-Caveat Lector-
From
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4319868,00.html
}}}>Begin
As Arabs cry foul, American 'proof' highlights gulf between the two
sides
New Yorkers welcome tape despite fabrication claims
Michael Ellison in New York and Ewen MacAskill
Friday December 14, 2001
The Guardian
Reaction to the Osama bin Laden tape highlighted the polarisation
between the US and the Arab world. New Yorkers unquestioningly saw it
as an admittance of guilt while in Cairo, Beirut and the sizeable
Arab population of London the view was that the tape had been
doctored.
In contrast with the sense in New York that the final piece of
evidence had been gathered, many Arabs expressed concern that the
tape might have been tampered with by the US administration, pointing
to the many pauses, coughs and indistinguishable parts of the
discussion.
Some Arabs claimed that the man in the video was an actor.
Even Arabs hostile to Bin Laden questioned the interpretation being put on the tape by
the US that it amounted to proof that he was responsible.
Reflecting the widespread sense of scepticism, Dia'a Rashwan, a Cairo-based specialist
on Islamic movements, said: "Of course it is fabricated."
In the bars of New York, there were no such doubts. "It's what everybody expected to
find," said Graham Stroh, a 26-year-old producer for an advertising agency. "But this
is the first time that this type of evidence has b
een released. Before, I wouldn't have been surprised to find out that there were other
masterminds behind it."
Mr Stroh, a copy in front of him of the New York Post with the headline "Ambushed",
referring to the latest attacks on Israelis, was eating in the Tavern on Jane, a West
Village bar where the attacks on the World Trade Ce
ntre do not need to be talked up: one member of staff lost a previous girlfriend on
September 11; another, his brother, lost his wife of fewer than 100 days.
Peter Mengede, a 39-year-old musician, is going home to Brisbane in a fortnight after
15 years in New York. "I was going anyway," he said. "This just made the decision
easier.
"If the translation was correct, it's pretty conclusive. The mullah talking to him had
to be pretty naive. I was astounded that they appeared to be gloating and proud of the
whole deal. Everything they released before, no
doubt for security reasons, was pretty sketchy.
"This gives Bush carte blanche for anything he wants: tax cuts, missile projects,
environmental issues."
A 40-something teacher, who declined to give her name said: "Bin Laden doesn't have a
soul, he doesn't have a heart. I fear another attack on New York. This creates more
tension."
Luca Rostagno, a 58-year-old product designer, believed that the tape would convince
anyone who had doubts about Bin Laden's part in the attacks that he had killed more
than 3,000 people in lower Manhattan.
"There must have been somebody who was unsure but now we know for sure that this guy
was behind it," he said.
The tape was also shown in the Middle East on the US network, CNN, and on the
independent Arab station, al-Jazeera.
Jordanian political analyst Labib Kamhawi, said the video at most showed Bin Laden
praising the attacks, but "does not prove that Bin Laden was responsible for the
September 11 attacks".
An Arab ambassador based in London watched the tape with his embassy staff, straining
to hear the Arabic and trying to read Bin Laden's lips. He said there could be nuances
that were not apparent in the English translatio
n. He could not be sure from what he had seen whether Bin Laden had admitted to the
attacks or was commenting on them.
The ambassador said he believed the tape would play badly with most Arabs: "If he is
bragging about killing people, the majority of people will condemn him. He never had
much support among Arabs anyway."
But he added that the sight of him boasting about the success of the attacks would
appeal to a "fringe".
After contacting bureaus in Cairo and Beirut to gauge opinion, an Arab journalist
working in London said: "There is enormous frustration in Egypt, the Lebanon and other
parts of the Arab world because of what is happening
in Palestine. There is a strong anti-American feeling over the last few days and that
will affect the reaction to the US tape.
"People in Egypt and elsewhere will be cautious about an indictment of Bin Laden
through this tape unless he admits quite openly to organising the atrocities. They
will take it not with a pinch of salt but with a whole lo
ad of salt because of the huge anti-American feeling."
The father of the man who led the attacks, Mohamed Atta, joined in
the expressions of scepticism, describing the tape as a farce.
Mohamed al-Amir al-Sayed Awad Atta, a 65-year-old retired Cairo
lawyer, said: "America is the land of aberration and forgery."
Guardian Unlimited � Guardian Newspapers Limited 2001
End<{{{
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