Is the Bin Laden Video a Forgery? (Updated)
Ex-Army linguist George Maschke thinks the latest Bin Laden video is a fake. He writes:
Osama Bin Laden's widely publicized video address to the American people has a peculiarity that casts serious doubt on its authenticity: the video freezes at about 1 minute and
3658 seconds, and motion only resumes again at 12:30. The video then freezes again at 14:02 remains frozen until the end. All references to current events, such as the 62nd anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Japan, and Sarkozy and Brown being the leaders of France and the UK, respectively, occur when the video is frozen! The words spoken when the video is in motion contain no references to contemporary events and could have been (and likely were) made before the U.S. invasion of Iraq.The audio track does appear to be in the voice of a single speaker. What I suspect was done is that an older, unreleased video was dubbed over for this release, with the video frozen when the audio track departed from that of the original video.
If this is true, it is big. It needs more analysis. Anyone?
Update: Rick Moran has taken the time to listen to the Bin Laden video and confirms that it contains the mysterious freeze frame sections identified by George Maschke. I believe it that Maschke may well be right. We need further confirmation, though, that this is not a software anomoly of some kind.
Some leftist blogs are running in circles with this. It's not enough for them to reach the plausible conclusion that the video may be faked. They have to go a big step further off the precipice of common sense and claim that the Bush Administration must have faked the video. Pardon, but your Bush Derangement Syndrome is showing. You're going to need years of therapy to get over it when Bush leaves office, you poor things.
Joe Gandelman at The Moderate Voice thinks it's likely that the video, fake or not, was released by Al Qaeda (since it if wasn't, Al Qaeda would be denying its authenticity). But Gandelman asks whether the video might contain a coded signal, or whether it's just an attempt to intimidate. I think the coded signal idea is fairly unlikely. There are a lot easier, and more confidential, ways to spread messages than through videos distributed worldwide. Generally, terrorists who are serious about killing as many people as possible do not deliberately telegraph their intentions to the intended victims. The element of surprise is key.
The news is breaking today that a second video is about to be released, and that it was recorded in the same location as the possibly forged Bin Laden video released above. In addition, the video about to be released will contain the suicide statement of one of the 9/11 hijackers. If that is true, and if the video that is released shortly looks like more of the same video we've just seen, with Bin Laden wearing the same clothing and the same beard, that will add further serious doubt to the authenticity of the lastest Bin Laden video. It is not credible that Bin Laden would record nearly identical videos six years apart.
Jawa Report has the first image of the second video. Sure enough, Osama is wearing the exact same outfit as in the supposedly new 2007 video. Sure, that makes total sense. From what we know so far, two videos recorded at the same time are being passed off as having been recorded six years apart.
Once again, the key evidence to look for is new video in which Bin Laden (a) addresses current events and (b) his lips are moving. If we don't see that in the video that is being released now, and if nobody can explain the long freeze in the recent video, I'll be more convinced than ever that Bin Laden is long dead. In that case, we need to broadcast that fact to the world. If the "lion" is dead, we should stop and celebrate our success, acknowledge what we did right, and move on to the next terrorist leader who needs to be brought to justice.
Possibly Related Posts:
New Osama video seems yet another forgery. Everyone needs Osama alive:
terrorists as symbolic leader and the US Administration - to avoid
scaling down the war on terror.
Obadiah Shoher rightly notes (
http://www.samsonblinded.org/news/osama-commemorates-911-1114 ) that
new Osama talks like a leftist university professor. I like Shoher's
analysis. No way a terrorist leader like Osama would use a speechwriter. Osama is famous
for his rhetoric.
Also, in the tape Osama both threatens America with attack (by
"proving" Americans polytheists) and offers (yet another time)
long-term coaching in Islam.
But his dyed beard makes me cautious. Islam's mujahedeen dye their
beards before battle.
Posted by: Eugene | September 10, 2007 at 06:34 AM