"Sean Broughton, director of the London-based
production company Smoke and Mirrors and one of
Britain's leading experts on visual effects, said it
would be relatively easy for a skilled professional
to fake a video of Bin Laden."
"Unless the US gives more information about how the
tape was found or provides more technological details
about it, doubts are bound to linger." (Guardian)
Som jeg skrev forleden er det lett å datamanipulere
en videofilm. Ledende skandinavisk presse har ikke
desto mindre selvsagt nå hevdet det er umulig. De
dikter alltid bare opp det som passer, dem kan man
ihvertfall ikke stole på, det er ikke noe nytt. Mer
katolske enn paven som vanlig, det er jo viktig at
tabloidleserne (hos oss finnes knapt andre) holdes
fast i sine dummeste illusjoner. Vil man finne
kritiske røster må man til USA, England osv. Siden
det neppe noengang blir en åpen rettssak mot bin
Laden vil en forandring/forfalskning være mindre
farlig, men likevel en alvorlig risiko å løpe for
USA. Men vi husker hva risiko Nixon løp med
Watergate. Likevel er det ikke sikkert USA har
forfalsket den... det kan f.eks. være andre som vil
fjerne mistanken fra seg selv eller oppnå andre
hensikter. Eller den kan være ekte. Bin Laden sies
dog å bære en ring på filmen, noe han ellers aldri er
sett med.
Selve det bin Laden sier på filmen, i den forstand at
han er kynisk og brutal, ser ikke jeg i seg selv som
noen grunn til å betvile dens ekthet. Men er det
sannsynlig at en så utspekulert person som han fra
alle sider sies å måtte være for alene å kunne
iscenesette terrorangrep av denne kaliber, vil være
så dum å tilstå og fremstå slik på video? Her ligger
det avgjørende paradokset. Enten er han dum, men
hvordan kan han da ha organisert det hele, eller også
er han utspekulert, men hvorfor da tilstå på en
grumset video? Mulig er at han ikke er videre
utspekulert og f.eks. er lurt av dem som ligger bak
altsammen og kanskje tar æren for noe han ønsker han
hadde kunnet gjort. Også mulig at dette retter seg
mot interne intriger som foregår i Saudi-Arabia.
Ellers hevder nå India at pakistansk etterretning
(ISI) ligger bak attentatet på Indias parlament. Bin
Laden hevdes å være forsvunnet til Pakistan og det
sies at USA skal stasjonere troppestyrker i dette
landet. Som noen skrev i går: bin Laden var den
prisen USA betalte for å få ut Sovjet av Afghanistan
med sine metoder. Enda en gang gjorde en sjakkbrikke
opprør. Hvilken pris kommer USA til å betale f.eks. i
Pakistan, for krigen nå? Og hva blir NATO så kastet
inn i? Vi skal ikke vente at våre hjemlige NATO- og
EU-misjonærer vil ta opp bare en flik av slike
temaer. Ennsi avskaffelsen av rettssikkerheten for
statsborgere i Sverige, Tyskland...
Karsten Johansen
Fra Guardian:
"Sean Broughton, director of the London-based
production company Smoke and Mirrors and one of
Britain's leading experts on visual effects, said it
would be relatively easy for a skilled professional
to fake a video of Bin Laden.
The first step would be to transfer images shot on
videotape on to film tape. Distortion or "noise" and
graininess would be removed. A "morphing package"
would then be used to manipulate the image on a
computer screen.
Using such a package it is possible to alter the
subject's mouth and expressions to fit in with
whatever soundtrack is desired. The final step is to
put the "noise" and graininess back on and transfer
the doctored images on to videotape.
In a recent advert that Smoke and Mirrors made for a
US insurance company, the technique was used to place
Bill Clinton's head on an actor's body for comic
effect.
Mr Broughton said that while it would be relatively
easy to fake a Bin Laden video, to fool the top
experts was much more difficult. "There are perhaps
20 people in America who would be good enough to fool
everybody. To find someone that good and make sure
they kept quiet would probably be pretty difficult."
Bob Crabtree, editor of the magazine Computer Video,
said it was impossible to judge whether the video was
a fake without more details of its source. "The US
seems simply to have asked the world to trust them
that it is genuine." "
Mer følger her:
US urged to detail origin of tape
As Muslim doubts grow over authenticity, special
effects experts say fake would be relatively easy to
make
Steven Morris
Saturday December 15, 2001
The Guardian
The White House yesterday came under pressure to give
more details of the video which purports to show
Osama bin Laden admitting his part in the September
11 attacks.
There was growing doubt in the Muslim world about the
authenticity of the film while special effects
experts said computer technology made it possible to
fake such a video. Unless the US gives more
information about how the tape was found or provides
more technological details about it, doubts are bound
to linger.
On the face of it the video is the "smoking gun" that
proves Bin Laden's part in the murder of more than
3,000 people in the World Trade Centre and Pentagon
attacks. President Bush yesterday called it a
"devastating declaration of guilt for this evil
person".
The 40-minute poor-quality tape, apparently shot with
a camcorder, shows Bin Laden telling a visiting
Muslim cleric details of the planning for the attack
and his delight in the carnage.
According to US officials the tape was found in a
house in Jalalabad, eastern Afghanistan, and handed
to the Pentagon by an unnamed person or group.
Officials say Mr Bush first watched the tape in
November but release was delayed until it could be
authenticated. Independent translators were used to
make sure the US could not be accused of twisting the
words of the men on the film.
But for many the explanation is too convenient. Some
opponents of the war theorise that the Bin Laden in
the film was a lookalike, others claim images of him
had been manipulated.
It was also pointed out that it was surprising that a
man with the ability to organise the attacks on
America would be naive enough to confess on tape. And
some observers point out that Bin Laden appears to be
wearing a ring on his right hand. In previous film of
Bin Laden released by him, he has worn no jewellery
apart from a watch.
Riaz Durrani, a spokesman for Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam,
which spearheaded pro-Taliban rallies in Pakistan,
said: "This videotape is not authentic. The Americans
made it up after failing to get any evidence against
Osama."
Legal experts in the US said that prosecutors seeking
to bring Bin Laden to justice would certainly be keen
to produce the tape but might struggle to prove its
authenticity.
Henry Hingson, a former president of the national
association of criminal defence lawyers, said: "In
this day and age of digital wizardry, many things can
be done to alter its veracity."
On the other hand it would be foolish to fake a video
confession, knowing that if Bin Laden is ever tried
his defence team will have experts pore over the
video.
Sean Broughton, director of the London-based
production company Smoke and Mirrors and one of
Britain's leading experts on visual effects, said it
would be relatively easy for a skilled professional
to fake a video of Bin Laden.
The first step would be to transfer images shot on
videotape on to film tape. Distortion or "noise" and
graininess would be removed. A "morphing package"
would then be used to manipulate the image on a
computer screen.
Using such a package it is possible to alter the
subject's mouth and expressions to fit in with
whatever soundtrack is desired. The final step is to
put the "noise" and graininess back on and transfer
the doctored images on to videotape.
In a recent advert that Smoke and Mirrors made for a
US insurance company, the technique was used to place
Bill Clinton's head on an actor's body for comic
effect.
Mr Broughton said that while it would be relatively
easy to fake a Bin Laden video, to fool the top
experts was much more difficult. "There are perhaps
20 people in America who would be good enough to fool
everybody. To find someone that good and make sure
they kept quiet would probably be pretty difficult."
Bob Crabtree, editor of the magazine Computer Video,
said it was impossible to judge whether the video was
a fake without more details of its source. "The US
seems simply to have asked the world to trust them
that it is genuine."
Mr Bush said it was "preposterous for anybody to
think this tape was doctored".
He added: "Those who contend it's a farce or a fake
are hoping for the best about an evil man. This is
Bin Laden unedited. This is... the Bin Laden who
murdered the people. This is a man who sent innocent
people to their death."
The foreign secretary, Jack Straw, insisted there was
"no doubt it is the real thing".
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