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British Agency Claims New bin Laden Tape
A second tape attributed to Osama bin Laden has the al-Qaida leader saying he wants to die a martyr this year in the "eagle's belly," in an apparent reference to the United States. The British-based Islamic Al-Ansaar news agency on Thursday said it had a 53-minute tape of bin Laden that was allegedly recorded this month and acquired from a seller who advertised over the Internet. Osama is selling his tapes on Ebay? Must be short of cash. Two days earlier, Al-Jazeera satellite television station aired another tape attributed to bin Laden in which the voice urged Iraqis to back Saddam Hussein and carry out attacks against Americans. U.S. officials said they believed that voice was bin Laden's and it showed his ties to the Iraqi government. In Thursday's tape, the voice says: "In this final year I hurl myself and my steed with my soul at the enemy. Indeed on my demise I will become a martyr." "I pray my demise isn't on a coffin bearing green mantles. I wish my demise to be in the eagle's belly," the voice continued. My opinion: He's already dead, most likely since Tora Bora. Whoever has been sending tapes out in his name has decided that they can't string it out any longer. Having "him" announce that he is going out as a martyr is much better PR than announcing that he died hiding in a cave. Also, it may mean that his successor has been chosen and is ready to take over. Imran Khan, who runs Al-Ansaar, said experts contacted by the news agency believed the "eagle" referred to the United States and the quote revealed bin Laden's wish to end his life in a final act of terrorism. Going to tie his dead body behind the wheel of a truck bomb? Khan told The Associated Press that he translated the tape, describing it as poetic with several verses from the Quran. Binny's signature style. Khan said the agency, which has released previous bin Laden tapes, had used the same sources to check the validity of the new tape. His claims could not be independently verified. In Washington, U.S. counterterrorism officials were reviewing a transcript of the tape, but said they could not verify it was an authentic message from bin Laden. Officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they could not be certain of the speaker's identity without reviewing the actual recording. On Wednesday, CIA Director George Tenet said he is worried that Tuesday's audio message attributed to bin Laden was a prelude to a strike. "He's obviously raising the confidence of his people. He's obviously exhorting them to do more," Tenet told the Senate Armed Forces Committee. "What he's said is often followed by an attack." Any large attack now is likely to be claimed as al-Qaida On Thursday, Khan said the new Ansaar tape also calls for individual attacks against "Americans and Jews" around the world as well as larger acts of terrorism. Khan said the speaker also bragged about how the Sept. 11 attacks took just a few people to create such damage. Khan said the seller of the tape spoke with a Saudi accent but he declined to say when it was acquired. Now there's a surprise. Khan said Al-Ansaar had held talks with several news organizations about selling the tape and it expected it to be released publicly shortly. Waiting for sweeps week to boost tv ratings. Posted by: Steve 2003-02-13 |
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