Got It Taped
‘THERE is a chance that Osama bin Laden sounds nothing like the voice we hear on tape and video.
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Catch Osama’s latest rantings on Betamax |
The worlds most wanted man could sound like David Beckham, uttering polemic and vitriol in a pitchy whine. Or he might share Ken Livingstones adenoidal drone.
We have just heard what seems to be the al-Qaeda leaders voice broadcast by al-Jazeera television. Bin Laden talks about a continuous crusader-Zionist war on Islam and calls for holy warriors to defend Islam in Sudan.
Its the usual stuff we have come to expect from the worlds most wanted man. But is it him? Remember that this is a tape, not a DVD, and static can further distort a voice.
Bin Laden is not using the latest technology to record his invectives. He relies on tape.
A show playing in Londons West End is called Frank Sinatra at The London Palladium. Ol Blue Eyes is dead but he can still be seen strolling about the stage. Al-Qaeda may like to consider this when they next need Bin Laden to appear.
And al-Qaeda do need their star turn. Republican congressman, Peter Hoekstra, chairman of the House intelligence committee, sees Bin Laden as al-Qaedas best marketing ploy. The quality of the materials, the quality of the marketing – the message is very, very good,’ says he.
This is Bin Laden as Richard Branson, selling his brand to the masses. Not that al-Qaeda has many new products to sell, sticking with its message of flogging jihad to the masses.
The Democratic senator John Kerry says the tape ‘underscores the failure of this administration to capture him’.
But what if Bin Laden has already been captured, or killed?
How hard can it be to replicate his voice? ‘The tape has not been independently verified, although the voice sounds similar to that on previous tapes from the al-Qaeda leader,’ says Al Jazeera on its website.
Peter Bergen, a security expert who has interviewed Bin Laden, tells the Times that the voice sounds real. He wants to show he is out there, says Bergen.
And that hes got a tape recorder…’
Posted: 24th, April 2006 | In: Uncategorized Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
