September 27, 2016

"Experts" Fail To Debunk Todenhöfer Al-Qaeda Interview

The Todenhöfer interview with an al-Qaeda commander (video) has al-Qaeda promoters on the edge. They now try to come up with all kind of nonsense to explain that the interview is a "hoax".

UPDATE (Sep28): Todenhöfer now responded to the "hoax" allegations and complete refutes them. END-UPDATE

One "Syrian activist", Mohamed Al Neser, started a chain with a curious claim against the veracity of the interview by looking at this picture taken during the interview by Jörg Todenhöfer's son Frederick.

Mohamed Al Neser @M_Alneser Nice try Todenhöfer but "AlQaeda" commander with golden ring is 8th wonder 11:44 AM - 26 Sep 2016

Oh, really? Osama Bin Laden was the 8th world-wonder?

Hassan Hassan, a Gulf stooge hyping war against Syria, has long been very protective of Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaeda's branch in Syria. He picks up the claim above and remarks:

Hassan Hassan Verified account @hxhassan Hassan Hassan Retweeted Mohamed Al Neser Indeed -- an AQ commander wearing gold isn't the most credible of pictures. 12:07 PM - 26 Sep 2016

Not credible?

One self declared anti-Syria expert with exactly one (bad) piece published in his whole life, Tobias Schneider, joins the sad club:

Tobias Schneider @tobiaschneider (4) As @hxhassan pointed out earlier, the purported "Nusra commander" is wearing a golden ring - a complete and utter no-go for jihadists. 7:16 AM - 27 Sep 2016

A "complete and utter no-go"? Also for one Abu Musab al Zarqawi? As ABCNEWS reported on May 13 2004 (copied here):

Crucial clues into the masked men seen in the videotaped beheading of American Nicholas Berg may come from the tape itself, as well as Berg's body, federal investigators involved in the case say. After analyzing the audio of the tape, the CIA has concluded with "high probability" that the masked speaker, who also carried out the beheading, is Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the top al Qaeda figure in Iraq.

...

A close examination of the tape shows none of the five masked men is wearing gloves, so federal officials are trying to determine if there are any tell-tale tattoos on their hands. One of the clues the FBI and CIA is studying is the large gold ring Zarqawi is wearing on his right hand, giving off a glare several times during the six-minute tape.

That should say it all about the credibility of those "experts" who try to discredit the Todenhöfer interview. Notice how they copy from each other. They are their own echo-chamber, well financed but mostly clueless. Over the next days we will likely see more such "experts" making the same nonsense claim.

Another claim against the veracity of the interview is that no al-Qaeda commander would ever admit to get indirect help from the U.S. and direct support from Israel. But it has been obvious for years to everyone watching that weapons going to U.S. proxy forces in Syria are systematically handed over to al-Qaeda. The few fighters the Pentagon trained admitted that they did so. Israel has for years been seen and publicly admitted helping the Jihadis in the Golan heights. The al-Qaeda dude in the interview did not spell any secret. He just repeated what is publicly known. How does that challenge the veracity of the interview?

In the interview the AQ commander also claims that some U.S. and other experts are with them and train them in technical specialties. That sounds dubious or at least exaggerated until you read this recent piece by U.S. special operators who themselves claim exactly the same (and hate it).

The war mongers and Gulf lobbyists in Washington DC have launched a new propaganda campaign to prevent the liberation of al-Qaeda occupied east-Aleppo by the Syrian army. They demand air attacks and cruise missile swarms against Syrian and Russian planes and installations. The Todenhöfer interview comes at the worst moment for them. They will try everything to attack its credibility. So far they have failed.

Posted by b on September 27, 2016 at 17:48 UTC | Permalink

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