ABC turns over to the CIA and FBI a videotape obtained in Pakistan that promises an attack on the US should Bush be reelected. But is the tape authentic and what is its real purpose?

The tape was obtained from a source in Pakistan over the weekend. It arrived in New York on Monday, where it was viewed by ABC network officials and then handed over to the CIA. The hour-long tape shows an English-speaking man who claims to be a US citizen and whose face is obscured. According to a source, the man says that the attack on the US will dwarf 9/11 and “the streets will run with blood.” The man accuses the US will bring this on itself by reelecting a President who attacks al Qaeda. The tape appears to have been made fairly recently because the man refers to semi-current events like the 9/11 Commission and the Massachusetts same-sex marriage legislation.

A US intelligence official is reported in a Reuters story as saying that the tape, which has not yet been authenticated, appears to be standard al Qaeda propaganda and that the intelligence community does not have any information that would link the tape to a specific threat.

ABC has stated that they will not release the tape unless it can be authenticated. Strangely enough, there was no mention of the tape during ABS’s nightly news report at 6:00 tonight.

But it is rather interesting timing for this tape to show up. It leads one to wonder what the intent was? Is this truly an al Qaeda training video? Or are there those in the current administration who believe that voters will either be (1) scared that there will be an attack and therefore vote for Bush or (2) be pissed that anyone else could tell an American how to vote and vote for Bush in defiance? Or is it just something to take the focus off of those missing explosives in Iraq?

I’m not much of a conpiracy buff, but… one wonders.