Thursday December 20 08:00 PM EST

Bin Laden Translation Omitted Sections

By John Miller ABCNEWS.com

A new ABCNEWS translation of the Osama bin Laden videotape released last week reveals information that may be embarrassing to
Saudi Arabia, a very important U.S. ally. ¥ Bin Laden Hunt Strains U.S-Saudi Relations ¥ Excerpts of the Bin Laden Video Weigh In

                         When the videotape of Osama bin Laden talking about the Sept. 11 terror attacks was released by the
                         United States government on Dec. 13, administration officials spoke at length about the extensive effort
                         to achieve a full and accurate transcript.

                         The translation commissioned by ABCNEWS, however, reveals new elements that raise questions about
                         what the government left out of the official version and why.

                         The new translation uncovers statements that could be embarrassing to the government of Saudi Arabia,
                         a very important U.S. ally. Bin Laden's visitor, Khalid al Harbi, a Saudi dissident, claims that he was
                         smuggled into Afghanistan by a member of Saudi Arabia's religious police.

                         He also tells bin Laden that in Saudi Arabia, several prominent clerics Ñ some with connections to the
                         Saudi government Ñ made speeches supporting the attacks on America.

                         "Right at the time of the strike on America, he gave a very moving speech, Sheikh Abdulah al Baraak,"
                         bin Laden said on the tape. "And he deserves thanks for that."

                         Sheikh al Baraak, to whom the visitor refers, is a professor at a government university and a member of
                         an influential council on religious law.

"It shows that bin Laden's support is not limited to the radical side of Islam but also among the Saudi religious establishment," says
Fawaz Gerges, professor of Middle Eastern studies at Sarah Lawrence College. "And that is bad news for Saudi Arabia."

The new translation reveals bin Laden's intimate knowledge of the hijackers themselves. Bin Laden mentions not just the ring leader
Mohamed Atta but several of the hijackers by name, including the al Hazmi brothers: "So these young men, may God accept their
action, Nawaf Al Hazmi, Salim Al Hazmi É"

A member of the team that translated the tape for the U.S. government said the ABCNEWS translation is consistent with portions of
the government's transcript that have not been released to the public.

This isn't surprising. Furthermore, this coddling of Saudi Arabia is really starting to make me sick. I know we need their oil and "allies" such as themselves in the Middle East, but you have to draw the line somewhere.

Wait, let me dig up my old thread on the Saudi Arabian connection to all that is evil in the world! You know, the one I got so much flak on!

Eric The(IfIWon'tForgetAboutTheWarBetweenTheStatesWhatMakesYouThinkI'mAForgivingKindOfGuy?)Hun[>]:)]

Like here's one:[url]http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?id=61804[/url]

And another:[url]http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?id=58154[/url] [>]:)]

First we need to get a good long term oil deal with Russia. Then we can just take out Saudi Arabia's royal family and put up a secualr, Turkish style government.

the saudi royal family has on the order of 30,000 members i have heard....

I am not surprised at all.  The Saudis are only our friends as long as we are doing their dirty work.  I am sure the royal family doesn't support Al Quaida, but they aren't going to bend over backwards to help us stomp them out either.

Don't need Russia when we already have Alaska!  Why would we want to continue to rely on outside oil? Currently we import around 60%, that IMHO is way to high!

sgtar15

Does Alaska have enough? We already get a good bit of oil from Alaska.  And also, shouldnt we save our oil for REAL emergancies?

RikWriter, but individuals of the Saudi ruling family do financially and philosophicly support Usama Bin and Al Quaida as do the Bin Laden brothers and half-brothers individually, the family construction business, various religious/humanitarian charities in Saudi Arabia as well as wealthy Saudi individuals.

They (collectively the Saudi's) pay Usama to train-in and commit-acts-of-terror-in any country other than Arabia.  Now recruiting in Arabia is no problem.  Local Arabian terrorists making good (finding death/killing Americans) on 9/11 totaled 15 or 16 out of the 19 total I believe.

If anyone hates this "usama bin rodent" more than Americans it is many but not all of the Saudi ruling family.  They fear him and therefore they hate him and if the citizens of Arabia hate anyone worse than Americans it is the Saudi ruling family.

The Saudi royals are scared turd-less that Usama Bin will come home and lead a popular revolt against them.  We're not likely to allow a coup to happen but the Royals can't be sure of that and will remember Iran.

Sorry for the rant but as an ally I'd rather trust "Hati" than the Saudis.