Zawahiri vids manipulated to hide location

Robert Vamosi:

In a presentation at the Black Hat conference here Tuesday, Neal Krawetz of Hacker Factor showed how basic manipulations to images can be revealed through digital analysis.

After presenting on the specific techniques he used, Krawetz launched into what he called the case of "Dr. Z," who happens to be Ayman al-Zawahiri, the No. 2 man in al-Qaida.

Using a photo that originally appeared on December 20, 2006, in USA Today, al-Zawahiri appears to be seated before a large banner with a desk underneath. On the desk, in the photo, is a tiny cannon. Yet in the text, al-Zawahiri is described as sitting with "a rifle behind his shoulder that was leaning against a plain brown backdrop."

Using the techniques demonstrated earlier in the talk, Krawetz deconstructed the image to show a halo around al-Zawahiri that suggests that he was likely sitting in front of a monochromatic screen. Even the letters on the banner had been altered. Further, the overall image had been cropped from the original.

Krawetz showed another image of al-Zawahiri from July 27, 2006, showing him seated in what appears to be a television studio. Krawetz said many people who saw this video were outraged that he could sitting in a television studio somewhere, yet the U.S. government couldn't find him.

Image analysis suggests that the studio and the various pictures positioned in the studio around him were added later. Again, a halo around al-Zawahiri suggests that he was shot in front of a monochromatic screen and pasted into a new background.

The studio background behind al-Zawahiri includes five different elements placed within the shot: The picture of Mohammad Alef is taken from a video of a wedding ceremony. The picture of the Twin Towers and the picture of Mohammad Atta are both taken from the 911 Commission report. Meanwhile, the studio itself appears created; the lighting suggests that the wall is an unlikely 1 foot behind al-Zawahiri, for example.

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This is another demonstration of how badly al Qaeda is losing this war. If it were really inning, there would be no need to engage in such deception and manipulation. Zawahiri could just call a news briefing and speak directly to reporters. Even Saddam did not have to go through such manipulation during the initial stages of the Iraq war.

Update: ABC News reports another al Qaeda video threatening an attack soon.

A new al Qaeda propaganda ad, headlined "Wait for the Big Surprise" and featuring a digitally altered photograph of President George Bush and Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf standing in front of a burning White House, was posted on the Internet today.

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Isn't that subtle?