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Most people will remember the infamous "bin Laden confession video" which was reportedly 'obtained' by US forces in Afghanistan after the fall of Jalalabad in 2001. The video, which has been offered as proof by the Bush administration that Osama bin Laden ordered the September 11, 2001 attacks, was broadcast in media outlets beginning in December 2001. But now, a researcher claims that several kinds of evidence related to the video show that the US military's story of its origin is false.
His shocking conclusion is that the video was not 'obtained' by US forces in Jalalabad; rather it was very likely the product of a US-sponsored 'sting operation', possibly conducted with the assistance of Sauid Arabia and Pakistan, in late September, 2001.
"in mid-November, Usama Bin Laden spoke to a room of supporters, possibly in Qandahar, Afghanistan. These comments were video taped with the knowledge of Bin Laden and all present."
This solidifies the official claim that the tape was created in mid-November 2001, and that bin Laden meant for his comments to be taped.
2. Just three days afterward, however, on December 16, 2001, The Observer noted that: "several intelligence sources have suggested to The Observer that the tape, although absolutely genuine, is the result of a sophisticated sting operation run by the CIA through a second intelligence service, possibly Saudi or Pakistani."
4. If Osseiran's account is correct, not only has the US Defense Department lied about the origin of the tape as well as the circumstances of its coming to have custody of it, but it also becomes clear that the US was not interested in capturing or killing bin Laden immediately after the September 2001 attacks, despite having the opportunity. The confession video became useful in December 2001 after international pressure was building on the US to provide hard evidence of bin Laden's guilt. The DoD press release makes reference to this pressure.
Yet if Osseiran is correct, the US had the evidence of bin Laden's guilt (such as it is) in its possession well before the attack on Afghanistan, and could have provided the evidence to the Taliban and averted war. The Taliban, of course, back in September 2001 had offered to turn over bin Laden to the US in return for clear evidence of bin Laden's guilt. But by doing so, the US would have lost its pretext to attack, and the inescapable conclusion is that the Bush administration was bent on war, and not on capturing bin Laden.