04.08.2013 - 08:54 [ Sourcewatch ]

SITE Institute

In early September 2007, SITE announced that Osama bin Laden would release a video message on the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. Bloomberg News also reported that IntelCenter, another web monitoring service, noted that al Qaeda‘s media production group as-Sahab flagged the video in an online media statement.[8] While Bloomberg reported only that the video would be released, the Associated Press stated that „the 30-minute video was obtained by the SITE Institute“ and had provided a copy to the AP. The report stated that „American officials said the U.S. government had obtained a copy even though the video had not been posted yet by al-Qaeda“.[9] AP noted that „during the video, bin Laden‘s image moves for only a total of about 3 1/2 minutes in two segments, staying frozen the rest of the time while his remarks continue.“ An anonymous U.S. intelligence official told the AP it may have been a technical glitch that occurred during production. While the video was intercepted by US intelligence agencies, its provision to SITE Institute may have been a boon to the small group, which only made it available on its website to subscribers.[10] However, Fox News released a transcript of the tape.[11]