This is interesting. If it is true.

CNN Aired May 12, 2004 - 12:59   ET

O'BRIEN: Responses throughout the Middle East are reflected, of course, in Arab TV coverage. Our senior editor of Arab affairs, Octavia Nasr, who watches Arab the Arab television assiduously, is here to give us a little sense of what's being said and perhaps more important in this story, what is being shown and not shown. The big question is, of course, on this tape, just horrific tape, which is available on the Web, obviously. Are places like Al-Arabiya, Al Jazeera, are they showing it in its entirety?

OCTAVIA NASR, CNN SR. EDITOR FOR ARAB AFFAIRS: No. Arab viewers of the big networks, as well as the local TV stations did not see the actual execution. They did see at the beginning of this tape, just like we saw here on CNN and most Western networks, you saw the beginning of the tape right before the beheading. They reported on it, and as a side story. It certainly isn't playing as a big story or as the story.

O'BRIEN: That's very interesting. When we hearken back to Danny Pearl, "The Wall Street Journal" reporter who was killed in Pakistan in 2002, the entirety of that, which included a beheading, was shown on these outlets. What happened? What changed?

NASR: What changed is the learning. And also the reaction to showing gruesome pictures and atrocities and the reaction from viewers and authorities alike. Also, it has been a few years since then. Back then, there was no Al-Arabiya. Al-Arabiya is brand new. It started a few weeks before the war last year.

Again, it's a learning process. It seems that the networks are responding to their viewers. Remember, Al Jazeera is seen all over the world, the Americas, Africa, Asia, Australia, all over the world. And viewers there are not accepting of these images as people in the Arab world are.

O'BRIEN: Well, let me ask you this. You've had a chance to really listen to this tape and get a sense who might be responsible, just by deciphering, say, accents. And certainly, there in the Arab world, they're very attuned to that. And given the fact of who this may or may not be, does that have some effect on how it is being played?

NASR: Yes, and if you listen to these voices that we're hearing on Arab networks, Iraqis are condemning this execution. And they're saying these are foreigners. These are not Iraqis. They do not represent us and so forth.

Now, of course, the original claim was that Zarqawi is the actual man who performed this execution. Our experts listened to the accent, as you said, and they determined the accent is not Jordanian...

O'BRIEN: He is a Jordanian who is working supposedly, allegedly, at the behest of al Qaeda in Iraq. So go ahead.

NASR: Right, he is very close to bin Laden, and works, you're right, as an agent of al Qaeda in Iraq. Now, the accent is not Jordanian so that takes the Jordanian element out of the story immediately.

O'BRIEN: Interesting. All right, now one final thought here. You did a very careful translation of your own, of the statement. And in it, you see no reference to al Qaeda. And yet the official U.S. government translation does. Explain how that happened.

NASR: Oh, I find it very interesting, because out of the blue, there is a mention of al Qaeda on the U.S. government translation. It says: "Does al Qaeda need any further excuses?" Any speaker of the Arabic language is going to notice a difference between the word al Qaeda, which means "the base," and al qaed, which means "the one sitting, doing nothing."

My translation says: "Is there any excuse for the one who sits down and does nothing?" Basically they're telling people, you have no excuse for not doing anything, for not acting and defending Islam and so forth. Whereas the U.S. government translation has this factual error, I'm sure it's an honest mistake, but basically it sort of adds al Qaeda to the statement, which is not on the statement.

O'BRIEN: All right, Octavia Nasr, we don't know exactly how that got in there. We'll try to get more on that. We appreciate you bringing that all to light and appreciate your insights, of course.

NASR: You bet.

 

Sometimes you are entertaining.
Tonite you are a fucking asshole.
CNN is the last place in the world to get the truth.
Go fuck yourself.

If you had any balls or brains you would have expressed an opinion or explanation.
Fucktard.

Quoted: Sometimes you are entertaining. Tonite you are a fucking asshole. CNN is the last place in the world to get the truth. Go fuck yourself. If you had any balls or brains you would have expressed an opinion or explanation. Fucktard.

Don't be so negative. Did he mention the USS Liberty, or Israeli nationals driving on supended licenses in the midwest, or drilling in ANWR? Did he use a phrase like "It is said by some that George Bush and other Jewish leaders. . .?"  He's coming along. Be grateful for what you get.

Quoted: Sometimes you are entertaining. Tonite you are a fucking asshole. CNN is the last place in the world to get the truth. Go fuck yourself. If you had any balls or brains you would have expressed an opinion or explanation. Fucktard.

Do you kiss your mom with that mouth?

Quoted: Do you kiss your mom with that mouth?

[Sean Connery] No, but I did something to your mother with this mouth! [/Sean Connery]

Quoted: Quoted: Sometimes you are entertaining. Tonite you are a fucking asshole. CNN is the last place in the world to get the truth. Go fuck yourself. If you had any balls or brains you would have expressed an opinion or explanation. Fucktard. Don't be so negative. Did he mention the USS Liberty, or Israeli nationals driving on supended licenses in the midwest, or drilling in ANWR? Did he use a phrase like "It is said by some that George Bush and other Jewish leaders. . .?"  He's coming along. Be grateful for what you get.

Praise Allah, salaam aleikam and peace brother...and do not sit with people of bid'a.

I hate to put this back on the front page but I must respond.
I am unbelievably angry over whats going on. The prisoner stuff, the Berg beheading and the way the media deals with it and the the way the world see's it.
I cannot fucking believe whats going on here!
Did you see him get decapitated? Did you hear his screams? It is beyond belief!
I dont care what he was doing there.

Nuke the fuckin place!!!!

Google "berg not jordanian" or something like that in "groups" and you will get a story that intimates it is the US that dressed up and killed Berg to make it look like Arabs.   Other claims say he was not alive because there wasn't enough blood, or that he was too still and didn't react or struggle....it goes on......

About the only claim they don't make is that Rumsfeld or Bush did it personally.

Come on Imbro! Do you believe what CNN says?

I watched the tape, and at one point I thought he said "Al Qaeda"... out of the other 5 or so minutes of rambling Arabic.  It certainly could have been "al qaed" though.  But whatever.  That tape was very fricken distrubing.  

Quoted: Sometimes you are entertaining. Tonite you are a fucking asshole. CNN is the last place in the world to get the truth. Go fuck yourself. If you had any balls or brains you would have expressed an opinion or explanation. Fucktard.

Are you finished? Maybe you need to go into your timeout room.

Quoted: Google "berg not jordanian" or something like that in "groups" and you will get a story that intimates it is the US that dressed up and killed Berg to make it look like Arabs.   Other claims say he was not alive because there wasn't enough blood, or that he was too still and didn't react or struggle....it goes on...... About the only claim they don't make is that Rumsfeld or Bush did it personally.

Did you bother reading the transcript? The translator said that the person that is being claimed to be zarqawi, may not be him, as he does not have a jordanian accent. The other issue is if al qaeda was actually mentioned by name or if it was mistranslated. If this is true then it was some other group of radicals that perpetrated this. It in no way takes away the fact of the guy getting killed.

That is all that was being discussed, nothing about berg being alive or dead at the time of the beheading or the other theories.

Quoted: Come on Imbro! Do you believe what CNN says?

Did I say I believed what they said? Quit being so hysterical.

Quoted: Quoted: Google "berg not jordanian" or something like that in "groups" and you will get a story that intimates it is the US that dressed up and killed Berg to make it look like Arabs.   Other claims say he was not alive because there wasn't enough blood, or that he was too still and didn't react or struggle....it goes on...... About the only claim they don't make is that Rumsfeld or Bush did it personally. Did you bother reading the transcript? The translator said that the person that is being claimed to be zarqawi, may not be him, as he does not have a jordanian accent. The other issue is if al qaeda was actually mentioned by name or if it was mistranslated. If this is true then it was some other group of radicals that perpetrated this. It in no way takes away the fact of the guy getting killed. That is all that was being discussed, nothing about berg being alive or dead at the time of the beheading or the other theories.

Apparently not.  I brought up further ideas I found that go beyond yours (but are directly related)  for people's consideration.  Neither of us I doubt has had the tapes translated to us by someone qualified.  Who really knows?  

I read the whole thing and the most amazing thing in it was the fact that the guy said the accent was NOT Jordanian.........but he didn't say what he thought it was...unless I missed something.  Well, at least he didn't guess, if he didn't know.

Quoted: the U.S. government translation. It says: "Does al Qaeda need any further excuses?" My translation says: "Is there any excuse for the one who sits down and does nothing?"

What "U.S. government translation" are they talking about???????

Here's one of several similar version of that passages they're referring to:

"Nation of Islam. Is there any excuse left to sit idly by? And how can free Muslims sleep soundly as they see Islam being slaughtered..." Reuters


Do you have any info on this official "U.S. government translation" they are referring to because I can't find one.

Quoted: the U.S. government translation. It says: "Does al Qaeda need any further excuses?"

In fact, if you Google that phrase: "Does al Qaeda need any further excuses" - only ONE website comes up with it - CNN Transcripts

So does anyone have a link to this "U.S. government translation" that has that phrase in it?

Quoted: Quoted: the U.S. government translation. It says: "Does al Qaeda need any further excuses?" My translation says: "Is there any excuse for the one who sits down and does nothing?" What "U.S. government translation" are they talking about??????? Here's one of several similar version of that passages they're referring to: "Nation of Islam. Is there any excuse left to sit idly by? And how can free Muslims sleep soundly as they see Islam being slaughtered..." Reuters Do you have any info on this official "U.S. government translation" they are referring to because I can't find one.

The CIA has admitted to be analyzing the tape and has said that it is a "high probability" that it is zarqawi on the tape. Maybe CNN/Nasr had a leaked copy of the translation? I don't know.

I think the big issue here isn't if there is a "government translation" or not, but if the guy really is zarqawi or part of some freelance group that needs to be tracked.