It now appears likely that most major media mistranslated a key phrase in bin-Laden's video speech.
The new translation carries a very important change in meaning.
Arabic translators at both the Middle East Media Research Center, AND at an unaffiliated
Islamist website, have both reached the same conclusion regarding what should be the correct translation.
Here are two excerpts detailing the error, corrected version, and its implications:
(excerpt)"
The tape of Osama bin Laden that was aired Friday on Al-Jazeera included a specific threat to "each U.S. state," designed to influence the outcome of Tuesday's election, according to the Arabic translators at the prestigious Middle East Media Research Center.
The U.S. media have mistranslated the words "ay wilaya" (which means "each U.S. state") to mean a "country" or "nation" other than the U.S., says MEMRI, while in reality bin Laden's threat was directed specifically at each individual U.S. state. MEMRI specializes in translating Middle Eastern documents, speeches and the like for Western consumption.
Translated correctly, bin Laden's speech suggests some knowledge of the U.S. electoral college system. In fact, notes MEMRI, in one section of his speech where he harshly criticizes President Bush, bin Laden states: "Any U.S. state that does not toy with our security automatically guarantees its own security."(end excerpt)
(excerpt)
"The Islamist website Al-Qal'a explained what this sentence meant: "This message was a warning to every U.S. state separately. When he [bin Laden] said, 'Every state will be determining its own security, and will be responsible for its choice,' it means that any U.S. state that will choose to vote for the white thug Bush as president has chosen to fight us, and we will consider it our enemy, and any state that will vote against Bush has chosen to make peace with us, and we will not characterize it as an enemy. By this characterization, Sheikh Osama wants to drive a wedge in the American body, to weaken it, and he wants to divide the American people itself between enemies of Islam and the Muslims, and those who fight for us, so that he doesn't treat all American people as if they're the same. This letter will have great implications inside the American society, part of which are connected to the American elections, and part of which are connected to what will come after the elections.""(end excerpt)
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/ar...TICLE_ID=41211