Yet Another Bin Laden Video for 9-11 Anniversary
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James Joyner | Tuesday, September 11, 2007 |
As everyone is by now aware, today is the sixth anniversary of the biggest terrorist attacks ever on American soil. Their inspiration, Osama bin Laden, has issued a video celebrating his achievement.
Osama bin Laden urged sympathizers to join the ”caravan” of martyrs as he praised one of the Sept. 11 suicide hijackers in a new video that emerged Tuesday to mark the sixth anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
Al-Qaida traditionally issues a video every year on the anniversary, with the last testament of one of the 19 hijackers involved in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. This year’s video showed hijacker Waleed al-Shehri addressing the camera and warning the U.S.: ”We shall come at you from your front and back, your right and left.”
The new message came days after the world got its first current look at bin Laden in nearly three years, with the release of a video Saturday in which the terror leader addressed the American people.
The latest videotape, of the hijacker’s testament, had not yet been posted on extremist Web sites. But IntelCenter, a monitoring group in suburban Washington, said it had obtained the 47-minute video and provided it to AP Television News.
It begins with an audiotape introduction by bin Laden. While his voice is heard, the video shows a still image of him, raising his finger. In the image, bin Laden has the same dyed-black beard and the same clothes — a white robe and cap and beige cloak — that he had in Saturday’s video. But it was not known if the audiotape was recently made. In the past, al-Qaida has used footage and audio of bin Laden taped long ago for release later.
Other than as a curiosity, it really doesn’t matter. Whether Osama is dead or alive or the tape is new or old, Islamist terrorists are out there plotting attacks on Americans. Our forces in Iraq and Afghanistan are in daily battle with them.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia.
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I agree with you, James, but it can't have escaped you that there are quite a few Americans who feel otherwise. For them the War on Terror is the War On Al Qaeda or even the War On Bin Laden. I'd welcome their serious explanation for their positions but when I ask the question I'm generally responded to with scorn and derision.
No, fair enough. Obviously, there's a personalization of bin Laden. It's just worth keeping things in perspective.
To many the point that Bin Laden is still free is just a symbol of this administration failures.
I'd welcome their serious explanation for their positions but when I ask the question I'm generally responded to with scorn and derision.
Because we bring people to justice who kill Americans. At least, we used to.
The position that bin Laden just isn't such a big deal and we just need to focus on terrorism in general is insane. Golly gee, why did we go after Capone?
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