Two fugitives and their undying news video show

Forget the written word, the spoken word is making itself heard now — more so than ever in Iraq and Afghanistan. And the spoken word is...

Forget the written word, the spoken word is making itself heard now — more so than ever in Iraq and Afghanistan. And the spoken word is itself raising a lot of questions.

For the US nothing more could be more unnerving than a new bin Laden tape on the eve of the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. In the tape, Bin Laden was seen walking beside his deputy Ayman al-Zawahri. Their casual stroll along the rock-strewn hillside leaning on canes may have appeared harmless, but it was no less than a renewed declaration of war.

Even as the duo walked along, there was a recorded call to arms from bin Laden and a declaration from his Egyptian aide urging fighters to turn Iraq into a graveyard for US troops and ‘‘to devour them’’.

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Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf wasn’t spared either. Labelling him a traitor, Zawahri said in the tape, ‘‘We ask our Muslim brethren in Pakistan: until when will you put up with the traitor Musharraf, who sold the Muslims’ blood in Afghanistan and handed over the Arab Mujahideen to crusader America? Had it not been for his treason, the surrogate government would not have been installed in Kabul, that government which brought the Indians to Pakistan’s western borders.

‘‘He opened up nuclear installations to US inspection, choked off the jihad in Kashmir…And is (planning) to recognise Israel — all for a handful of American dollars in his pocket…The officers and soldiers of the Pakistani Army should realise that Musharraf will hand them over as prisoners to the Indians…And flee abroad to enjoy his secret (bank) accounts.’’

Go back to early this year, to the time of Saddam Hussein’s ouster, his escape and the tapes that followed. In most he urged his followers to ‘‘expel the invaders from our country.

Following the recent Najaf blast in which Shia Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim and 124 others were killed, Saddam came out with a tape on September 1. The voice was verified by CIA experts as that of Saddam himself — complete with his well-known rhetorical flourishes. Denying he or his men had anything to do with the blasts, he said, ‘‘Many of you may have heard the snakes hissing, the servants of the invaders, occupiers, infidels, and how they have managed to accuse the followers of Saddam Hussein of responsibility for the attack on al-Hakim without any evidence. They (the Americans) rushed to accuse before investigating.’’

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The fact that both Osama and bin Laden still routinely have tapes delivered to the offices of their favourite news channels, must be irritating America no end. This is propaganda on the cheap, at rock-bottom prices.

For bin Laden, the tapes are a method of getting across the message to his followers, ‘‘I am still alive and the war against America continues.’’ The assaults on coalition forces in Iraq bear resemblance to the guerrilla tactics used by Al Qaeda in Afghanistan.

There have been reports Al Qaeda is gaining strength again and planning a comeback — this time in Afghanistan as well as Iraq. Many analysts believe Saddam’s denial of any role in the Najaf bombing points to the fact Al Qaeda is already making its presence felt in Iraq.

For Saddam too the tapes work, since they frighten Iraqis and prevent them from collaborating with the Americans. Those who do seem to end up dead.

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Ever since the war started, Saddam’s been suspiciously unaccounted for. Some say he’s dead, others believe his tapes and insist he’s alive. However, his video appearances haven’t been very convincing. Churchill had once remarked that there’s nothing more exhilarating than being shot at without effect, but Saddam — who looked noticeably non-exhilarated in the video — couldn’t even manage a simple, ‘‘You hit the bunker, but I’m still here, nyah nyah’’.

At the same time, none of the tapes credited to Saddam had anything useful to prove he was alive — not even a copy of the latest newspaper visible in the frame.

Nobody is sure where Saddam is. But that he — and Osama — keep coming out with their tapes points to something else: the inability of the US forces to trap the world’s best-known fugitives.

It must be frustrating. Can’t find us? Watch this tape.