2007 Osama Bin Laden Video - Contents

Contents

Note: The following description was compiled after consideration of the video and transcript as hosted by The Counterterrorism Blog

In the video, bin Laden is seated at a table wearing a white robe, turban, and beige cloak. His beard is shorter than in his 2004 video and it's black, leading some to speculate that it had been dyed. The video's title "The Solution" appears in the top left corner of the video frame. The video running time is approximately 26 minutes.

Bin Laden addresses the "People of America" directly in the video, but he makes no direct threats to the United States. He criticizes perceived flaws in American society and US foreign policy, contrasting these with the perceived virtues of Islam. The September 11 attacks are mentioned several times, as is the Iraq War. The video concludes with a suggestion that Americans should convert to Islam.

Other events and themes in the video include:

• The 62nd anniversary of the US Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• The influence of the Democratically-controlled congress
• The influence of major corporations
• Global warming and the Kyoto Accord
• The war in Afghanistan
• The Dissolution of the Soviet Union
• The Kennedy Assassination
• The Vietnam war
• The extermination of Native American Indians
• The Spanish Inquisition
• The Capitalist / Communist governments who "take their people for fools"

Individuals mentioned in the video include:

• Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair
• Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown
• Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy
• Author and political activist Noam Chomsky
• Author and former CIA analyst Michael Scheuer

As with Bin Laden's January 19, 2006 audio tape, where he endorses William Blum's book, Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower, in this video Bin Laden endorses Michael Scheuer's Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror. Bin Laden states in the video:

"And our holding firm to this magnificent Book is the secret of our strength and winning of the war against you despite the fewness of our numbers and materiel. And if you would like to get to know some of the reasons for your losing of your war against us, then read the book of Michael Scheuer in this regard."

He suggests that the viewer read the European thinker who anticipated the fall of the Soviet Union. Although not named, Bin Laden is believed to be referring to Emmanuel Todds After the Empire: The Breakdown of the American Order.

Bin Laden suggests that notice should be taken of comments made by a US soldier serving in Iraq named Joshua:

It would benefit you to listen to the poignant messages of your soldiers in Iraq, who are paying – with their blood, nerves and scattered limbs....Among them is the eloquent message of Joshua which he sent by way of the media, in which he wipes the tears from his eyes and describes American politicians in harsh terms and invites them to join him there for a few days.

The soldier's comments were made in an ABC News story dated July 16, 2007, and although Bin Laden attributes the remarks to Corporal Joshua Lake who appears in the story, they were actually made by another soldier, Specialist Michael Vassell.