An American CIA official has confirmed what Arab network Al Jazeera has been saying for some days now, that a new audiotape played by the network last Sunday is indeed bin Laden. The message contains references to recent events, such as Hussein’s capture, and seems to be evidence that bin Laden is still alive.
On CBS’s The Early Show, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge also said “preliminary assessments says this is the voice of Osama bin Laden.”
But instead of bin Laden’s continued existence being the big story out of this one–we’ve always assumed he was still alive–the penchant of the Arab networks to air the propaganda of terrorists will get them no closer to respect in the journalistic world. As I wrote before:
Could you imagine American media airing unsolicited tapes from every wacko faction in the United States? Like in the U.S., Arab media would do well to hold themselves to standards.
Pretending to be a news network as opposed to the mouthpiece of terrorists only goes so far. After a while, actions must back up their claims.