Bizarre Piano Soundtrack on New Bin Laden Tape

A new Osama bin Laden video popped up on jihadist message boards today. It's actually an audio tape with a still image of bin Laden overlaid on the clip. What's truly bizarre about the clip is that the first several minutes feature piano music playing as bin Laden talks.

Although the voice sounds like bin Laden, the clip is well below normal As-Sahab production values and lacks subtitles. The whole thing is kind of bizarre, to the point of looking forged, though I would not jump to that conclusion just yet.

The piano music is the strangest element. Other As-Sahab productions have featured various kinds of music, often incongruously, but this is stranger than any previous release. Later in the tape, the music stops. There is a hint of background sound, suggesting the piano solo may be intended to mask some background noise that could provide a clue to bin Laden's whereabouts.

If that is the case, the sum total of the presentation suggests it wasn't done by al Qaeda's normal media crew (presumed to be led by Amercian Adam Gadahn, aka Azzam the American). Whatever the ultimate explanation, there's probably some significance to be read into the aberrations.

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Bhutto Update: Pakistan Blames Lashkar-E-Jhangvi

Pakistani authorities are blaming Lashkar-E-Jhangvi for yesterday's assassination of Benazir Bhutto. For most intents and purposes, LeJ is the same organization as al Qaeda.

To give you an idea of how closely the groups are related, LeJ provided the muscle for the kidnapping and murder of Daniel Pearl in 2002, an operation overseen by al Qaeda's terrorist mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. KSM personally decapitated Pearl at the operation's end.

In other words, LeJ is part of "al Qaeda 1.0" -- a close-knit coalition of organizations working under the direct control of the core al Qaeda leadership. As per my post yesterday, this development is a pretty good sign that reports of al Qaeda 1.0's death are extremely premature.

On a side note, Ramzi Yousef was a member of the SSP, another Pakistani extremist group that was a predecessor of LeJ. Yousef's 1994 and 1995 attempts to assassinate Benazir Bhutto were likely done under the auspices of SSP and al Qaeda, so you can definitely view yesterday's attack as part of a long continuum of events (if the Pakistani assertion is true, of course).

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Al Qaeda 1.0 Shows Its Teeth

For some time now, American pundits and policymakers have arrogantly dismissed Osama bin Laden, Ayman Al Zawahiri and the "corporate" Al Qaeda as "irrelevant" and "toothless."

The assassination of Benazir Bhutto graphically illustrates the fatal error in that premise.

It's unlikely a serious and impartial investigation will be forthcoming from the Pakistani government, but al Qaeda is almost certainly behind the killing and is expected to claim responsibility shortly.

It's difficult to predict what will happen next in Pakistan, but the assassination is likely to reverberate for years, destabilizing a country that is already dangerously unstable.

The attack is a major victory for the "corporate" al Qaeda, which has tried to kill Bhutto many times before. (During the 1990s, Ramzi Yousef severely damaged an eye and a hand by prematurely detonating a bomb that was intended for Bhutto.)

Many observers have dismissed the core group's importance in favor of what's known as the "Al Qaeda 2.0" model -- the idea that al Qaeda-inspired groups fueled by ideology rather than formal links have outstripped the original terror network.

This concept is based, in equal parts, on exaggerated reports of how the U.S. has degraded al Qaeda's capability and a curious blind spot about the fact that al Qaeda funding and formal training play a massive role in these so-called 2.0 groups.

In addition to reasserting Al Qaeda 1.0 as a terrorist/paramilitary force to be reckoned with, the attack also creates an extremely strategic situation for jihadists in Pakistan.

Pakistan's "moderate" population is not insignificant in size and influence, but it is oppressed by despotic President Pervez Musharraf on the one hand and outgunned by Islamists on the other. It's also largely urban, in a country where the real war is being waged in the wild and untamed areas.

Bhutto, in a sense, was the last, best hope of the moderates. But her return to the country was ill-timed and, in my opinion, ill-considered.

Since September 11, Musharraf has been locked on a collision course with his military, his intelligence service, al Qaeda and the Taliban. Musharraf has made significant missteps over the last several years, proving he is neither a reliable partner to the West nor a figure of inspiration to his own people.

But Bhutto had too many enemies, on too many sides, and not enough traction within the existing power structure, and Western support only hurt her political position.

It would have been better for Bhutto to wait for a more strategic moment, possibly allowing some of the combatants weaken or kill each other, before trying to change the country's course.

There's no question this would have been a painful decision, and one which carries its own risks and uncertainties.

But today's events were all too predictable, even inevitable. Unlike the suicide bomber who helped kill her, Bhutto's death does nothing to advance the cause she belived in.

In fact, her assassination accomplishes exactly the opposite -- it sets the stage for an outbreak of chaos, lawlessness and brutality. The backlash from Bhutto's death will create exactly the conditions in which radical Islam thrives.

After today, it's hard to see any kind of happy ending for Pakistan. The outlook for Western influence and interests in the region is grimmer still.

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Posted by J.M. Berger | Permalink

 

Full Text: J. Edgar Hoover's Plan To Arrest, Detain Thousands Of "Security Threats"

Letter From J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI), to the President's Special Consultant, Admiral Sidney Souers

Washington, July 7, 1950

My Dear Admiral:

For some months representatives of the FBI and of the Department of Justice have been formulating a plan of action for an emergency situation wherein it would be necessary to apprehend and detain persons who are potentially dangerous to the internal security of the country. I thought you would be interested in a brief outline of the plan.

Action to Be Taken By the Department of Justice

The plan envisions four types of emergency situations: (1) attack upon the United States; (2) threatened invasion; (3) attack upon United States troops in legally occupied territory; and (4) rebellion.

The plan contains a prepared document which should be referred to the President immediately upon the existence of one of the emergency situations for the President's signature. Briefly, this proclamation recites the existence of the emergency situation and that in order to immediately protect the country against treason, espionage and sabotage the Attorney General is instructed to apprehend all individuals potentially dangerous to the internal security. In order to make effective these apprehensions, the proclamation suspends the Writ of Habeas Corpus for apprehensions made pursuant to it. The plan also contains a prepared joint resolution to be passed by Congress and an Executive Order for the President which too will validate the previous Presidential proclamation.

The next step in the plan is a prepared order from the Attorney General to the Director of the FBI to apprehend dangerous individuals, conduct necessary searches and seize contraband as defined in the plan. Together with the order to the Director of the FBI the Attorney General will forward a master warrant attached to a list of names of individuals which names have previously been furnished from time to time to the Attorney General by the FBI as being individuals who are potentially dangerous to the internal security.

It should be pointed out that the plan does not distinguish between aliens and citizens and both are included in its purview. If for some reason the full plan is not put into operation it has so been drawn that the section applicable only to alien enemies may be put into effect.

Action to Be Taken By the FBI

For a long period of time the FBI has been accumulating the names, identities and activities of individuals found to be potentially dangerous to the internal security through investigation. These names have been compiled in an index which index has been kept up to date. The names in this index are the ones that have been furnished to the Department of Justice and will be attached to the master warrant referred to above. This master warrant will, therefore, serve as legal authority for the FBI to cause the apprehension and detention of the individuals maintained in this index. The index now contains approximately twelve thousand individuals, of which approximately ninety-seven per cent are citizens of the United States. Immediately upon receipt of instructions and the master warrant from the Attorney General the various FBI Field Divisions will be instructed by expeditious means to cause the apprehension of the individuals within their various territories. Each FBI Field Division maintains an index of the individuals within its territory, which index is so arranged that it may be used for ready apprehension purposes. Upon apprehension the individuals will be delivered to the nearest jail for temporary detention and action by the Attorney General.

The permanent detention of these individuals will take place in regularly established Federal detention facilities. These facilities have been confidentially surveyed and the facilities have been found to be adequate in all areas except in the territory covered by the FBI's New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco Offices. In these three areas arrangements have been perfected with the National Military Establishment for the temporary and permanent detention in Military facilities
of the individuals apprehended.

The plan calls for a statement of charges to be served on each detainee and a hearing be afforded the individual within a specified period. The Hearing Board will consist of three members to be appointed by the Attorney General composed of one Judge of the United States or State Court and two citizens. The hearing procedure will give the detainee an opportunity to know why he is being detained and permit him to introduce material in the nature of evidence in his own behalf.

The hearing procedure will not be bound by the rules of evidence. The Hearing Board may make one of three recommendations, that is; that the individual be detained, paroled or released. This action by the Board is subject to review by the Attorney General and the Attorney General's decision on the matter will be final except for appeal to the President.

The details of this plan as set forth in this communication have also been furnished on this date to Mr. James S. Lay, Jr., Executive Secretary, National Security Council.

With expressions of my highest esteem and best regards,

Sincerely yours,

J. Edgar Hoover

(Source: U.S. Department of State)

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Fort Dix Six Carry Out al Qaeda Recruitment Drive In Prison

According to a new government filing, the alleged terrorist cell known as the Fort Dix Six has not been idle while awaiting trial in prison. The alleged terrorists have been recruiting new members from among the prison population, according to prosecutors, through notes and conversations with other inmates -- even smuggling in an al Qaeda recruitment videotape.

Read the document and inmate letters

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Suspect Gives First Person Account of CIA Rendition & Secret Prison

The CIA's destruction of videotaped al Qaeda interrogations put a spotlight on Majid Khan, a Gitmo detainee who is suing the U.S. government over a claim he has been tortured while in U.S. custody.

As part of that case, an affidavit was submitted by Khaled El-Masri, a German citizen of Lebanese descent. In the document El-Masri makes extremely detailed allegations about how he was seized while traveling and his interrogations while held (along with Khan) in a secret CIA prison in Afghanistan:

"I felt two people violently grab my arms, one from the right side and the other from the left. They bent both my arms backwards. This violent motion caused me a lot of pain. I was beaten severely from all sides. I then felt someone else grab my head with both hands so I was unable to move. Others sliced my clothes off. I was left in my underwear. Even this they attempted to take off. I tried to resist at first, shouting out loudly for them to stop, but my efforts were in vain. The pain from the beatings was severe. I was terrified and utterly humiliated. My assailants continued to beat me, and finally they stripped me completely naked and threw me to the ground. My assailants pulled my arms back and I felt a boot in the small of my back. I then felt a stick or some other hard object being forced in my anus. I realized I was being sodomized."

Read the whole document

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Terry Nichols: Justice Department Wanted Me To Lie

A new deposition from Terry Nichols was filed as part of Jesse Trentadue's ongoing lawsuit which seeks to compel the FBI to disclose documents related to the Oklahoma City bombing.

In late 2003 and early 2004, shortly before Nichols was scheduled to face prosecution by the state of Oklahoma for his role in the bombing. Nichols was previously tried in federal court. If convicted of first-degree murder in the new trial, Nichols could have faced the death penalty.

Read the affidavit

At that time, Nichols alleged, he was approached by a lawyer who claimed to be representing the Justice Department in an "off the books" capacity. Nichols claimed that the attorney offered him a deal to get out of the state murder charges.

The deal, according to Nichols, would require him to make a false claim he had called the FBI on April 18, 1995, to warn them of the bombing. Nichols claimed he would also be called on to implicate his brother, James Nichols, and to disclose the location of a hidden cache of explosives (which was later discovered after an informant's tip).

Nichols also said the conversation dealt with Roger Moore, a gun dealer acquainted with Timothy McVeigh. Nichols has in the past alleged that Moore was a co-conspirator in the bombing.

The second part of the PDF includes a McVeigh defense team record of statements made by McVeigh about Moore and Andreas Strassmeier.

For now, I present the affidavit without comment as to Nichols' credibility. The various claims made by Nichols over the last two years raise several obvious (and some not-so-obvious) questions. Astute readers of the site may have noted that recent stories on this site are circling some of those questions. There will be more of that to come in 2008.

Labels: American-Terrorists, OKBOMB, Weblog

Posted by J.M. Berger | Permalink