[1325] in peace2
Re: The Bin Laden Tape
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Jan Outcalt)
Fri Dec 14 11:31:47 2001
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Date: Fri, 14 Dec 2001 11:31:41 -0500
To: Rhett Creighton <rhett@mit.edu>
From: Jan Outcalt <jano@MIT.EDU>
Cc: peace-list@mit.edu
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I think this tape is a fake.
As I was watching it last night, I kept thinking, "Is this really Bin
Laden?" It doesn't exactly look like him, at least not in recent
days. He looks far more robust and healthy. In his recent video
statements, he looks a lot thinner and more frail.
Then I heard that in the middle east, most people think the tape is a
fake also (ABC actually aired this view, amazingly enough!). The
Al-Jazeera anchor man called for the US to turn the tape over to an
international crime lab to have it thoroughly analyzed for
authenticity. He asked why it took so long to publicize this, and
why it seems Bin Laden's voice is consistently garbled in the tape,
where the other voices are quite clear.
As it was shown and reshown, I watched his lips and it really seems
to me that it is poorly synchronized. Sometimes his lips are not
moving but words are coming out.
I also found the dialogue extremely wooden (or at least the "US
government translation" of it) and unbelievable. "Atta was in charge.
No one knew." Blah blah blah. It seemed to me like a script of what
"needed" to be said to *once and for all* point the finger at this
person who, yes, does have a name that is easier to pronounce than
many others.
I think somehow "they" got hold of an old home video and doctored it.
I also think the plan in the near future is to find and summarily
execute this person without trial, so this tape will make most
Americans cheer as opposed to question or protest this approach.
Maybe the powers at be really want to move on to other killing
fields, such as Iraq, and they need to tie up loose ends to do so.
Jan
>First, I haven't actually watched it. Since I don't know Arabic, I don't
>think it would do me much good. But, what they say about the tape is:
>
>Bin Laden is shown praising the attacks, and saying he was surprised it
>killed so many.
>
>Before this tape, news sources said that Bin Laden denied involvment in
>the attacks, but approved of them.
>
>Can someone explain to me:
>
>How this tape says something that he didn't admit to outright?
>
>How this is evidence of his involvemnt?
>
>Why 83% (last time I checked) of a cnn.com poll thinks he should be
>executed?
>
>
>It's my opinion (not exclusively) that the media just needs to make
>everything like a movie with a lone mastermind that america can kill to
>put 83% of its citizens at ease. I think that we decided to single out
>bin laden because his name is among the easiest to pronounce of the known
>terrorists. I'm guessing that they've already captured some arab guy and
>had plastic surgons make him look like bin laden. Now they're just
>working out a really satisfying movie-like-execution for the scapegoat.
>
>Hi ho!
>Rhett
