New OBL Tape: Iraq, Democratic Control

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New OBL Tape: Iraq, Democratic Control

September 07, 2007 2:15 PM

ABC News' Jonathan Karl, Pierre Thomas, Luis Martinez and Theresa Cook Report: ABC News has obtained a transcript of the latest taped message from the United States' most wanted terrorist, and a senior U.S. intelligence official has confirmed to ABC News that "initial technical analysis suggests the voice on the tape is indeed Osama Bin Laden."

According to the transcript, which can be viewed by clicking here, bin Laden opens with "praise to Allah" and his "law of retaliation" -- "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth and the killer is killed."

Bin Laden also spoke to the ongoing situation in Iraq throughout the tape, heavily criticizing the Bush administration.

'One of Your Greatest Mistakes'

He says to the American people, "you made one of your greatest mistakes, in that you neither brought to account nor punished those who waged this war, not even the most violent of its murderers, [former Defense Secretary Donald] Rumsfeld…”

"You permitted Bush to complete his first term, and stranger still, chose him for a second term, which gave him a clear mandate from you -- with your full knowledge and consent -- to continue to murder our people in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then you claim to be innocent! The innocence of yours is like my innocence of the blood of your sons on the 11th -- were I to claim such a thing."

Bin Laden says President Bush's words echo "neoconservatives like Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Richard Perle."

'Democrats Haven't Made a Move'

"People of America: the world is following your news in regards to your invasion of Iraq, for people have recently come to know that, after several years of tragedies of this war, the vast majority of you want it stopped. Thus, you elected the Democratic Party for this purpose, but the Democrats haven't made a move worth mentioning. On the contrary, they continue to agree to the spending of tens of billions to continue the killing and war there."

ABC News Report

The transcript indicates that bin Laden refers to statements from U.S. soldiers in Iraq, from an interview taped by a British journalist. Portions of the interview aired in an exclusive report on ABC News in July, which can be viewed by clicking here.

In the July 16 report, two soldiers with the 2nd Infantry division, Corporal Joshua Lake and Specialist Michael Vassell, spoke candidly about their experiences in Iraq.

"We got grenades going off. We've got an IED blowing up your vehicle. And then you're expected to go back in those four to six, four to five hours and get, and relax to come back out and do another six hours," Lake said. "You don't have time, you just don't have time to do it."

"Because we have people up there in Congress with the brain of a 2-year-old who don't know what they're doing. They don't experience it," Vassell said. "I, I challenge the President or whoever has us here for 15 months to ride along, alongside me. I'll do another 15 months if he comes out here and rides along with me every day for 15 months. I'll do 15 more months. No, I - they don't even have to pay me extra."

'Listen to the Poignant Messages of Your Soldiers'

"It would benefit you to listen to the poignant messages of your soldiers in Iraq, who are paying -- with their blood, nerves and scattered limbs -- the price for these sorts of irresponsible statements,” bin Laden says in reference to the interviews in the ABC News report.

"Among them is the eloquent message of Joshua which he sent by way of the media, in which he wipes the tears from his eyes and describes American politicians in harsh terms and invites them to join him there for a few days," the statement continues.

Ways to Win the War

According to the transcript, bin Laden says there are two ways to end the war:

"The first is from our side, and it is to continue to escalate the killing and fighting against you."

The second is to do away with the American democratic system of government. "It has now become clear to you and the entire world the impotence of the democratic system and how it plays with the interests of the peoples and their blood by sacrificing soldiers and populations to achieve the interests of the major corporations."

Chertoff Responds

Calling the tape "propaganda," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told ABC News Thursday afternoon, “Assuming it is an authentic, genuine tape and it's not just a compilation, his being alive would I don't think be a surprise to anybody. I think we would have had some indication if he were not alive.”

"Having a tape issued in connection with the anniversary of 9/11 is also not a big surprise," Chertoff continued. “In the past, Al Qaida has issued tapes in connection with September 11th. It is a big day for them in terms of their view of having had a victory against the United States.”

"So while we're analyzing the details of the tape, I don't think the existence of a tape as such is necessarily significant of an imminent attack or anything of that sort," Chertoff said.

Acknowledging that, "in one sense, they're [al Qaeda] always up to something," Chertoff said that the government does not have any credible evidence that an attack is looming.

Ramblings and Time References

The rambling transcript also mentions French President Nicolas Sarkozy, which suggests the tape was made after Sarkozy's election in May.

While the exact date of the taping cannot be determined by bin Laden's words, he suggests it was made in August by saying, "... just a few days ago, the Japanese observed the 62nd anniversary of the annihilation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by your nuclear weapons." The anniversary was on Aug. 6.

He goes on to call Noam Chomsky "among one of the most capable of those from your own side," and mentions global warming and "the Kyoto accord."

He also speaks to recent issues grabbing headlines in the United States, referring to "the reeling of many of you under the burden of interest-related debts, insane taxes and real estate mortgages; global warming and its woes..."

"To conclude," bin Laden says, "I invite you to embrace Islam." He goes on to say: "There are no taxes in Islam, but rather there is a limited Zakaat [alms] totaling 2.5 percent."

September 7, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (1494)

User Comments

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This rhetoric sounds like it comes right out of a Michael Moore movie. What the hell is going on here? We need to find Osama Bin Laden and wipe him out. The world would be a safer place without him.

Posted by: Sean O'Brien | Sep 7, 2007 2:26:24 PM

Does this guy even really exist?

Posted by: j | Sep 7, 2007 2:26:54 PM

i'm confused by the fake beard

Posted by: Sean | Sep 7, 2007 2:28:19 PM

no j it is all computer generated.oh
and I live with the tooth fairy.

Posted by: john | Sep 7, 2007 2:31:13 PM

The only thing scarier than another Bin Laden tape are the responding comments from jingoistic right wing nuts who want to do things like start posses. AL Qaeda could never do the damage to the US that the neocons have done to us. In just a few short years we have gone from being the "light on the hill" to being occupiers and torturers - the brave Americans who died for the true meaning of this country must be spinning in their graves.

Posted by: Liam Shannon | Sep 7, 2007 2:38:30 PM

I continue to find it fascinating that every time one of these 'tapes' is released, one of two _private_ US organizations are always the one's to leak the information to abcnews. Nobody in the public can seem find these tapes on the Internet, heck, abcnews can't even find them. Just these two US based organzations amazingly come up with the information every time (which ABCNEWS gives credit to for tipping them off).

I think this is clearly a sign that these tapes are byproducts of the US government/military propaganda machine. The neo-conservatives desperately want to expand their war into Iran, and the duping tactics they used to trick the US into agreeing ot the war in Iraq are being put to use again. What worries me is the nuclear weapons that were shipped on an Air Force jet 'by accident' this week. Remember that story? I hope some member of the military, sympathetic to the neo-conservative cause, didn't hijack one of these weapons in a ploy to frame Iran for something that would give the neo-cons their cause for expanding the war to the rest of the middle east.

We as American citizens need to demand that our government come clean about what it's up to. News organizations need to VERIFY the information they are fed, instead of believing everything the government says, let alone what a private organization might tell them.

Posted by: Eric | Sep 7, 2007 2:47:03 PM

what an idiot....

Posted by: Hyrumster | Sep 7, 2007 2:47:46 PM

This tape is totally bogus! Only an idiot would believe this tape to be real. All the neocons need now is another false flag and martial law will follow.

Posted by: Frank | Sep 7, 2007 2:47:52 PM

Bin Laden's been dead for years they'll drag his bones out before the election

Posted by: jenny | Sep 7, 2007 2:50:22 PM

We hit Al Qaeda where they ain't in Iraq...the president went from wanting him dead or alive...to "I really don't think about him very much"...Bin Laden wants us to continue to stay in Iraq, while he sits and laughs watching us mediate a civil war...NONE of the 9/11 hijackers were Iraqi...most were Saudis, like Bin Laden...he sits and laughs unpunished 6 years after murdering thousands of americans...

Posted by: Common Sense | Sep 7, 2007 2:53:45 PM

Mr. Bin Laden always seems to pop up just when the White House needs him most to distract the American people from what's really going on. And the fake beard? Try fake video-- if Youtubers can produce special effects to rival Geroge Lucas on a Mac, how hard do you think it is for the government, backed by the latest in technology, to do the same with some old Bin Laden footage? Just for once, consider the source of all this media alarmist propaganda, and ask yourselves-- who benefits? Not any of us, that's for sure.

Posted by: h5mind | Sep 7, 2007 2:54:43 PM

Osama bin Laden is a religious conservative.
George W Bush is a religious conservative.
These guys are opposite sides of the same koo koo coin.
They thrive on one another.
They need one another.
Without OBL, GWB wouldn't be in office now.
Thanks to GWB, there is an incredibly effective terrorist training camp called "Iraq".
The conservative mentality will destroy the world.

Posted by: jc | Sep 7, 2007 2:57:11 PM

What are we to do?
The 2 party system has done nothing for the people of the U.S. to catch this person, he is still alive after 9-11. Force is the only thing Al Qaeda knows and understands. Al Qaeda knows we dont have the stomach to fight!!

Aaron

Posted by: Aaron | Sep 7, 2007 2:58:42 PM

ummm if its a still picture and you hear a voice. chances are its not him. it is jsut th people from over there sending it here. nobody owns this earth but unfortunatly human beings cant get along and never will. so we will fight until its over...unti lthe fat lady sings.

Posted by: jen | Sep 7, 2007 3:00:19 PM

So if we convert to Islam our taxes go to 2.5%?

Posted by: todd | Sep 7, 2007 3:00:41 PM

Is it just me, or is OBL more honest and believable than Bush? How shameful is it the the words of a murderous terrorist scumbag carry more truth than those of the President?

I do not fear terrorists. I do fear our government.

Posted by: kev | Sep 7, 2007 3:01:49 PM

Bin Laden speaks some truth: "you elected the Democratic Party for this purpose, but the Democrats haven't made a move worth mentioning." What a shocker. And let's not forget why he's still here...9/11 was the culmination of plans made during the previous 8 yrs. - WTC 1993. Hillary is the answer, no doubt.

Posted by: Learn Something | Sep 7, 2007 3:09:33 PM

Everything OBL has stated is true. Our democratic process has really hit a wall. Would it be such a bad thing to listen for once, rather than attack. Let's focus on what is going on here in the USA before we start trying to impose our own beliefs on people who just plain and simply don't care to hear. As for the comment about being the light on the hill...YES we once were. We should all be ashamed that we have let this bloodshed and lunatic administration continue to represent the country as a whole. This is not who we were intended to be.

Posted by: DV | Sep 7, 2007 3:11:09 PM

I agree with some of bins points that he made but don't worry folks I don't have plans to join bin and his gang of morons

Posted by: Laurie | Sep 7, 2007 3:15:05 PM

The only way to defeat right-wing and left-wing communist as-well-as religious nut of all branches and forms is a civilian-based defense based on non-violence, read Gandhian satyagraha.

While maintaining a view that these people are human we, as a nation, can actively resist them and stop the political and fiscal war against the American people.

Posted by: gnu | Sep 7, 2007 3:16:43 PM

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