Actually, wasn't today the official Al Jazeera release date?
Despite public pressure, Al-Jazeera to air Al-Qaeda tape
AP
Dubai, April 17
"We will go ahead and air the tape. I've received many phone calls, faxes and e-mails asking me not to broadcast it, but its a reaction I expected," Ibrahim Hilal, chief editor of Qatar-based Al-Jazeera, said in a telephone interview.
Al-Jazeera has since Monday been previewing excerpts of the tape, which includes threats against the United States from a man identified as one of the September 11 hijackers and bin Laden top deputy proclaiming the terror attacks a "great victory". The station planned to broadcast the entire tape on Thursday.
Al-Jazeera has said the tape was the "first evidence linking bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda network to the attacks on New York and Washington".
Hilal said the criticism he has faced over the tape showed the Arab public was the victim of years of state-run media and that the grip on information must be broken.
"Do I have the right to hold back a tape because I don't like it? We should not bury our heads in the sand," Hilal said.
Hilal said the new details revealed in the tape, including the suspected hijacker's confession, dictated the tape should be aired.
He described the tape as "highly emotional, filled with footage from Palestine, with Palestinians being killed by Israelis".
The tape, titled "the wills of the martyrs of the raids on Washington and New York," and includes pictures of the 19 hijackers.
Hilal said the hour-long tape was clearly made in a production house. He said the video was hand delivered to the station's Qatar offices a week ago, but did not know when it was made.
Al-Jazeera has since Monday been previewing excerpts of the tape, which includes threats against the United States from a man identified as one of the September 11 hijackers and bin Laden top deputy proclaiming the terror attacks a "great victory". The station planned to broadcast the entire tape on Thursday.
Wow, you are right! What a coincidence, eh????