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Videotape Suggests Bin Laden Link to September 11 Terror Attacks: Report
WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A videotape found during the search of a home in the Afghan city of Jalalabad allegedly shows Saudi exile Osama bin Laden describing his expectations for the results of the attacks on the World Trade Center, the
Washington Post reported Sunday, citing senior U.S. government officials who saw the tape.
In the 40-minute amateur recording, bin Laden is allegedly seen saying that the damage around the World Trade Center - destroyed when two hijacked passenger planes slammed into the Twin Towers - was much greater than he had expected, according to top U.S. officials, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported from the
Post article.
Bin Laden allegedly "also praises God" for granting a far greater success than he expected, and uses words that show he was familiar with plans for the attacks, according to the
Post.
"It is very clear that bin Laden not only had advance knowledge [of the September 11 attacks], but [the video] is proof he was responsible for planning," a senior U.S. official, who claims to have read a transcript of the recording, told the
Post.
U.S. officials at first feared the videotape was a fake, but after showing it to outside experts stated they are comfortable with its authenticity, the newspaper reported. Top U.S. government officials are debating whether to release the videotape to the public, and if so how, the
Post article said.
Washington has blamed exiled Saudi dissident bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network for the September 11 attacks on U.S. landmarks that left nearly 3,500 people dead.
Bin Laden has repeatedly denied responsibility for the attacks. In late September, he told the Qatar-based al-Jazeera station that he "had no knowledge" of the attacks, and again denied responsibility to al-Jazeera after the U.S. bombing campaign on Afghanistan started on Oct. 7.
He also claimed innocence in interviews with Pakistani newspapers.
U.S. officials say they have also intercepted communications linking bin Laden to the attacks, but have not made public any such proof, claiming that they are worried about compromising intelligence sources and tactics.
The Post said Secretary of State Colin Powell promised in September to release compelling evidence proving bin Laden's responsibility for the attacks, but later withdrew his promise, saying the material was classified.
Since then, the U.S. has shared evidence with the U.K. and Pakistan, both of whose governments have agreed that the evidence is against bin Laden. But none of the governments have offered evidence to the public, citing security problems.
A number of statements made by bin Laden and other al-Qaeda members on video since Sept. 11 have suggested a link between them and the attacks, including one in which an al-Qaeda official warned American Muslims to stay out of tall buildings and avoid flying, but the group and its leaders have never actually claimed responsibility.
U.S. officials stated that they hoped this new videotape would allay concern in the Muslim world that the U.S. is going after bin Laden without having any solid proof.
Although intelligence officials are not certain of the reasons behind shooting such a tape, the Post reported that a senior official said similar tapes have been used by al-Qaeda to recruit new members.
Government officials declined to offer more details of how the videotape fell into the U.S. government's hands or which agency obtained it, the paper continued.
The new videotape is not the one described last month by British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Intelligence sources had obtained only a transcript of that tape, not the actual video, the
Post reported.
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