Has anyone other than US governmental entities ever

[raccoon]

done analysis of the purported OBL tapes? Any voice prints, etc.?

[babylonsister]

1. Yes, on Jim Lehrer last night. See this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2379636

[Avalux]

2. I heard a bit on NPR about this -

actually very good. They discussed how the CIA authenticates tapes, with voice pattern analysis; and how the way you're made (lips, tongue, throat) makes it difficult for someone to copy your voice.

So they went through all the techinical aspects of authenticating. Then, the gentleman explaining, brought up the fact that the CIA doesn't disclose or share their analyses with anyone. So this tape - can't be authenticated/confirmed by another group because the CIA won't allow it. The won't show their work either. Suspicious? He seemed to think so.

[babylonsister]

4. More info on analyses here, from 1999.

provided by DUer Autumn Colors.

OBL audio: See voice morphing tech. 1999 WaPo article!!!

Just some food for thought here since just about everyone here knows that bin Laden tapes have this uncanny ability to surface at very opportune times for the Bush administration.

I give you a Washington Post article from 1999 (yup, pre 9/11) that talks about voice morphing (EXACT REPLICATION AND MANIPULATION OF ANY VOICE!) that was developed at Los Alamos.

This might explain why lately there are only AUDIO tapes of him, but no VIDEO.

"When Seeing and Hearing Isn't Believing"
by William M. Arkin, Special to washingtonpost.com
Monday, Feb. 1, 1999

"Gentlemen! We have called you together to inform you that we are going to overthrow the United States government." So begins a statement being delivered by Gen. Carl W. Steiner, former Commander-in-chief, U.S. Special Operations Command. At least the voice sounds amazingly like him. But it is not Steiner. It is the result of voice "morphing" technology developed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

By taking just a 10-minute digital recording of Steiner's voice, scientist George Papcun is able, in near real time, to clone speech patterns and develop an accurate facsimile. Steiner was so impressed, he asked for a copy of the tape.

* snip *

Digital morphing — voice, video, and photo — has come of age, available for use in psychological operations. PSYOPS, as the military calls it, seek to exploit human vulnerabilities in enemy governments, militaries and populations to pursue national and battlefield objectives.

To some, PSYOPS is a backwater military discipline of leaflet dropping and radio propaganda. To a growing group of information war technologists, it is the nexus of fantasy and reality. Being able to manufacture convincing audio or video, they say, might be the difference in a successful military operation or coup.


To read more, original article is located here: http://www.public-action.com/911/voice-simulation /

EDIT:
Actually, here's the correct link to the article on the Washington Post site
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/dotmil/ar...

[raccoon]

5. Why doesn't that surprise me?

"So this tape - can't be authenticated/confirmed by another group because the CIA won't allow it."

[gratuitous]

3. Not that I know of

But then, I'm still waiting for that white paper that was promised to us more than four years ago that would provide conclusive proof that Osama bin Laden was the architect of the September 11 attacks.