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Thread #21: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1268023/posts |
Posted on 10/12/2004 8:58:00 PM PDT by nwctwx
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As I have suspected before (Christmas season) I suspect now that there is a higher covert threat level in effect. There is no need to go public with it.
ben Afleck?
Well ATS is known to investigate and reveal hoaxes
You're welcome Palladin, but as you know, it's a team effort here.
I'm with you DL, I have never had this much anxiety about a re-relection
its like a UBL being puppeteered
Yep. That story sure is interesting.
The fact that the as Sahab logo is on both tapes was mentioned in at least one article I posted earlier, here you can see it on the lower left corner of the UBL video. It seems to me if anyone wants to question the authenticity of the first video they should also question the UBL video. |
Well, anyone can steal a logo.
Obviously, but to say it is not real because it is not grainy would be a miscalculation. As far as I know the feds have authenticated the fact that it came from al Qaida, they just do not know who is speaking.
It may not be 'real,' but I wouldn't count on that being a fact.
Raising the alert level without more specific information would help AQ more than it would help us.
The feds have been warning for many months about election-related threats, certain areas (NYC, NJ, DC named and others possibly unnamed) were put on selective orange in August, bulletins on specific issues have been going out weekly to something like 25,000 state and local law enforcement agencies and first responders, and the tapes themselves have forced up the general awareness level of the overall population.
AQ (and perhaps an accomplice or two) is trying to insert itself into our election process. They achieve more PR with each additional minute of the tapes aired (more juicy threats and quotes). Therefore, the effort to suppress as much of it as possible. Don't think of it as a First Amendment issue, but an attempt to quarantine an enemy disinformation/deception/destabilization effort (enemy psyops).
Putting us on orange (the rest of the nation not already quietly there either de facto or de jure) buys us only marginal increased security at the cost of handing AQ at least a partial victory (succeeding in altering the national election environment 72 hours out by making the "October Surprise" the sudden elevation of AQ and its issues as the central and final issue in a 50-50 national election.)
The cost does not outweigh the benefit.
If more specific information is generated, then the benefit of rattling the entire nation's cage on the eve of the election by going to orange and setting off a firestorm of debate over which side is politicizing the issue *might* outweigh the cost if the information that can be disseminated is of enough value.
Otherwise, the folks that need to know about the threat already know and don't need to be reminded, and the average John and Jane Doe already have threat fatigue and stopped paying attention to the color codes long ago and have made them a national joke (are we at "Elmo", "Ernie" or "Bert"?) . You would have to disseminate specific information with the elevation to orange (like the info on NYC/NJ/DC financial targets in August with the selective elevation) for it to be to be taken seriously and therefore for it to be effective.
Without that specific information, going to orange will only advance the strategic objectives of al Qaeda while adding little to overall security.
"As she walked away i said loud enough for her to hear "i stubbed my toe! Someone get of a purple heart request!" she seemed pissed."
Smiling....
It may not be 'real,' but I wouldn't count on that being a fact.
I see what you're saying ... but the video methods are so different. Azzam looks like he's in a studio - a tape so different from the others; OBL looks like he's hiding in a bunker. It just strikes me as odd - but by no means am I discounting Azzam's tape.
I'll repeat my new mantra: Death to all terrorists!!
In the tape, bin Ladens first videotaped comments in three years, he lacks any of his usual trappings of warfare, including camouflage clothing, a dagger or a rifle, according to a U.S. officials familiar with the entire tape.
These experts say bin Laden appears to be intensifying his campaign to re-brand himself in the minds of Muslims worldwide, and become known more as a political voice than a global terrorist.
B.S.!!
ONCE A GLOBAL TERRORIST, ALWAYS A GLOBAL TERRORIST!
In some ways the tone of the message is as intriguing, and alarming, as the timing, said a U.S. official familiar with the tape, and the U.S. intelligence communitys analysis of it. The absence of an explicit threat does represent a different point of emphasis for this guy.
Is he still an enemy? Absolutely. Is he still focused on terrorism? Yes, continued the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the tape. But the tone of this is something were looking at very closely to see where this guy is placing his emphasis.
I cannot recall where I came across the article or posting or whatever it was, but I believe someone today published an account of their take on why we saw the Azzam video and then the UBL video.
It was a very interesting and plausible-sounding take. Do you recall seeing such an account? I do not remember if it was on a hunting website or from a newspaper. LOL, maybe it was from FR.
While some articles that I read questioned al qaeda and tossed this up to a miscue or lack of coordination, the other, interesting account I read -- and which I will try to locate -- offered a rationale for the 2 videos.
It was something about the Azzam video signalling to us that al qaeda is here within the U.S. and ready, and then the UBL video setting out the political justifications for a hit and putting us on notice of a possible hit if our pro-Israel politics do not change.
"So ... the next dot would be if we got a third tape."
I don't think there will be another tape before a hit. If they can assassinate any big cheese they will, but even that might not occur prior to a major hit. The job now is to snag them before they can assassinate and snag them before they can trigger anything. We are down to hours, a day or two at most.
What if Azzam and the other al qaeda cell members -- made up of American whitebreads and ME illegals -- are here within the U.S.? What if the tape was produced inside a studio? What if they are awaiting the hit?
These are all just what-ifs, of course.
that's a possibility. of course, ABC says it got the tape from someone in Pakistan ... either it was produced there or it was sent to them in Pakistan (possibly from the U.S.). Look what Brown can do for you! :-)
"The more I looked at it today the more I kept seeing George Costanza. Now, everytime I look
at the pic that is who I see. Don't tell me that is who you are thinking of."
No soup for you! %^)
Exactly! It may not have any validity, but we should not rule it out.
Remember when one of the first Iraq beheading videos originated at some point from England? Items move around. We sure know the video and audio tapes do.
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