Originally posted by Eagler
nope, just shutting down one more means of communications of the enemy
they could edit out OBL's word for word and still get the message he is still kicking but they perefer to air it word for word in hopes it does contain messages/info the terrorists are waiting to hear
the Bali bombers have already stated an OBL message triggered their attack - but that is aok with some of you as it is "free press"
BS
Is that actually true or did the US government merely imply that for the requisite three times for it to be true enough for use in The War On Terror (TWOT)?
The best - indeed the only - mention I could find was a piece in
The Scotsman where nameless "US security sources believe" or "the FBI suspects" ... ie no one's going to go on record saying it because there is no proof whatsoever, and the claim is therefore probably entirely specious propaganda. Or perhaps the journalist is just pulling a Jayson Blair. Do provide a link of anything better if you have it, though.
An interesting bit about the nameless "sources" of the Scotsman piece was that they were "suspecting" audio recordings of both Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri and whilst you're all for bombing or shutting down Aljazeera (who obtained & broadcast the bin Laden tape) - you make no mention of bombing or shutting down the Associated Press (who obtained & broadcast the Ayman al-Zawahiri tape). I presume this is because the New york-based AP aren't "raghead broadcasters" with "camel smelling arses" like the Qatar-based Aljazeera, which would seem to be the only difference - given that AP must surely be terrorist-loving and American-hating to obtain and broadcast such a message (if I'm reading your TWOT invective right).
Personally I'm fairly sure a multi-millionaire like bin Laden can splash out for a secure mobile or email with PGP or something more low tech like classified ads in newspapers to communicate any orders he might have efficiently and immediately, instead of having to rely on tapes given to various journalists. So excuse me while I put the "messages=bombing instructions" down to the kind of healthy, red-blooded, all-american, paranoid delusional behaviour which made the McCarthy era what it was.
Still we can add this to the list of things we definitely know about Aljazeera coverage: "it irritates Eagler". A definite plus in my book - although to be really worthy of praise it'd have to irritate Hortlund.
