Posted on 10/28/2004 1:48:01 PM PDT by handy
Edited on 10/28/2004 2:16:36 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX THU OCT 28, 2004 17:02:35 ET XXXXX
TERROR TAPE WARN OF BUSH, CHENEY CONSEQUENCE; ABC WITHHELD PORTIONS FROM CIA
**Exclusive**
ABCNEWS withheld portions of an alarming new al Qaeda videotape which warns the next terror attack will dwarf 9/11 from the CIA when they submitted the video for analysis, a top federal source tells the DRUDGE REPORT.
The CIA and FBI late Wednesday authenticated the tape, federal sources tell DRUDGE. ABCNEWS has been informed of the government's standing.
"What took place on September 11 was but the opening salvo of the global war on America and that our Lord willing, the magnitude and ferocity of what is coming your way will make you forget all about September 11," the man, whose face is covered by a headdress, warns in the video. "After decades of American tyranny, now it's your turn to die."
ABCNEWS submitted portions of the video threat to the FBI and CIA on Monday for analysis, top government sources tell DRUDGE, after obtaining the tape from a source in Pakistan.
A top goverment source said from Washington that ABC withheld the final 15 minutes of the tape from the CIA -- the portion of the tape where the man warns of retribution for Americans electing Bush and Cheney.
MORE
"You are guilty, guilty, guilty. You're as guilty as Bush and Cheney. You're as guilty as Rumsfeld and Ashcroft and Powell...," the man states.
He goes on to warn of an upcoming horror: "The streets will run with blood," and "America will mourn in silence" because they will be unable to count the number of the dead.
"People of America, that was the verdict now for the sentencing: as participants and partners in the crimes of the regime, you too shall pay the price for the blood that has been spilled."
One ABC source, who demanded anonymity, said Thursday morning, the network was struggling to find a correct journalistic "balance" before airing any story on the video.
"This is not something you just throw out there while people are voting," the ABC source explained.
They should be prosecuted for this little stunt anyway. Are any of us really surprised that, at the very least, a threat would be made?
You're surprised the terrorists have adopted the DNC's talking points just before an election?
Think it through. It makes perfect sense that they would do this.
Sorry I am so slow tonight.
I hope someone can through to Sean!! This stuff is getting deep!
That's not slow, SheLion. It's just trying to keep up on multiple threads and a gazillion posts. LOL
Thank goodness for FR, FNC and talk radio. It was a different world when we lived in CT until six years ago and didn't have any of those things.
This is treason, flat-out.
This boggles the mind. Since when do you not turn over the original material to the government when it asks for it? I am not particularly surprised by ABC's behavior. But I'm very surprised that the US Justice Dept didn't flex its muscles over this issue.
Didn't take long! They knows theys in deep dooodooo!
Hmmm... think about it...
Maybe this tape is the terrorists way of attacking - without even using bombs - their attempt at controlling/affecting the outcome of the election... hmmm...
If that's the case, I think it will backfire for them.
GWBs going to win by a landslide.
Is the complete transcript on the net somewhere? In my opinion, too many people know about this for it not to be.
These attacks on GW are being coordinated at a central point, good money might point to ABC Halperin's Daddy, who is the major American player for $oreA$$ to defeat GW.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$SOROS$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Alleged Terror Tape Gives ABC Pause
News Division Delays Airing Video as FBI, CIA Evaluate
By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, October 28, 2004; Page C01
It has all the makings of an incendiary story: a chilling pre-election videotape featuring a supposed member of al Qaeda, declaring in English that "blood will run red in the streets of America."
The problem, say ABC News executives, is that they can't determine whether the tape, obtained by a producer, involves a real threat -- or even the identity of the figure on it, a man wearing an ammunition belt and a headdress that obscures his face. The network enlisted the aid of the FBI and CIA but still can't authenticate the 75-minute videotape.
"We're not quite there to broadcast something that would be quite frightening," investigative reporter Brian Ross said yesterday. "I'd love to have the exclusive, but first we'd like to get it right."
ABC was put in the awkward position of defending its insistence on fully checking out the story after the Drudge Report posted a huge online headline: "ABC News Holds Terror Warning Tape."
A network producer obtained the tape over the weekend from an intermediary in Pakistan -- who charged a $500 transportation fee -- and ABC's New York headquarters got a feed of the video Monday, network executives said. They said they sent copies to the FBI and CIA, which have been unable to identify the speaker -- who says he is an American and is brandishing automatic weapons -- after comparing his voice to those of known terrorists. ABC hired two linguists who concluded that English was not the speaker's native tongue. For example, he cited the country of Yemen as "the Yemen."
"The dilemma is that we have an individual identified only as 'Assam the American' -- we have no idea who that is," said Christopher Isham, ABC's chief of investigative projects. The unidentified man addresses his threats to "my fellow countrymen."
In weighing the evidence, ABC staffers are mindful of the problem at CBS News, which has apologized for rushing on the air with disputed documents about President Bush's National Guard service.
Ross and other ABC staffers say they believe that a Bush administration official leaked the story to Internet gossip Matt Drudge as a way of pressuring the network into airing the tape, which would heighten concerns about terrorism in the final week of the president's reelection campaign. They note that whoever gave the information to Drudge had a transcript of the tape.
One counterterrorism official said the tape shows the man "just ranting and raving." Another federal official with knowledge of the matter said that government agencies are pleased that ABC shared the tape and relieved that the network is not airing it while the video is still being evaluated. The CIA is examining the tape virtually day and night, this person said.
The officials, who declined to be identified because the administration is not commenting on the matter, say investigators do not believe the man on the tape is Adam Gadahn, a California-born Muslim convert identified by the FBI in May as an al Qaeda member wanted for questioning.
A U.S. intelligence official said it is possible the tape was produced by an al Qaeda unit called Sahab Production Committee because the video bears the committee's recognizable logo and has been edited and spliced. The official called it "classic al Qaeda propaganda" and said the man on the tape even brings up the issue of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts.
The debate may not be over. The officials say a source with access to the tape, apparently impatient with ABC, has offered it to another broadcast news organization, which has called the government for guidance.
Drudge said yesterday that a political motivation behind the leak was "possible," but put the onus on ABC. "They haven't authenticated previous al Qaeda tapes before airing them," he said. "Why are they waiting to authenticate this? It's election week."
But Isham noted that previous videotapes featured Osama bin Laden or other al Qaeda leaders who could be verified by sight.
"It's either a well-done hoax or a tremendous news story," Ross said. "We're not going to get stampeded."
Maybe the tape came from a Kinkos in Texas.
Sorry I am so slow tonight, af_vet.
Thanks for the words of comfort. It's easy to get tipped over in times like these.
Big Hugs!
Good find! Notice how they come on here in pairs or more recently!
And you wonder why the nation is divided????....MSM...nuff said
THIS TAPE IS A HOAX...TO GET JOHN KERRY ELECTED. I do not believe this is from the terrorists at all, but some demented democrat. Remember the guy in San Francisco who made a tape of being kidnapped and it was a hoax...that is what this is....nothing but an election ploy to get people to NOT vote for President Bush. I do not buy it for one second, it smells.
Thx for that hilarious pic, GrampaDave!!
Gee, wonder if Petey will mention this on their network news tonight?
This is not going away. The media is going to get a pounding this weekend. All of their October Surprises are blowing up in their faces, because of the Internet, Karl Rove and a lot of pajama-clad warriors.
When we win next week, I am going to dance on the grave of the MSM.
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