WASHINGTON, 16 December — The release of the Bin Laden video has caused much speculation about many of the details in the pictures. Now, a defense expert has told Arab News how he thinks the video was made.
“Bin Laden is far too shrewd to have allowed himself to be taped overtly when talking about the destruction of the World Trade Center,” said a defense and intelligence expert who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
“I suspect his candid conversation was captured by a personal covet TV surveillance system secreted in the room by one of his, or the sheikh’s, most trusted colleagues,” he said, referring to the taped conversation between Bin Laden and Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Ghamdi. “This would explain why the camera is not focused, why the audio is difficult to hear, and why the picture is often panning wildly around the room. It’s on his head, it’s swiveling around.”
“Video cameras are now available that can be concealed within a baseball cap or turban, with the cables running out the back through, for example, a cloth eyeglass leash into a backpack, or even a jacket pocket.
“It is my suspicion that the US government is reluctant to give specific details about how it acquired this video because it may betray what people in the intelligence community call ‘sources and methods.’ This means revealing too much detail about how the information was acquired could jeopardize the person responsible for obtaining it and passing it along.”
“I believe that neither Bin Laden nor Sheikh Al Ghamdi were aware that the video was made,” the source said.
