the international terror mastermind can be heard praising the recent terror attacks in Bali and Moscow.

 

The speaker on the tape also threatens Western nations considering an attack on Iraq.

 

U.S. officials told Fox News Tuesday afternoon that although official assessment of the tape is not yet complete, there is a "good chance it is authentic."

 

If the voice on the tape does, in fact, belong to bin Laden, it will prove that the Al Qaeda leader behind the Sept. 11 attacks is alive somewhere and has survived the U.S. campaign in Afghanistan.

 

On the tape, the speaker purported to be bin Laden referred to the Oct. 12 Bali bombing, the killing last month of a Marine in Kuwait, the bombing of a French oil tanker last month off Yemen and the Chechen hostage-taking in Moscow, saying the attacks were "undertaken by sons who are zealous in the defense of their religion."

 

He said the attacks were in response to "what (President) Bush, the pharaoh of the age, is doing by killing our sons in Iraq and what America's ally Israel is doing, bombarding houses with women and old people and children inside with American planes."

 

"Our people in Palestine are being killed, are being subjected to the worse kind of suffering for almost a century now," the speaker said. "If we defend our people in Palestine the world is disturbed and allied against Muslims under the banner of combating terrorism."

 

The speaker then castigated U.S. allies that have joined the war against terrorism, specifically Britain, France, Italy, Canada, Germany and Australia.

 

After listing those countries, he warned: "If you don't like looking at your dead ... so remember our dead, including the children in Iraq."

 

Early in the tape, the person purported to be bin Laden says:

 

"From Usama bin Laden to the people of the countries cooperating with the Americans:

 

"The road for a secure life will begin when you give us peace. The killing of the German people in Tunisia, the French in Karachi and the killing of the British in Bali, it was reaction from the sons of Islam.

 

"What Bush made by killing our people in Iraq and what Israel is doing in Palestine should be enough clue for our leaders to stop cooperating with the United States.

 

"If we are fighting for Palestine, we are terrorists, and there is a war against us terrorists.

 

"If we get bombed, you get bombed.

 

"If we get killed, you get killed.

 

"We warned Britain about getting attacked. And remember the Moscow killings and wait for what is going to happen to you."

 

Al-Jazeera did not say how it received the tape, nor how it verified that the voice was really that of bin Laden.

 

But the speaker can be heard threatening six Western countries that are supporting the United States and specifically mentions Great Britain as a possible future target for terror attacks.

 

Audio recordings are easier to make than videotapes, which could reveal whether bin Laden is injured, has significantly altered his looks, or is in a vulnerable location that could be given away in a video appearance.

 

The last certain evidence bin Laden was alive was a videotape of him having dinner with some of his deputies, which is believed to have been filmed on Nov. 9, 2001.

 

In September, the Al-Jazeera network aired voice recordings of bin Laden and top Al Qaeda operatives. The CIA authenticated bin Laden's voice then, but officials said the recordings probably weren't made recently.

 

Those statements came out around the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

 

Experts say bin Laden's Al Qaeda network is on a renewed public relations campaign aimed at keeping itself in the public eye and associated with events, such as a possible war in Iraq, which could turn the Arab public against the United States

[Guest NoCalMike]

Ummm, there are still people out there that actually believe, we keep happening to "find these tapes"???? Come on, I bet most are at least 5 years old and have been sitting in a cage somewhere and have been dusted off just in time.....

[Guest Kotzenjunge]

Dude, I know this is borderline flaming, but STOP TALKING. You're seriously giving RATIONAL liberals like myself a bad name.

 

We didn't "find them," dumbass. They're being released by the group to the public via Al-Jazeera. How else could they reference 9/11 attacks and war with Iraq and other CURRENT issues if they were recorded five years ago?

 

Now then, they might be at 25% of what they were, but this is a brilliant move on the part of Al-Queda. Not only does it remind the Arab world (ie. Saudi Arabia, our probable base of operations in the coming war) of who their enemy is, but it serves to polarize the world further between the Middle East and West.

 

Until it's CONFIRMED that bin Laden is dead, I'll worry about Al-Queda, because they really can strike any any time they want to, regardless of safeguards and such that we have now.

 

Kotzenjunge

Ban Me If You Can, Warn Me If You Must, But Always Read What I Say

[Guest EricMM]

I was hoping Mike might have been implying that Al-Jazeera might be releasing them old tapes to spike ratings or further an adgenda, but he forgot one factiod...

 

If these are five year old tapes, or even one year old, how could the reference recent events?

[Guest Olympic Slam]

Until it's CONFIRMED that bin Laden is dead, I'll worry about Al-Queda, because they really can strike any any time they want to, regardless of safeguards and such that we have now.

Even if Bin-Laden is found dead, so what? There's probably another mad man with a gun in one hand and the Qur'an in the other out there ready to take his place. In fact there may be three, four, or a hundred Bin-Laden's waiting in the wings.

 

This whole war on terror thing is just really scary as we're up against an enemy unlike any other yah know? There's no direct country we can target, no one person (Bin-Laden seems to be the official figure head of terror), and a steady stream of future "western haters" growing up each day. As long as we don't convert, there will always be a group of mad-men out there waiting to get you to or kill you in the process.

[Guest NoCalMike]

Ok I goofed when I said, "we keep finding" when I should have just said, "Al Jazeer keeps airing them at just the right time" First of all, if Bin Ladin is alive he most certainly is on his death bed as it has been confirmed numerous times he is badly ill. Look, arab terrorists do not need a refresher course on reasons to hate america. I am sure this propagandha is shoved down their throat daily anyways. I just scoff at OUR MEDIA, for giving 24 hour coverage to a 30 second audio tape. And who cares what Bin Ladin says anyway. Do you honestly think they are going to air a tape saying. "America, please forgive me, I have sinned, I have been wrong all this time, wah wah" Get Real.

 

Oh and Kotzenjunge, there is such a thing as a "rational thinking liberal" they are called democrats, and they have been pretty much worthless for a good 10 years. Hope you join "my side" sometime soon bro.....

[Guest Kotzenjunge]

Olympic Slam, bin Laden IS Al-Queda, and they are not all the terrorists on the planet. I never said that bin Laden's death would magically end terrorism, just that group. You saying how there are people waiting to kill us if we don't convert also describes United States foreign policy from 1945 to 1992 (also known as "You WILL be a Democracy!").

 

They won't air any such apolegetic tape because IT DOESN'T EXIST. Furthermore, we haven't even confirmed that he's terribly ill. We just know that he has a kidney disorder, and has for a while, but it didn't prevent him from being active before as long as he had the proper care taken of him. Also, considering his livelihood for the last few years, he probably has such kidney treatment in a portable form.

 

So "your side" is irrational liberalism? Sorry dude, I'd rather use my brain than formulate a bunch of conspiracy theories and allow my political stances to be influenced by nothing but baseless radicals. We've all seen what happens when someone does that, and he drives a food mobile now, while delivering $10.00 computers to people as a second job.

 

Kotzenjunge

They're Like The Milk Man, But The Food Man

[Guest Ace309]

I'll repress the rage and disgust I'm feeling that NoCalMike is sullying my party and ideology's name just long enough to ask, Mike, if you've HEARD the tape, or even a reasonable summary.

 

If you have, I question your critical thinking skills, as suggesting that the tape is old would be illogical.

 

Also, this is not a case of Al-Jazeera tapping a phone or something. This is definitely below the level of a presidential address, but still something that would merit media coverage. Al-Jazeera is disseminating it because it was sent to them to be released and they deemed it worthy of publicity.

 

Why is our media covering it? Well, first of all, because people care. Joe Schmoe sitting on his BUTT does not know whether Bin Laden is alive, and would be interested to know that there is strong evidence that he is. And second, corollary to the first, it = ratings for CNN etc.

 

If you have not bothered to research what's on the tapes, keep your fool mouth shut.

[Guest DragonflyKid]

Does anyone watch FoxNewsChannel and has seen their Foreign Affairs/Counterterrorism Expert Monsoor Ijaz? He says through his sources that Government intelligence have intercepted info on a possible terrorist attack in the next three weeks. It is said to be 3 big simultaneous attacks, one in the U.S., one in the U.K. and one in the east, possibly India.

 

He claimed this before the audio of UBL was releashed, after it was releashed he said this message from UBL could be the wake up call for the sleeper cells.

 

Ijaz seems credible but if the intercepted messages regarding an attack have been picked up why hasn't the State of alert been raised?

[Guest NoCalMike]

Ok, I am asking though, what exactly is on the audio tape that brings anything NEW to this whole situation?? "If we are bombed, you are bombed?" "If we die, you die" !?! Wow what a breakthrough on the case of terrorism, please lets light up the newschannels with this and let the american people know we have cracked the case.

[Guest NoCalMike]

Furthermore, I have been a supporter on the war against Al Qaeda and Taliban since day 1. I believe it is what we should be doing right now with full force. We did not finish the job over there in Afgan/Pakistan. Our officials must have forgot about the "priority" of finding Bin Ladin.