Bin Laden sounds sick on tape

Brian Ross:

In the years following the September 11th 2001 attacks, Osama bin Laden seemed very eager to appear on camera releasing numerous Al Qaeda propaganda videos. For the last 18 months, however, his public messages have been audio only, like the tape posted on the internet Wednesday. Between the threats and the rhetoric on this tape, however, one can also hear that bin Laden is quite short of breath for a man who is just 52 years old, suggesting a possible health issue.

"This is the first real indication that we've had of a bin Laden health problem," said John Kiriakou, a former CIA officer and ABC News consultant. "There have been rumors for years, but this is really the first solid evidence that there's some sort of problem with his health."

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"I can guarantee you that there is a team of people listening to the tape and trying to come up with a plausible explanations for why he is wheezing," said Kiriakou. "Second, of all why did he release the tape with the wheezing in it? Is it a chronic condition and he had to release the tape now because he's not going to get any better? Or, was there some other reason for releasing the tape now?"

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I rather suspect that bin Laden did not think he would be better before the Gaza war was over and therefore he went ahead an gave his message which was somewhat redundant of other messages about holy war against Israel. He and the other Islamic religious bigots must be getting frustrated that God is not willing for them to defeat Israel. Perhaps they should question their own faith. When you keep declaring holy war and losing it suggest that God is not on your side.