Al Jazeera airs Bin Laden tape.(LIVE THREAD)

CNBC

[Aggie Mama]

Kudos to the intelligence agencies for this one.

[shadowman99]

Step 1: Al Jazeera gets new tape.

Step 2: ?????????

Step 3: Al Jazeera plays tape.

So can we infer that Al Jazeera is waiting for a cue to play the tape? Does it seem to anyone that they may have some prior knowledge of an upcoming event?

[Indy Pendance]

Al-Jazeera Silent on Reported Bin Laden Statement>

— DUBAI (Reuters) - The al-Jazeera satellite television channel declined to confirm or deny reports on Tuesday that it had received a statement from Osama bin Laden pledging solidarity with Iraq.

Al-Jazeera's news gathering section said the channel "most probably" had no statement from the Saudi-born militant, but promised a firm reply later.

It was not immediately known whether the Qatar-based station had received a statement and was checking its authenticity or if it did not wish to air it for political reasons.

Earlier Tuesday, Secretary of State Colin Powell told the U.S. Senate Budget Committee that he had read a transcript "of what bin Laden, or who we believe to be bin Laden, will be saying on al-Jazeera during the course of the day."

Al-Jazeera has often received audio tapes and statements said to come from bin Laden, blamed for the September 11 attacks on U.S. cities. The United States has accused the Arab TV channel of being a mouthpiece for al-Qaeda propaganda.

Powell told lawmakers they would "be seeing this as the day unfolds, where once again he speaks to the people of Iraq and talks about their struggle and how he is in partnership with Iraq."

Powell cited this as a reason the United States could not rely on just containing Iraq with more weapons inspectors and a greater United Nations presence.

"This nexus between terrorists and states that are developing weapons of mass destruction can no longer be looked away from and ignored," he said.

[rs79bm]

Last I heard, they said they never heard of any tape?! When did they find it? Am I in a bad dream? Can this be for real?

In the interests of trying to not be too far behind fellow news outlets, they determined the best course of action to be: "Oh yessssa, of course we have de tape, we will air it this afternoon".

[tallhappy]

Now, why oh why did Al Jizmezera deny the tape at first?

Apparently it was meant to be played after the US starts the offensive against Iraq.

[smith288]

Someone finally worked their way inside Al Queada. They are compromised... But by who??? Hopefully, they will never know.

[blam]

It was suppose to be aired after the Hajj. Al Jazarra got caught now, they'll have to air it early.

[Frank_Discussion]

So can we infer that Al Jazeera is waiting for a cue to play the tape? Does it seem to anyone that they may have some prior knowledge of an upcoming event?

If so, do you think Al Jaz HQ has GPS-guided JDAM with their name on it? I hope so - Kill the head of the snake by a punch in the mouth.

[kjam22]

Does anyone think this is just a little to convenient??

[Dog]

Tape will be played soon Fox is now reporting!

[canyon]

This may be a dumb question, but if we have a copy, why do we care if Al Jazerra plays it or not?

I would think we would want to downplay a tape for fear of secret message and what not. Are we trying to prove Al Jazerra is hiding something?

[UCANSEE2]

Al Jazeera just confirmed the tape, as they didn't have it at first.
The tape was sent to a foreign news service in the UK.
Powell knew about it,but AJ didn't because it didn't come to them.

Now they have had time to find out that the tape is real so they can confirm.

Funny how the INFO about all this was in the original articles, but everyone wants to jump to their own conclusions.

[Mo1]

So can we infer that Al Jazeera is waiting for a cue to play the tape? Does it seem to anyone that they may have some prior knowledge of an upcoming event?

That would be my guess

[Dog]

Fox is reporting the tape will air 3pm eastern..

[kevao]

Is this the same Al Jazeera that earlier today denied the existence of the tape?

[Howlin]

One and the same.

[Dog]

Ding-Ding! you win!

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

Alright I have not been following this. What did OBL slip and claim some fame to So Damn Insane right from a Bagdad bunker?

[Indy Pendance]

'Bin Laden tape to show Iraq link'

Al-Jazeera has aired previous al-Qaeda statements

US Secretary of State Colin Powell has said a new tape attributed to al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden will show links between the militant group and Iraq.

Arab TV station al-Jazeera has confirmed it has an audio tape which it is examining, despite earlier denying any knowledge of it.

Several other statements allegedly made by al-Qaeda members, including Bin Laden, have been broadcast by the station.

Mr Powell sought to make a connection between Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's regime and al-Qaeda during a presentation to the United Nations Security Council last week.

Jordanian's role

Mr Powell told the Senate Budget Committee on Tuesday that he had read a transcript "of what Bin Laden, or who we believe to be Bin Laden, will be saying on al-Jazeera during the course of the day".

"Once again he speaks to the people of Iraq and talks about their struggle and how he is in partnership with Iraq," Mr Powell said.

At the Security Council, Mr Powell laid out what he said was proof that Baghdad was linked to al-Qaeda, whom the US blames for the 11 September attacks on New York and Washington.

His evidence focused on the role of a Jordanian al-Qaeda associate, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, whom he said was operating in northern Iraq.

The testimony was greeted with a significant level of scepticism on both sides of the Atlantic.

On Tuesday, the head of the CIA, George Tenet, warned of an increased risk of al-Qaeda attacks in the US and on the Arabian peninsula.

---

Looks like the same bin laden photo from his first tape.

[kjam22]

This may be a dumb question, but if we have a copy, why do we care if Al Jazerra plays it or not? I would think we would want to downplay a tape for fear of secret message and what not. Are we trying to prove Al Jazerra is hiding something?

See... I think we want the tape played. We want to make sure that everyone possible is on board when we demolish Iraq. If you're waffeling on support.... just listen to this... Osama himself is teamed up with Iraq.

We NEED someone else to play it. We're banking on somebody else playing it.