New videos with sound edited out of Osama bin Laden were released by the U.S. government on Saturday, the first of what may be many made by the deceased al Qaeda leader.
One of the five videos released shows bin Laden with gray hair and a gray beard, wearing a blanket and a knit cap. In the remaining four videos he has a dyed beard. The videos lack audio.
U.S. government officials told reporters briefed on the video that they did not want to release the videos with audio in order to diminish its propaganda value. One of the videos shows an outtake where bin Laden misses a cue.
Officials said the videos were part of the "greatest intelligence haul from a senior terrorist" they had ever gotten, CNN reported.
Through the release of the videos, the U.S. intelligence community wants to make the case that bin Laden was at the Pakistani compound where he was said to be and killed, according to the report.
Another video shows an opening screen with opening letters in Arabic labeled bin Ladent's "message to the American people," according to CNN.
In the video where bin Laden is sitting on the ground he is watching himself on satellite television which is tuned to Al-Jazeera.
Officials say that in the video, bin Laden wants to show himself as a capable in control leader and made the point to contrast that with the other video where it appears to be a more candid image.
Government briefers said bin Laden was very image conscious in presenting himself to the world and to other al-Qaeda members.
A CNN reporter noted that television professionals can tell that bin Laden had a lighting and video setup that was fairly respectable.
One of the five videos released shows bin Laden with gray hair and a gray beard, wearing a blanket and a knit cap. In the remaining four videos he has a dyed beard. The videos lack audio.
U.S. government officials told reporters briefed on the video that they did not want to release the videos with audio in order to diminish its propaganda value. One of the videos shows an outtake where bin Laden misses a cue.
Officials said the videos were part of the "greatest intelligence haul from a senior terrorist" they had ever gotten, CNN reported.
Through the release of the videos, the U.S. intelligence community wants to make the case that bin Laden was at the Pakistani compound where he was said to be and killed, according to the report.
Another video shows an opening screen with opening letters in Arabic labeled bin Ladent's "message to the American people," according to CNN.
In the video where bin Laden is sitting on the ground he is watching himself on satellite television which is tuned to Al-Jazeera.
Officials say that in the video, bin Laden wants to show himself as a capable in control leader and made the point to contrast that with the other video where it appears to be a more candid image.
Government briefers said bin Laden was very image conscious in presenting himself to the world and to other al-Qaeda members.
A CNN reporter noted that television professionals can tell that bin Laden had a lighting and video setup that was fairly respectable.
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