so Osama is alive apparently

[strange_one]

I'm suprised there isn't one post about him yet on this board. what's netphoria's thoughts? does this make the terrorist situation infinitely more dangerous, or does him being alive make no difference? discuss

[BlueStar]

Osama is definitely alive and new terrorism warnings were issued overnight. Yeah, bad thing.

However, it was never determined that Osama was dead. The U.S. goverment, supposedly, has been operating under the assumption that he is alive.

What is interesing is how it might affect the whole Iraq thing.

[BlueStar]

U.S. intelligence officials say they feel confident that the voice on an audiotape broadcast on an Arabic television network is that of Osama bin Laden. The disclosure, during the runup to a possible U.S. military campaign in Iraq, highlighted one of the most significant loose ends from Afghanistan, the first stop in the war on terrorism and the last known location of bin Laden. And some security officials fear that the tape may be a signal to bin Laden’s al-Qaida network to launch new attacks.

PRESIDENT BUSH said Wednesday that he would leave it to the experts to determine whether bin Laden recorded the threatening new audiotape, but “whoever put the tape out has put the world on notice yet again that we’re at war.”
President Bush bristled when asked if the leader of al-Qaida should have been captured sooner. “We’re making great progress on the war on terrorism,” he said. “Slowly but surely, we’re dismantling the terrorist network.”
U.S. counterterrorism officials told NBC News said they believed the recording is probably authentic, and Bush said he was taking the tape “very seriously.”
NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski reported that while officials believe the voice is that of bin Laden, CIA analysts have been unable to determine this definitively from the recording aired by Al-Jazeera, the Arab TV station.
According to the officials, it appears the taped message was recorded over a telephone, reducing the quality, making comparisons more difficult, and that the initial analysis is “inconclusive.”
Nevertheless, the speech patterns, rhetorical style, choice of words all match Bin Laden, proving that he is in fact, alive, they said.
The release of the tape may indicate al-Qaida is preparing new attacks on the United States or Western allies.
“What we’re seeing now is we’re moving into a more dangerous period, where these are signals that they’re getting ready to try something big,” security expert Paul Bremmer told NBC.
U.S. officials have several theories as to why Bin Laden made an audio recording by telephone rather than a videotape as he has in the past:
He may have changed his appearance.
He may be in bad physical condition.
He may believe such an audiotape may help avoid detection by not revealing his whereabouts.
The speaker on the tape also threatened new terrorism against the United States and its allies, and he castigated U.S. policy toward Iraq.
The tape is addressed to “peoples of the countries allied with the tyrannical U.S. government” and specifically mentions Britain, France, Italy, Canada, Germany, Australia and Israel, according to a U.S. government translation provided to The Associated Press.
The speaker on the tape also threatened new terrorism against the United States and its allies, and he castigated U.S. policy toward Iraq.
The tape is addressed to “peoples of the countries allied with the tyrannical U.S. government” and specifically mentions Britain, France, Italy, Canada, Germany, Australia and Israel, according to a U.S. government translation provided to The Associated Press.
Recent statements from al-Qaida leaders have led U.S. and European leaders to warn of possible new attacks, particularly against railroads and oil and gas interests. A law enforcement official said Tuesday that “chatter” among suspected terrorists has reached the level seen before the Sept. 11 attacks.
The tape seems to have been made in the past two weeks. The speaker appears to refer to the killing of a U.S. diplomat in Amman, Jordan, on Oct. 28, the most recent event noted in the transcript. Whether bin Laden or al-Qaida had a direct hand in the attack is unknown, U.S. officials said.
The speaker also praises six terrorist attacks by suspected Islamic militants between April and October, including the bombing of a nightclub in Bali, Indonesia, on Oct. 12, that killed nearly 200 people, and the Chechen takeover of a theater in Moscow in late October.
The voice also gets personal, attacking not only Bush, but calling Rumsfeld “the butcher of Vietnam” and comparing Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell to marauding Mongols.
The last hard evidence bin Laden was alive surfaced late last year. A videotape recovered by U.S. forces in Afghanistan showed him having dinner with some of his deputies on Nov. 9, 2001.
Late in December, another tape of bin Laden giving a statement aired. He appeared gaunt and possibly wounded. The references in the tape suggested it was filmed in late November or early December, but officials could not be certain.

[DeviousJ]

I didn't realize anyone thought he was dead

[strange_one]

Originally posted by BlueStar
However, it was never determined that Osama was dead. The U.S. goverment, supposedly, has been operating under the assumption that he is alive.

true, but I believe that the general public probably believed by now that he had been killed in an afghanistan cave or someplace, and the media pushed it by showing video of him looking really sick. it is big in the papers here today, since he made reference to australia in his tape speech, saying something along the lines of 'we warned australia not to get involved, and they woke up to the sounds of the explosions in bali'

[wangcomputers]

he's in my house playing 'flight simulator 2000' on my playstation.

[FearFactory]

Originally posted by wangcomputers
he's in my house playing 'flight simulator 2000' on my playstation.

I bet he's still stuck on the first level, too

[Squashing Pineapples]

Osama = old news
And I think the USA will never get the bastard

[scouse_dave]

Originally posted by DeviousJ
I didn't realize anyone thought he was dead

BINGO!