# Bin Laden tape addresses American people. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 29, 2004, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-tape-addresses-american-people/271912 "2004-10-29T20:00:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-tape-addresses-american-people/271912/1 "2004-10-29T20:00:04Z")
Ooh. This just broke-- Al Jazeera has broadcast a tape in which the big bastard appears (in part) to make some comments to the American populace. No translations have been made available yet. Think this is real or a fake? Is he still walking around? Up until a few minutes ago, I was almost certain he was worm food. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-tape-addresses-american-people/271912/2 "2004-10-29T20:07:47Z")
According to [Derf](http://derfcity.com/o/oldbinladen.html) he is still mooning us. ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-tape-addresses-american-people/271912/3 "2004-10-29T20:07:49Z")
[Link](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6363306/). Not sure what to make of it other than he is alive or recently was. He says “Bush cannnot protect you.” Reverse psychology? Double reve… ah screw it. It’ll all be speculative. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-tape-addresses-american-people/271912/4 "2004-10-29T20:12:25Z")
Thanks for the Link clayton. Is Osama implying that Kerry can protect us? Really makes me wonder if this is timed for obvious reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-tape-addresses-american-people/271912/5 "2004-10-29T20:13:06Z")
Supposedly it’s real. [Reuters](http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=KSK4FYOBPATHACRBAEZSFEY?type=topNews&storyID=6664037) and [AP](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BIN_LADEN_TAPE?SITE=NCJAC&SECTION=HOME) say so ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-tape-addresses-american-people/271912/6 "2004-10-29T20:17:03Z")
“I swear to God that the intent wasn’t to bring the towers down altogether.” What the hell? Was that some sort of an apology? **Padeye** – No, he said something like “Your security does not lie with Bush, your security does not lie with Kerry, your security does not lie with Al Qaeda-- it is in your hands.” ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-tape-addresses-american-people/271912/7 "2004-10-29T20:19:38Z")
I should mention that both of those quotes (or paraphrases, more like) were supplied by a translator on CNN. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-tape-addresses-american-people/271912/8 "2004-10-29T20:28:39Z")
I wonder if Bin Laden is trying to bolser support for Bush by putting out a scary video to frighten American voters into retaining the best recruiter Al Qaeda has ever had. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-tape-addresses-american-people/271912/9 "2004-10-29T20:37:20Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > “I swear to God that the intent wasn’t to bring the towers down altogether.” Ah, I misunderstood that. It apparently referred to some towers that were brought down in Lebanon 22 years ago, and was something like “We didn’t want to see _those_ towers come down.” (I _thought_ that was pretty bizarre.) Anyone have specific information about that? ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-tape-addresses-american-people/271912/10 "2004-10-29T20:56:27Z")
> [@gobear](#): > > I wonder if Bin Laden is trying to bolser support for Bush by putting out a scary video to frighten American voters into retaining the best recruiter Al Qaeda has ever had. On the other hand it’s a sharp and timely reminder of Bush’s failure to catch the guy. And Kerry can pound home the message of Bush’s unconcern, and the way Bush lied about that unconcern at the debate. If we get really lucky, some of the media might replay the Bush quote once or twice. (FTR, I believe Bush actually IS concerned about OBL; that “not really worried about him” was pure sour grapes, because he couldn’t catch him.) ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2004, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-tape-addresses-american-people/271912/11 "2004-10-30T08:56:05Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > “I swear to God that the intent wasn’t to bring the towers down altogether.” > > What the hell? Was that some sort of an apology? Well, you should have thought of that before you told those people to fly airplanes into them. Now, clean up this mess, and you are not to **touch** another toy until everything is back **exactly** the way you found it!\ ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2004, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bin-laden-tape-addresses-american-people/271912/12 "2004-10-30T14:37:36Z")
Weird. Bin Laden sounds almost… conciliatory. Very odd.