Bin Laden tapes are as phony as Sept. 11's connection to Islam

[chat_noir]

As a Ph.D. Islamologist and Arabist I really hate to say this, but I'll say it anyway: 9/11 had nothing to do with Islam. The war on terror is as phony as the latest Osama bin Laden tape.

It's a tough thing to admit because I know on which side my bread is buttered and dropping Islam from the 9/11 equation is dropping my slice of bread butter-side-down. The myth that 9/11 had something to do with Muslims has poured millions, if not billions, into Arabic and Islamic studies. I finished my Ph.D. last year, so all I have to do is keep my eyes in my pocket and my nose on the ground, parrot the party line, and I'll be on the fast track to tenure track.

snip

The top American bin Laden expert agrees. Professor Bruce Lawrence, head of Duke University's religious studies department, has just published a book of translations of bin Laden's speeches. He says that the recent tape is a fake and that it is possible bin Laden is not even alive.

Fake bin Laden tapes, "verified" by the CIA, are nothing new. Every supposed bin Laden statement since 2001 has been blatantly bogus. The last we heard from the real bin Laden came in his post-9/11 statements to Pakistani journalists: "I stress that I have not carried out this act, which appears to have been carried out by individuals with their own motivation. ... I have already said that I am not involved in the 11 September attacks in the United States. ... I had no knowledge of these attacks."

Then on Dec. 13, 2001, as George Bush was whining about the "outrageous conspiracy theories" that were spreading like wildfire, the first and shoddiest of the "bin Laden speaks from beyond the grave" tapes appeared. The video's sound and picture quality were horrible. It showed a big guy with a black beard, doing a passable imitation of bin Laden's voice, claiming foreknowledge, if not responsibility, for the 9/11 attacks, and chortling over their success. The trouble was, the big guy clearly was not bin Laden. He was at least 40 or 50 pounds heavier, and his facial features were obviously different.

http://www.madison.com/tct/opinion/column/index.php?ntid=72574&ntpid=1


What do you think???

[arcane1]

I remember the "fat Osama" well

[Taverner]

1. Oh I'm sure the "Fatty Bin Laden" tape was fake

And for all I know the others could be fake too - but one look at the fatty bin laden tape, compared with pics of the real bin laden....

[The_Casual_Observer]

2. I prefer to err on the side that they are too incompetent to pull off

a scam like that. Invading Iraq using 10 year old "intelligence" and half ass legal arguments is one thing, but creating a bogus Osama and keeping the enterprise totally secret is something else. cheney can't even keep the lid on a simple hunting accident, some wire taps and prison torture , how would they do it? Somebody always tells.

[arcane1]

6. it's been done once already

and faking a voice is easier than faking a face (which they did a shitty job of, BTW)

[pauldp]

9. Ask Exxon & Halliburton if they are incompetent. n/t

[The_Casual_Observer]

11. No secrets there, just good old fashion multinational explotation.

[pauldp]

13. Yep. And they are masters at it. n/t

[rman]

14. No need to keep it totally secret

Is it not exceedingly obvious that the tape with Bin Laden claiming 9-11, is faked? There's more of it out in the open (ie Sibel Edmonds).

All that "they" need is for public opinion to be blind to the matter. And that's not very hard because they own the MSM.

[calmblueocean]

3. Any links to a photo of "fat Osama"?

I'd like to see.

[arcane1]

4. here is one

[ariellyn]

7. Soooo NOT OBL. OBL is dead. nt

[pauldp]

8. Here's another. Check it out

notice the length of the real Osama's nose (on the right)
also notice how the tip of the nose on the real Osama is much closer to the upper lip - because the nose is longer.
the fake Osama on the left has a big hairy upper lip.



Plus check this out:



the same line drawn from the nostril to the opening of the ear on both pics reveals the cheek bones are in
different positions. The line intersects the fake Osama's cheek whereas the real Osama's cheek bone is above the line.
Also notice the difference in the distance from the line to the eye. There are many other differences as well.
It is actually a really bad fake.

[benddem]

5. other Islamist experts

have said the same thing. The language was wrong. Personally I won't believe he is alive till I see a new video with perhaps a newspaper showing the date. If it is true that he is on dialysis he would have either had to be hospitalized or received a kidney transplant. A patient on dialysis has to have the diasylate (fluid) changed frequently based on electrolytes and other blood tests. He couldn't be living in a tent this long.

[YDogg]

10. I'm past the point of believing anything reported by the government.

Pretty sad, that.

[Mr Rabble]

12. google "bin laden dead"

Although there will be links to Ledeen and the National Review, there are also lots of BBC stories which assert that he died in December 2001.

Dead as a doornail that Bin Laden.

Why is it that Al-Zahwari(sp) can find a camcorder, but OBL cant?

[Jose Diablo]

15. How can the ballgame go on without an 'enemy'?

I don't think OBL organized 9-11. He said on that first tape that he didn't do 9-11, but he knew who did. Why would he lie. He had everything to gain, in recruiting, by saying he did do 9-11.

But then the next question that comes to mind is, "If OBL didn't do it, who did"? And that is the question that's really scary. For this question brings up the idea of treason, in high places.