New Bin Laden Video on 9-11
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James Joyner | Thursday, September 6, 2007 |
Islamist websites are touting a new Osama bin Laden video — which would be the first in nearly three years — to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the 9-11 attacks.
AP:
Terror mastermind Osama bin Laden plans a new video to be released in the coming days ahead of the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, his first new message in more than a year, al-Qaida’s media arm announced Thursday.
The announcement appeared on an Islamic militant Web site, showing a still photo from the video showing of bin Laden addressing the camera, his pointed finger raised upward. His beard, which in previous messages had been streaked with gray, was entirely dark. “Soon, God willing, a videotape from the lion sheik Osama bin Laden, God preserve him,” the banner advertisement read, signed by Al-Sahab, the terror network’s media arm. Al-Sahab usually puts out such announcements one to three days before the video is posted on the Web.
If the message is actually a video of bin Laden, it would be the first new footage of him since a video released on Oct. 29, 2004, just before the U.S. presidential elections, in which bin Laden said America could avoid another 9-11 style attack if it stopped threatening Muslims. Since then, there were a number of audiotape messages from bin Laden, but the last came in July 2006, when he praised the slain al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and welcomed his successor.
ABC News reports that the site in question is “” and that “Federal law enforcement authorities say that another Web site had posted a message on Sept. 2, promising ‘a special gift to be delivered on the blessed day of the invasion of Manhattan.’”
Fox has a “developing story” about Islamist promises of a “Special Gift” coming the same day.
Rusty Shackleford has extensive coverage, including numerous screencaps and links to various al Qaeda websites. He thinks it’s pretty serious:
I’m listening to the audio now. Starts out with sirens, gunshots, and panicked people screaming. There is a voice over in Arabic. Very menacing. Not at all like the usual. There’s shouting and screaming, and gunshots. Very different than most of these types of audios which are usually calm sermons with nasheeds (music) in the background.
No bin Laden audio, but towards the end of the audio is a nasheed praising Osama bin Laden. Then gunshots. Then it ends. Scary.
Sounds threatening to me. And considering that I monitor a lot of this stuff, if I even think its scary, then I think that’s saying something. It may not be a direct specific threat about an impending attack, but it is a general threat. And it reminds us of exactly who it is we’re fighting.
Michelle Malkin and AllahPundit have various Grecian Formula and botox jokes about OBL’s appearance.
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 with his wife and infant daughter.
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I heard the new Bin Laden video was actually going to be written by the White House . . .
Judging just from the screen capture above it sure looks like this may be old footage regurgitated by As Sahab. I've watched hundreds of hours of AQ videos (part of my job not because I enjoy it) and I think I've seen footage very similar to this.
If this is in fact regurgitated footage it will convince me that bin Laden is indeed dead (inshallah).
You gotta be kidding me. Do you really take this garbage seriously? "Al-Qaida's media arm" announced a new video coming out soon?
Puleeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaase!
Do you honestly think we buy this crap anymore?
The two Arabs in the photos look nothing alike.
Maybe someone should buy "Al-Qaida's media arm" a disposable digital camera...they're like 7.00 at Wal-Mart - and ask them to stop resizing their images down to 90% of the original size.
The "special gift" referenced probably was the just foiled attack in Germany being planned. That the first post came on 2 Sept, prior to the arrests, seem to support this. I have believe for awhile Bin Laden is dead since most of the real talking is being done by Al-Zawahiri. This "new" picture sure doesn't look kosher. Seriously, can't AQ get some better quality cameras?
DCL, I hear ya, but before the 2004 video, we had the same "Osama is dead" talk.
He may *be* dead -- couldn't happen to a nicer guy -- but I think security interests may play a part in how few tapes he makes.
Please man , now bin Laden has a manicurist and a hairstylist. The guy's weight has been going up and down since 2001. Oh and wasnt he on kidney dialysis in 2001. First time in my life I see a video where someone is in a still position but does a whole lot of talking. Switch off the TV and read puppets.
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