ABC+Drudge=October Surprise?

With all the "chatter" for the last couple of months it comes as no suprise that Rove is using threats of terrorism to try to woo the undecided voters Bush's way. Yahoo

By Steve Gorman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -  ABC News has asked U.S. security officials to examine a videotape it obtained in Pakistan of an English-speaking man threatening a massive attack on the United States, the network said on Wednesday.  

Sources familiar with the tape -- the authenticity of which U.S. intelligence officials have not been unable to verify -- said the man, who claims to be a U.S. native and al Qaeda supporter, warns that the "streets will run with blood."  

The video appears to have been made as recently as late summer because the speaker discusses the Darfur conflict in Sudan, makes a reference to the Massachusetts same-sex marriage legislation and mentions the Sept. 11 Commission, one U.S. intelligence official told Reuters.

Sure sounds like a case of Rove bugging his own office again...

The first disclosure of the tape by Internet columnist Matt Drudge prompted ABC to publicly acknowledge the video's existence before knowing whether it was real or fake.  

Asked about the tape at a campaign stop with President Bush (news - web sites) in Ohio, White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters, "The intelligence community is analyzing it, working to verify its authenticity."  

 A source familiar with the tape told Reuters the hourlong video features a man, whose face is concealed by a headdress, warning that a coming attack on the United States would dwarf the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people.  

According to the source, the man says, "The streets will run with blood" and says the United States has brought this on itself for electing a president who has declared war on Islam by attacking the former Taliban rulers in Afghanistan (news - web sites) and waging war against al Qaeda.  

The source said linguistic experts believe the man, who identifies himself as "Assam the American," learned English at a young age but is not a native English speaker.  

 A U.S. intelligence official said the man claims to be originally from America and speaks fluent English with a slight accent. "We don't have a positive ID of the speaker, who was shrouded and wearing dark glasses," the official said. "The intelligence community does not have information linking the video to a specific threat."  

  The official said the tape was "classic al Qaeda propaganda," but seems to have been "sliced and diced." The speaker refers to al Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden (news - web sites) and Ayman al-Zawahri as "our leaders" and praises the Sept. 11 attacks.  

Classic al Qaeda propaganda? More like classic Rove propaganda.