I thought this thing didn't pass the smell test as soon as I heard it. Tonight on the News hour some of the inconsistancies from previous tapes were pointed out.
MAMOUN FANDY: Right, but this particular tape is not terribly inspiring, just looking at the language of it. This is the first tape of bin Laden that has no single verse from the Koran. It does not have the flowery language of Arabic.
It seems to me that it is written in English first, and then translated into Arabic. It is very western style of tape. It is not very characteristic of bin Laden, at least it tells me that the non-Arabic speaking within the al-Qaida network are taking over the organization --
Why would Bin Laden need to have someone write this speach for him? He has been speaking to his followers since the 70's.
JIM LEHRER: You mean he didn't write this is what you are suggesting?
MAMOUN FANDY: The Arabic speakers in al-Qaida, the parts that are coming from the Arab world, are losing to the non-Arabic speaker, so it's really becoming more of a South Asian organization, rather than an Arab organization.
JIM LEHRER: Do you read it the same?
PAUL PILLAR: -- which may reflect his physical situation somewhere along that frontier between Pakistan and Afghanistan where possibly his immediate entourage -- his staff, if you will are Urdu speakers or Pashtu speakers, rather than Arabic speakers, or at least part of them are.
A weakening al-Qaida?
I don't see where the question got answered or why it would be the case. Urdu and Pashtu are Indian dialects I believe and Bin Laden is himself fluent in Arabic.
MAMOUN FANDY: Absolutely. I mean, this is something totally uncharacteristic of him. Even this particular truce is not back -- there no backing of it with Islamic jurisprudence, there is nothing from the Koran to say this is why I'm doing it, so it not really inspiring for those serious believers and his men who really want a word of God to tell them go and kill the unbelievers.
Even Tucker Carlson said from sarahlane's diary.
CARLSON: Of not. Howard Dean is not evil. He is just wrong.
Osama bin Laden is, of course, evil. But it is exactly the same rhetoric. And I`m amazed by what an astute student of that rhetoric Osama bin Laden has proved himself to be, I mean, every single line. There`s none of this sort of crackpot, "We will fulfill the prophecy of Allah" stuff that his previous communiques have been stuffed with.
This is not an Islamic tape. It`s a propaganda tape parroting the DNC. It`s bizarre. And I wonder what the Democrats think tonight............
CARLSON: I mean, really, you couldn`t make this up.
SCARBOROUGH: Yes.
CARLSON: Is this really from Osama? I guess it is.
But if the CIA hadn`t verified it, if NBC News hadn`t verified it, I wouldn`t believe it.
SCARBOROUGH: Yes.
I wouldn`t either, Tucker. And when I read it, I started laughing and I was thinking
And what have we seen and heard over the last two days. Just look at the diaries on this site about the tape. It even got John Kerry to post on this site, then you have Georgia10 post on the other tape that got no attention.
Listen to Rove today. This is all about 06' and I hope those more expert then me look into this tape. This is Rove at his best. When we know Bush lies at every turn and the Media covers for the administration why are we accepting this on face value.
Are we really just going to buy into this? Am I alone in thinking this is all Rovian Bullshit?
You can watch the News Hour segment here