Freddie Kreuger...
Posted on 05/19/2002 5:58:42 AM PDT by blam
Newspaper Says It Has Bin Laden Video Filmed in March Sun May 19, 7:14 AM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Sunday Times newspaper said it had obtained a previously unseen video of Osama bin Laden (news - web sites), including footage of the Saudi-born militant that his supporters said was filmed just two months ago.
If genuine, the film would provide the first proof that bin Laden survived the U.S.-led onslaught on his militant al Qaeda network and Afghanistan (news - web sites)'s former Taliban rulers after the Sept.11 suicide attacks in the United States.
The paper said a transcript of bin Laden's comments did not provide enough clues to date it. It published a picture from the video showing a gaunt bin Laden wearing a camouflage jacket and seated outside on what it said appeared to be a spring evening.
It said the film was obtained by an Islamic news agency in Birmingham, central England. The agency said one of its journalists received it from a Pakistani official who said it was filmed in March.
The tape arrived in Britain on an encrypted CD-ROM and was decoded last week, the paper said.
"Concerning the situation that we are in, we must praise Allah that he has allowed us to follow the path of (men who are among) the best of creation," the paper quoted bin Laden, Washington's chief suspect for the suicide plane attacks in the United States, as saying in the footage.
The paper said another clip in the 40-minute film featured an interview with bin Laden carried out by a reporter from the Arab satellite news network al-Jazeera.
It said bin Laden warned that any country that sided with Israel or the United States would be an al Qaeda target.
Referring to comments by one of his aides specifically targeting Britain and the United States, bin Laden said: "This war is not confined to them."
Filmed by al Qaeda cameramen in October, the interview had not been broadcast by al-Jazeera because executives felt the channel had not had sufficient control over the interview, the Sunday Times said.
This bastard is one of the most resourceful enemies the free world's ever known.
I just cannot understand why our side seem unable to nail him once and for all.
Bin Laden film vows revenge on the UK
Dipesh Gadher
AN ENCRYPTED video containing previously unseen footage of Osama Bin Laden singling out Britain as a terrorist target has been obtained by The Sunday Times.
The 40-minute propaganda film includes an interview with the Al-Qaeda leader, recorded after the start of the West's offensive in Afghanistan, in which he compares the conflict with the medieval crusade led by Richard the Lion-Heart.
Another short section shows the terrorist warlord speaking about martyrdom against the backdrop of a fertile plain and hills that his supporters claim, was filmed just eight weeks ago. If true, it would provide the first evidence that Bin Laden survived the recent allied attacks on the Tora Bora mountain complex in Afghanistan.
The film's existence is revealed as US intelligence agencies report a number of communications among Al-Qaeda members that suggest the organisation is plotting to carry out an operation at least as big as the September 11 attacks.
Debbie Weierman, an FBI spokesman, said last night that the agencies had received "non-specific" information that Al-Qaeda could be planning to rent a flat and pack it with explosives. She said that FBI offices and local apartment managers around the country had been alerted.
Last Friday a London-based Arabic newspaper claimed that Mullah Omar, the former Taliban leader, whose whereabouts are also unknown, had confirmed in an interview that Bin Laden was still alive.
According to a Birmingham-based Islamic news agency, which obtained the film of Bin Laden, it was passed to one of its journalists by a Pakistani intelligence official who said the "new" segment had been filmed in March.
The tape arrived in Britain on an encrypted CD-Rom and was decoded by the agency last week. The "new" footage shows Bin Laden sitting under a tree outside a stone building on what appears to be a pleasant spring evening, wearing a camouflage jacket and an Afghan pakul hat. He is filmed discussing jihad and martyrdom with several armed henchmen.
In the sequence Bin Laden appears more gaunt than in previous footage and his delivery lacks some of the zeal of previous broadcasts.
"Concerning the situation that we are in, we must praise Allah that he has allowed us to follow the path of [men who are among] the best of creation," he says. Quoting from an Islamic scripture, Bin Laden adds: "I wish that I would go to jihad and die."
Whitehall sources, who have yet to view the film, said the transcript did not provide enough clues to date it. Other experts were sceptical that Bin Laden was still alive, believing Al-Qaeda would have publicised his survival more directly.
The film is interspersed with images of the attacks on the World Trade Center and footage of western leaders meeting their Middle Eastern counterparts. One clip shows Tony Blair being greeted by Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. The film also includes a lengthy tribute to Al-Qaeda men allegedly killed in action.
The opening sequence, however, is likely to be of greatest interest to the British authorities. It features an interview with Bin Laden carried out by a reporter from Al-Jazeera, the Qatar-based television station.
Filmed by Al-Qaeda cameramen last October, it has not been broadcast to date because Al-Jazeera executives judged that they had not had sufficient control over the interview.
Bin Laden makes it clear that any country siding with Israel and America is a target for Islamic terrorists. "The war is between us and the Jews," he says. "Any country that steps into the same trench as the Jews has only herself to blame."
Referring to an earlier warning made by Sheikh Sulaiman Abu Gaith, a spokesman for Al-Qaeda, Bin Laden adds that if the sheikh "specifically targeted Britain and America — this war is not confined to them — it served as an opportunity for other nations to revise their stance".
He then proceeds to draw parallels between the war on terror and the crusades of the 12th and 13th centuries. "This war is similar to the previous crusades, led by Richard the Lion-Heart, [King Frederick] Barbarossa of Germany and Louis [IX] of France. In the present age, they rally behind [George] Bush," he says.
Shortly after becoming king of England in 1189, Richard I set out on the third crusade and in 1191 captured Acre, in what is now Israel. His most notorious act was ordering the execution of 2,700 Muslim prisoners.
Another part of the film features images of several Al-Qaeda "martyrs" believed to have been killed in fighting in Kandahar.
Intelligence officials in Washington who have intercepted Al-Qaeda communications say they have increased in the past month and relate to a possible attack in Europe, the Arabian peninsula or America. Some information has come from interviews with fighters captured in Afghanistan.
This actually might be an indication that the tape is recent. There was very little, if anything, about Israel in the al Qaeda blather until well after Sept 11.
ML/NJ
I am having a difficult time believing that this guy is still around -- could be, but I remain skeptical.
Richard W.
Back in the early 1980's, I spent a year and a half in the lovely Woomera warmth and sunshine. I love Australia!
This bastard is one of the most resourceful enemies the free world's ever known.
I just cannot understand why our side seem unable to nail him once and for all.
If he is one of the most resourceful, then maybe that answers your question as to why we haven't nailed him yet, no? ;-)
I still hold that he is rotting parts somewhere in the mountains, however.
I agree.
If he is alive, it's obvious that he doesn't want to prove it by, for example, being photographed with a recent copy of the NY Times. But I do see the comment about Israel being somewhat anachronistic if OBL is alive and wants to keep people guessing.
ML/NJ
Freddie Kreuger...
I'm sure they're a completely reliable source.
did not provide enough clues to date it.
OK, so lets go on to
appeared to be a spring evening
Were there spring seasons in 2001, 2000, 1999, etc?
Pakistani official who said it was filmed in March.
Is the paper saying, that the "his supporters" above is in fact a "Pakistani official"?
This certainly qualifies for the first "Elvis Bin Laden" award for today.
I used to think that the huge reward money would get him turned in. But I've read reports that Afghanies and other muslims didn't believe the reward was real. It was too big for them to believe it.
This actually might be an indication that the tape is recent. There was very little, if anything, about Israel in the al Qaeda blather until well after Sept 11.
That struck me also. Supposedly, bin Laden's original gripe was having American troops stationed in Saudi Arabia, land of Mecca and all that.
My guesses are that he want's to create uncertainty, and he want's to reinforce the loyal who will buy it hook line and sinker, without provoking a full response from the US.
Now that doesn't mean I think the film is legit. It might be that either it was filmed LAST March, or that steps were taken to just make it look like it was filmed in the spring back when he was still alive. I wouldn't be surprised if he made several videos specificly for the purpose of letting them out after he was dead to keep his death uncertain. He could make several different versions and/or edit them to include/exclude items (like the Isreal comments) that might indicate it's current without giving specific details
10 posted on 5/19/02 9:30 AM Eastern by Geronimo
Even more astonishing to me is why we're not able to nail Mullah Omar. We had him and if you remember Hamid Karzai said that he could live in Afghanistan ... now in this last week he's come out again making threats.
Yup, I agree. No-one is saying that Omar is dead, so....why haven't we gotten him. Everyone keeps saying that if Osama was alive, we'd have him. Okay, so, get Omar then!
he is dead...............
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.