[Fighting Irish]

Ok, the problem with this article as I see it.

Nowhere in this story does it say that U.S. officials made a 100% voice match on the tape. As a matter of fact they (whoever they is) are not ready "to state definitively that the tape was genuine".

Then later in the piece the only bubblehead that is sure is a guy from Interpol. Last time I checked Interpol was a British agency.

A rather deceptive and sneaky headline, in my opinion. U.S officials have not given the green light to this latest tape. What a cheap way to sell a newspaper. I would expect a stunt like this from some cute little alternative rag like the Post but, not the Washington Times!

[areafiftyone]

Heard on Fox and Friends this morning that we will know by the end of the day if it is authentic. It shouldn't take them too long to find out.

[Dog]

If it wasn't him .....we would have heard so by now.

It's him.

[TomB]

IF, and that is a big "if", the tape is proven to be authentic, Bush should make a speech tauning OBL mercilessly. He should point out how pathetic it is that OBL is too much of a coward to show his face when Bush spent the last month campaigning all around the country. He should also point out how OBL, hiding in a hole for over a year, has abandoned his followers, and how bad life must be for him if he feels he can't afford a video camera any more.

This could be turned into a positive if true.

[weegee]

The headlines have been blaring that it was matched but the details always have unnamed US officials just saying "sounds like him, we'll have to keep checking". The voice must be identified, the tape must be examined for any edits (it could be cobbled from other recordings).

There is no mention in the transcript of the muslim DC snipers. Laden's trying to rally the troops including the lone operators.

He did mention Chenians (but there aren't many details).

He didn't mention the political elections here or abroad or any American vote to pound Iraq.

Difficult to date such rhetoric without him providing concrete specifics. I'm sure that Al-Quaeda had a number of attacks planned and sleeper cells ready to operate.

Why the cover? Why not a video? Is someone going to recognize the room? Paint Saddam's bathroom walls black, that ought to disguise it...

[putupon]

What was the most recent event refered to, Bali? Bin Laden may have been on death's door with his kidney problem or something when (if)he made that tape. No picture and they said he was rambling. Binny knows that every time he talks, he puts his hideout location at risk.

[HangThemHigh]

I suspect the media are printing what the administration is asking them to print to shore up support for an attack on Iraq. The article says:

"The conclusion was that, that was his voice, but the timing of when the recording was made is not clear,"

He talks about the Bali night club explosion in the tape, if real, they pretty much know when it was made. If the statement above means they think the tape was cobbled together from old recordings, it must be a forgery. Why forge tapes from a guy who isn't dead? OBL has left the building.

[jrlc]

Good plan -- raise OBL from the dead every time we get ready to ice another Islamonazi -- ON TO BAGHDAD. LET'S ROLL !!!

[ChadGore]

Re:"Osama bin Laden is alive, and on the ground the hunt for him goes on as it did on the very first day," Mr. Noble told Le Figaro.

This guy runs INTERPOL ! I wouldn't expect any other answer from a guy with his responsibilities.

[No Truce With Kings]

Even if it is Osama's voice, how do we know it was recorded this year, and not a collection of bits and pieces of his other speeches spliced together to form a "new" message?

[Miss Marple]

I would like to point out that the head of Interpol was nominated by the Clintons. He is an American FOB, so I am not quite as trusting of his word as I might be if he were Inspector Clouseau.

[steve-b]

Nowhere in this story does it say that U.S. officials made a 100% voice match on the tape. As a matter of fact they (whoever they is) are not ready "to state definitively that the tape was genuine".

It may already be fundamentally impossible to definitively determine whether a given audio tape of middling fidelity is authentic. Once the state of the art advances to the point where the errors sink below the noise level, the information simply isn't there.

Video will become equally unreliable before long, but isn't quite there yet (the amount of information in a video image is a lot higher, so more processing and better technique is required to get the artifacts below the noise level).

Personally, I wouldn't be surprised to hear the feds announce this conclusion whether it's true or not -- it puts the ball in the incest goblin's court (if he is indeed alive) to release a video (and risk giving away clues and/or showing his minions just how badly being on the lam has disagreed with him over the past year).

[Musket]

They will never be able to authenticate this tape. Never. It is impossible to positively authenticate a voice on an audio tape. Impossible.

[Gary Boldwater]

If you play the tape backwards it clearly comes out as Carville's rantings.

[William McKinley]

So wait a minute. What about all the conspiracy theorists who were saying that Bush was keeping the WOT frontline for political reasons? Are they now going to suggest that Bin Laden held off on releasing this tape until after the election?

These are serious times, and the reflexive passifist/appeasement left is no longer worthy of being taken seriously.

[uncbob]

So how come all those doctored videos ?
So how come not a video this time ?
I don't believe it

[Wonder Warthog]

"Then later in the piece the only bubblehead that is sure is a guy from Interpol. Last time I checked Interpol was a British agency."

Nope--Interpol is an international police agency. And Ron Noble is an ex-Clintonite. I "think" he was head of the BATF during Waco.

[MeekOneGOP]

Well.....he either alive - in which case we WILL get him or...

......he is DEAD, in which case we have already got him.

And I think the point is well made: why the AUDIO tapes instead of a VIDEO tape? I think he's dead, and will until he rears his head to show us he's still alive.

He's hurtin', for certain ! :O)

[concerned about politics]

A former CIA agent was interviewed on Fox this a.m., and he said if we did kill Bin Ladin, it wouldn't be wise to admit it just yet.
It would be like telling the terrorists we just killed their foot ball coach and they'd rally together. He'd be their martyr.
He said if we haven't killed him, we still should keep it a priority because without the coach, there will be chaos. Even a replacement coach wouldn't be near as good as Bin Ladin.

[steveegg]

Whether Osama is tending to or pushing up poppies, he isn't doing a lot of leading.

[Delbert]

He is in Pakistan, jump the fence and Kill Him. If Muscharraf (sp?) is really fighting terrorism as he says he is, he will bring him in. Although to do so will really fan the Religion of Peace flames in Pakistan. Religion of Peace my ASS! Set all of them on fire, before they do the same to us. Because to think that this is not a war against Islam is insane.