Phil Taylor's papers
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BACK TO : TALIBAN & AL QAIDA PROPAGANDA (including the 'bin Laden Tapes' & AQ statements) with analysis
The Guardian's Timeline of the tapes 
The al-Qaida leader, Osama bin Laden, has released a series of audio and video tapes to the Qatari TV station al-Jazeera. Simon Jeffery looks back at the recorded output of the world's most wanted man June 19 2001 A video is released by al-Qaida showing Osama bin Laden and his supporters training at their al-Farouq base in Afghanistan. Their leader, who is already the US's most wanted man for his role in the 1998 east Africa embassy bombings, is filmed kneeling down in flowing white robes and squeezing the trigger of an AK-47. October 5 2001 Al-Jazeera shows a video clip of the celebrations when Ayman al-Zawahiri, now Bin Laden's deputy, brought Egyptian Islamic Jihad into al-Qaida. October 7 2001 Shortly after the first US missiles hit Kabul, television news channels switch their footage from the shots of tracer fire in the night sky to the figure of Bin Laden, dressed in combat fatigues somewhere in the rocky Afghan wilderness. It is clearly pre-recorded (the daylight gives that away) but the impact is as if he was speaking live as he condemns the hours-old attack as a war on Islam."I say these events have split the whole world into two camps: the camp of the faithful and the camp of the infidels," he tells the camera. "Every Muslim should support his religion." The video contains his first public response to the September 11 attacks. "America is full of fear from its north to its south, from its west to its east. Thank God for that," he says. "Our nation has been tasting fear, hatred and injustices for years." Rhetoric to arouse the Islamic world October 13 2001 Al-Jazeera screens a video showing Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, an al-Qaida spokesman, warning that "thousands of Muslim youths" are eager to die. "The storms will not calm, especially the aircraft storm," he says. "We also say and advise the Muslims in the US and Britain, the children, and those who reject the unjust US policy, not to travel by plane. We also advise them not to live in highrise buildings and towers." Government urges caution over Bin Laden footage December 13 2001 The Pentagon releases a video it claims shows Bin Laden discussing the September 11 attacks with guests at an al-Qaida dinner at a house in Kandahar. In one section, he gently smiles and explains how "we calculated in advance the number of casualties from the enemy based on the position of the tower," but the attack surpassed his expectations. "I was thinking that the fire from the fuel in the plane would melt the iron structure of the building and collapse the area where the plane hit and the floors above it only. That is all we had hoped for." Apparently found in late November in an abandoned house in Jalalabad, the video is hailed as conclusive proof that Bin Laden was behind the attacks. The Bin Laden video: is this the clinching evidence? December 26 2001 Looking gaunt, tired and as if he has aged a decade in the past two months, Bin Laden appears to take credit for the September 11 attacks. "Our terrorism against the United States is worthy of praise to deter the oppressor so that America stop its support for Israel, which is killing our children," he says.He is shot against a brown blanket, masking any clues that may disclose his location. The video was filmed to mark three months since the "blessed attack" on the US, he says, meaning that he has survived the US assault on his bases up to mid December at least. April 15 2002 Al-Jazeera shows excerpts from a forthcoming documentary made by a pro-al-Qaida production company featuring previously unseen footage of Bin Laden and al-Zawahiri sat by a stream. The package also includes what appears to be a video message from Ahmed al-Haznawi, one of the Flight 93 hijackers in a segment called The Wills of the New York and Washington Battle Martyrs. The 22-year-old Saudi pledges to give his life to "martyrdom" and swears to send a "bloodied message" to Americans by attacking them in their "heartland". June 23 2002 An audio cassette that purports to be from Abu Ghaith says that Bin Laden is alive and planning fresh attacks. He claims responsibility for the April truck bombing of Africa's oldest synagogue, on the Tunisian island of Djerba, in which 21 people, mostly German tourists, were killed. August 19 2002 CNN broadcasts an al-Qaida video showing what appear to be poison gas tests on a dog. Also among the cache of 60 tapes obtained by the station is a video of a 1998 press conference to mark al-Qaida's merger with Egyptian Islamic Jihad where Bin Laden declares a formal jihad against "crusaders and Jews". September 9 2002 A voice attributed to Bin Laden praises the hijackers as "great men who deepened the roots of faith in the hearts of the faithful" on an al-Jazeera screened video showing the men in a Kandahar house preparing for the attack. Items on a table included an air chart of the US, and a flight instruction manual. "As we talk about the conquests of Washington and New York," the voice says, "we talk about those men who changed the course of history and cleaned the records of the nation from the dirt of the treasonous rulers and their followers". There is nothing to indicate the recording was made after the attack on Afghanistan. November 12 2002 Al-Jazeera broadcasts an audiotape purporting to be by Bin Laden in which he praises terrorist attacks in Bali, Moscow and against a French tanker off the coast of Yemen. On November 18, after completing a technical and linguistic analysis, US intelligence officials confirm that it is Bin Laden and that the recording was made in recent weeks. This makes the tape the first definitive evidence in almost a year that the al-Qaida leader is alive, but doubts emerge over its authenticity in the weeks that follow. The recording warns US allies against following the "oppressive American government", naming Britain among a handful of western countries. It is also critical of Australia's role in East Timor. "They ignored our warning and woke up to the sound of explosions in Bali, but the government pretended they were not the target," the voice says. Bin Laden tape praises Bali attack Swiss scientists 95% sure that Bin Laden recording was fake Extracts from 'Bin Laden' tape December 8 2002 An audio recording purporting to be a claim of responsibility for a suicide attack on an Israeli-owned hotel in Mombassa, Kenya, from Abu Ghaith is broadcast on al-Jazeera. "The Jewish Crusader coalition will not be safe anywhere from the fighters' attacks," it adds. "We will hit the most vital centres and we will strike against its strategic operations with all possible means." 'Al-Qaida tape' lays claim to Kenyan attacks February 11 2003 Al-Jazeera broadcasts an audiotape calling on Iraqis to carry out suicide attacks against US forces. Washington is quicker than usual to attribute the voice to Bin Laden and says it is evidence of an alliance between al-Qaida and Baghdad. But other sections of the recording say "all socialist regimes are run by unbelievers, including that of Iraq." April 8 2003 The Associated Press news agency receives an audio tape calling for Muslims to rise up against countries that support the US-led war with Iraq, calling for attacks on governments in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. "All of them have been imposed upon you and jihad against them is your duty," the speaker says. An Arabic-speaking Afghan who met Bin Laden years ago translated the tape and said the voice appeared to be the al-Qaida leader's, AP said. September 10 2003 Al-Jazeera airs a videotape that seems to show a gaunt Osama bin Laden walking through mountainous terrain with his chief lieutentant, Ayman al-Zawahiri. In an audiotape that accompanies the video footage, the two men refer to the second anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, but the date of the recording is not clear. New 'Bin Laden' videotape warns of real battle to come September 28 2003 Both al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya broadcast excerpts of an audiotape supposedly by Ayman al-Zawahri. He calls on Pakistanis to overthrow their president for collaborating with the US and accuses the US of trying to abolish Islam. The tape refers to recent events, so must have been recorded sometime in September. |