Your browser may have trouble rendering this page. See supported browsers for more information.

|<<>>|647 of 714 Show listMobile Mode

Arabic is hard

Published by marco on

Updated by marco on

Incriminating Video Tape

The New York Newsday reports in Tape Erases Doubt that the U.S. Government has another video which really proves that Osama (Usama) did it.

“Vice President Dick Cheney confirmed the tape’s existence, saying it provides clear proof that bin Laden was behind the attacks … Senior Bush administration officials are debating whether to release the 40-minute videotape, which The Washington Post reported was discovered during a search of a private home in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. … “We have not been eager to give the guy any extra television time,” Cheney said”

So now it would be nice to see this tape and to see a translation of the transcript, right? Because so far, we have several tapes in circulation, but no hard evidence has been shown to the public, ostensibly to protect informants. So, why tell us they have a tape that proves everything, then withhold it? Maybe they don’t have it. Maybe it isn’t as conclusive as it needs to be. Maybe just saying you have it is enough for an administration that has already convicted without evidence and is just looking to spin it right for the remaining unconvinced minority. However, to that minority who would like to see the tape, there is this response:

“Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz expressed irritation that anyone would doubt bin Laden’s guilt. “I don’t know what it takes to convince some people,” he said on “Late Edition.” “We had absolutely clear-cut evidence before that tape turned up.””

Applying our newly-honed propaganda skills here, we should discount all reports of the tape until it is made available to objective parties (that would be anyone who isn’t one side of the war, as far as I’m concerned). Dick Cheney assuring us that the tape is the final proof just isn’t enough for me.

Other Tapes and Interviews

To recap the video evidence (and transcripts) in the public domain, we have the November 7th interview by Hamid Mir as reported by Dawn in Osama claims he has nukes…. The interview does indeed contain the sentence “I wish to declare that if America used chemical or nuclear weapons against us, then we may retort with chemical and nuclear weapons. We have the weapons as deterrent.”

However, the Telegraph reports in Bin Laden: Yes, I did it that Osama confessed to the WTC attack. That article is dated from 11/1½001, but talks of a “previously undisclosed video which has been circulating for 14 days” instead of the interview that occurred 4 days prior, but the accompanying picture is of Hamid Mir and Osama bin Laden, presumably to give the indication that the latest interview contains an admission of guilt.

Since the interview at Dawn does not contain many, if not all of the quotes from the Telegraph, we can only assume that the Telegraph is quoting from a different, unreleased tape. So, until that tape is released, we can’t really assume that Osama has confessed and should put news of that tape into the same pile as Mr. Cheney’s tape.

An Actual Interview

The BBC Monitoring Service has provided a translation of a September 28th interview (available at Khilafah.com or the Vanguard News Network) in which Osama blamed everyone else possible:

“…[he] has said that he or his al-Qa’idah group has nothing to do with the 11 September suicidal attacks in Washington and New York. He said the US government should find the attackers within the country. … he said these attacks could be the act of those who are part of the American system and are rebelling against it and working for some other system. Or, Usamah said, this could be the act of those who want to make the current century a century of conflict between Islam and Christianity. … Or, the American Jews, who are opposed to President Bush ever since the Florida elections, might be the masterminds of this act. There is also a great possibility of the involvement of US intelligence agencies, which need billions of dollars worth of funds every year. He said there is a government within the government in the United States. The secret agencies, he said, should be asked as to who are behind the attacks.”

Sure, he’s a religious zealot who meanders all over the place, alternately saying “I have already said that we are not hostile to the United States. We are against the system, which makes other nations slaves of the United States, or forces them to mortgage their political and economic freedom.” and “Believe it, through jihad, a man gets everything he desires. And the biggest desire of a Muslim is the after life. Martyrdom is the shortest way of attaining an eternal life.” and talking always of jihad and infidels, and he’s confessed to or claimed responsibility for other bombings.

But he has not yet confessed to the WTC bombing, as far as I can tell. Maybe the administration will release the tape they speak of, but until they do, we have to act as if it, too, doesn’t exist and a confession and conclusive evidence is still out of reach. Just because you want to convict him so that it all makes sense doesn’t mean you don’t have the responsibility to maintain standards of proof. It’s tough being civilized.

Comments

#1

marco

CNN reports that Audio problems delay release of bin Laden tape.

*Hushed, Stunned Silence*

<q>Four nongovernmental translators worked on the tape Wednesday to try to provide a “thorough” and “accurate” translation despite the tape’s poor audio quality and instances of more than one person speaking at once, officials said. … U.S. officials said bin Laden’s actions in the tape make it clear he had advance knowledge of the planning and details of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.</q>

So let me get this straight. It’s in Arabic. There are a lot of other people talking. The audio is of “poor” quality. It even cuts out from time to time. It’s only being translated now. And our fearless leader, George Bush, has said that the tape is good enough proof for him?

I always thought that he didn’t speak English well. Now I realize it’s because it’s, at best, his second language, with fluent Arabic coming in first.