fighting
07/16/2007
Newly Released Osama Video Calls for Martyrs
A new video released by As-Sahab Media contains fifty seconds of unverified footage of Osama bin Laden extolling the virtues of martyrdom. Bin Laden says that Mohammed himself would have liked to have died a martyr, quoting the prophet as saying, "I would love to attack and be martyred, then attack again and be martyred, then attack again and be martyred." (Full translation of the segment at www.lauramansfield.com.)
Because there's nothing on the tape to indicate when the footage was shot, and because the setting and bin Laden's appearance are similar to those in videos shot several years ago, and because bin Laden is saying, more or less, the same damn stuff he pretty much always says, experts have so far been unable to determine whether or not the clip is new.
The full tape's about forty minutes long, and features statements from other al-Qaeda leaders, as well as would-be suicide bombers and other jihadists recording themselves for posterity pre-attack.
