Sep 10 2007
Questions and comparisons surround the OBL video
The first I heard of this it was about the eerie similarity between OBL’s rants and the Democrat or Liberal talking points, in this case as stated by Keith Olbermann.
Truly there are some similarities. See the clip below for more from the Greg-alogue.
What is ironic is that Olbermann takes the same speech and makes his comparisons to Hannity.
In what he no doubt considered cutting edge humor, MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann on Friday night contended that Sean Hannity, just like Osama bin Laden, “rants without making a specific threat or point,” and MRC President/NewsBusters Publisher Brent Bozell, also just like bin Laden, “makes vague threats, is cranky and has a bad dye job on his beard.”
“So he’s Sean Hannity?” Olbermann asked rhetorically immediately after he teased Countdown by describing how in the new Osama bin Laden video “he criticizes congressional Democrats and just rants without making a specific threat or point.” As Olbermann uttered Hannity’s name, MSNBC inserted a picture of Hannity over the image of bin Laden in the new video. A half hour later, with “Finding Bin Laden” on screen under the bin Laden image, Olbermann plugged the upcoming segment by comparing the physical appearance and attitude of the terrorist with Bozell: “And he criticizes the Democrats, makes vague threats, is cranky and has a bad dye job on his beard. Brent Bozell? No, there’s another Osama bin Laden tape. Wasn’t the President going to catch him dead or alive six years ago?” Bozell has a beard, but it’s not dyed.
I find it telling that an analysis of the tape finds the content matches the liberal mantra, and actually chastises the liberals for being too soft, while the liberals want to make ad hominem attacks on conservatives on surface style observations, and not actual content.
Maybe Olby cannot defend the comments he has made and their questionable similarity to OBL so he attacks as a distraction. I find it a continuing source of fascination how much the democrats allow themselves to be defined by a set of talking points that continues to have a close correlation to that of a person who claims responsibility doe the death of thousands of Americans.
Hmmm….Olby and OBL. Eerie.
But now comes a growing concern that the tape continues some parts that may be forged.
I saw this first at STA:
There has been a lot of talk in the blogosphere about Osama’s beard. Was it fake? Was it dyed?
Oddly I noticed that too. It seemed out of character for OBL, dyed dark and trimmed.
Here are a few thoughts from Michael Leeden at the Corner:
First, the beard. Robert Spencer finds that Muslims are permitted to dye their hair when going into battle, to confound the enemy into thinking they are young. He links that to the call for the infidels to convert, by now a staple in al Qaeda’s propaganda. It seems to be a tradition: Islam or the sword.
The beard looks odd to me. It seems curly or frizzy, for one thing, not at all like the stringy beard of yore.
Yea that was my thought too. Some accuse this of being a fake, a stand in.
Third, is it really Osama? As you know, I was reliably told something like two years ago that Osama had died. Nothing in this speech sounds at all like the “old” OBL. That man knew how to give a stemwinder, he used elegant language, his threats were blood-curdling, his calls to the faithful inspiring. This man talks like, well, a high school dropout. In fact it reads like an “Onion” spoof. And the sound is bizarre, at least on my IBM desktop. It sounds almost as if there was enough garble in it to make it difficult to match with voice prints of the “real” guy. I’m not convinced.
I’d like more information from the CIA frankly. Hot Air looks into it too.
The opening segment is indeed boilerplate but the second segment at 12:36 refers to the Democrats’ failure “to implement your desire to stop the war.” That would have been an odd criticism for Osama to level in 2003 given that popular support for the war in March of that year was bipartisan, with 65% approval, and it would have been in his interest at the time to portray America as united in its “crusade” to make for better jihadist recruitment. It’s a more sensible criticism circa 2005 or 2006, but even then the Democrats had no power to “stop the war” until November of last year — which would, after all, make the clip fairly recent. Besides, as BT acknowledges, the voice sounds the same throughout and two U.S. intel officials confirm that it’s Osama’s. So we’re back to square one — why the freeze frame?
Actually, maybe we’re at square two. Watch very closely from around 13:15 to 13:30; I spot two invisible cuts there, one at 13:17 and another at 13:25. Keep your eye on his left hand in particular. It’s subtle but it’s there. Was he too weak to rattle off the speech in one fluid go? Or did they have to cut the video just so to match his lips to the audio track?
I will leave that to the experts frankly.
One other interesting moment in this saga:
GOP Presidential Candidate Fred Thompson Calls Bin Laden ‘More Symbolism Than Anything’
Republican Fred Thompson said Friday that terrorist mastermind Usama bin Laden is “more symbolism than anything else” as the presidential hopeful warned of possible greater Al Qaeda threats within the United States.
As a new video surfaced from bin Laden days before the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Thompson focused on the broader war on terrorism and the Iraq conflict. He argued that not only are the United States and Iraqi forces making progress in Iraq, but that public support for the war is increasing.
The new video of bin Laden is his first in three years. Thompson played down its release in talking to reporters on his second day of campaigning in Iowa.
Fred is getting slammed on that comments, but a lot of critics are missing the most valid point of his comments:
“Bin Laden being in the mountains of Pakistan or Afghanistan is not as important as there are probably Al Qaeda operatives inside the United States of America,” Thompson said.
Bingo. While OBL, if alive is obviously a serious factor, we should care more about the movement of AQ operatives here. Whether you want to address this from the stand point of border security or just security, it remains the most serious lapse in our strategy.
So rather then beat Fred up for saying, ask rather why more candidates are not saying it.
That’s how I see it anyway.
Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Link Fest - Week One, The Virtuous Republic, Is It Just Me?, Perri Nelson’s Website, Rosemary’s Thoughts, Right Truth, Big Dog’s Weblog, The Populist, The Uncooperative Radio Show! Aug. 07, 08 and 09, 2007, Shadowscope, The Pet Haven Blog, Stuck On Stupid, The Amboy Times, Adeline and Hazel, Stageleft, Colloquium, Woman Honor Thyself, 4 Time Father?, Pirate’s Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Right Voices, Church and State, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, The Random Yak, 123beta, Adam’s Blog, Nuke’s News & Views, Webloggin, The Bullwinkle Blog, Cao’s Blog, Phastidio.net, , Jo’s Cafe, Conservative Cat, Allie Is Wired, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, Walls of the City, The World According to Carl, Blue Star Chronicles, Gulf Coast Hurricane Tracker, Gone Hollywood, The Yankee Sailor, and OTB Sports, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
29 Responses to “Questions and comparisons surround the OBL video”
The Knucklehead of the Day award…
Today’s winner is Pang Jiayu….
“Compassion” (MHWA)…
…the really pernicious aspect of “compassion” expressed with public monies is…
……
Feinstein: Petraeus is there to succeed…
Before he even opens his mouth, the media is downplaying the surge in Iraq and the report from General Petraeus. The headlines say it all . . .
Congress, White House Battle Over Iraq Progress Report - Washington Post
Biden Faults Petraeus’ Asses…
Petraeus Betray Us, Feinstein Lyin’: Iraq and the…
From the Editors at National Review Online comes this closer, which says ……
blogging, force for democracy or information chaos…
the revolution of interactivity and user-generated content on the internet is leading to ‘less culture, less reliable news and a chaos of useless information’…
Which Government Displays More Failure?…
……
The Threat of Tripods…
I spent last night walking around Pittsburgh working on city-night photography. Pittsburgh police officers approached me asking me not to use a tripod do to it being a security threat. - Craig Photography: City Night Photography
In reference to Mr. Cra…
Maybe They Have No Line In The Sand…
When you read about countries that are known to torture their prisoners, actively discourage dissent, and spy on their citizens, you have to wonder if there is any line in the sand that will result in the citizenry saying, “enough, no more, this …
Sk*rt - Digg for Women…
Sk*rt is the newest community for women all over the net.
……
An Easier way to Rape Women…
the real purpose for the sex-segregated sidewalks: to make it easier for Muslim men to rape women….
A terrorist disguised as Bin Laden?…
For all we know, Osama bin Laden may be dead, but it seems as though some Islamofascists would rather we think otherwise. As first told in this Blotter entry (via Hot Air):…
College Scholarship Offered to Bloggers…
The Daniel Kovach Scholarship Foundation is giving away $10,000 to a blogger this year. This 2nd Annual Blogging Scholarship offers a large prize of $10,000, which will be awarded at the Blog World and New Media Expo in Las Vegas,…
Gen. Petreaus attacked by MoveOn.org. Do you agree with them?…
I shall be using this post about the NY Times ad and the Vets for Freedom response to it for this open trackback, because I believe very strongly that all of us must do all we can to help defend our men and women who are out there risking it all so t…..
Senate to Vote on Unsafe Mexican Truck Program…
From PR NewsWire:
WASHINGTON, Sept. 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa today urged the Senate to act swiftly and decisively to block funding for the Bush administration’s illegal Mexican truck program that is…
G.I. Joe to Become “Global Task Force” in Movie…
In short, G.I. Joe’s a real AMERICAN hero, not some internationally palatable Pink Panther knockoff. …
Never Forget…
On this anniversary of that awful day, I still remember Mr. Christopher Colastani. And I always will. Forever….
Code Pink Disrupts General Petraeus Testimony…
These people are lunatics….
More Thoughts on 9/11…
About a week after the world changed on 9.11.2001, a woman in my office was carrying on about how the media was subjecting us to grotesque images on television and should stop it. She told everyone she had written a letter to the editor about it and …..
Senator Schumer Gets a Pass on Slandering the Troo…
Newsbusters is reporting that Armchair General Media hog Senator Chuck Schumer is getting a pass from the old media for his comments slandering our Troops in a speech he gave on the floor last week. In fact, the old media has whitewashed it altogethe…..
Water Over the Bridge…
After the collapse of a bridge in Minneapolis this Summer, Minnesota’s two Senators Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) obtained more than $110 in earmarks. Where do you think that money went? If you guessed, “To repair b…
Sept 11……..My StorY…
I was there as the blanket of dust and smoke, filling the air, covered my city, as “Ground Zero” , bit by bit, emerged from the wreckage.
……
The Coffee Shop: Den of Evil…
Add another one to the List. You can bet I’m going to Starbucks for breakfast tomorrow.Iran is pressing on with one of its toughest moral crackdowns in years, warning tens of thousands of women over slack dress, targeting “immoral” cafes…
Is It? Or Isn’t It?…
A few bloggers are asking some hard questions about the recent bin Laden video, I’m gonna leave this one at the top for a while, update it as more rolls in, and see where it goes.
……
Three Soldiers Killed in Explosion in Iraq…
One of the teachers that my wife works with found out that her son was killed last night in Iraq. Our thoughts go out to her and her family. With my son graduating from Parris Island at the end of……
Three Soldiers Killed in Explosion in Iraq…
One of the teachers that my wife works with found out that her son was killed last night in Iraq. Our thoughts go out to her and her family. With my son graduating from Parris Island at the end of……
Three Soldiers Killed in Explosion in Iraq…
One of the teachers that my wife works with found out that her son was killed last night in Iraq. Our thoughts go out to her and her family. With my son graduating from Parris Island at the end of……
The Knuckleheads of the Day award…
Today’s winners are the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund and its President, Clifford Stanley….
In Which I Analyze the Petraeus Testimony Without Being Influenced by the Facts…
I’ve been wandering about the house for almost a full day now trying to get a handle on General Petraeus’s testimony before Congress, which is now in its second day. In doing so, I’ve tried very hard not to be……
Break-in at Romney campaign headquarters, Thompson asks “What did Giuliani know and when did he know it?”…
Fred Thompson (left) seeks answers to break-in of campaign headquarters.
BOSTON (Boston Globe) - The presidential campaign headquarters of Mitt Romney were burglarized overnight in the North End, according to a campaign spokesman.
There was R…