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The Loose Change "documentary" claims at around 1:02:45 into the film that Osama Bin Laden immediately denied involvement in the attacks.

"The U.S. government has consistently blamed me for being behind every [attack]. I would like to assure the world that I did not plan the recent attacks, which seems to have been planned by people for personal reasons. I have been living in the Islamic emirate of Afghanistan and following its leaders' rules. The current leader does not allow me to exercise such operations."

-Osama bin Laden, from a statement issued to Al Jazeera within days of the 9-11 attacks.

Did Osama Bin Laden deny involvement in the 9/11 attacks?

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    Relevant: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Responsibility_for_the_September_11_attacks#Al-Qaeda_statements_after_9.2F11 – Bobson Sep 12 '14 at 21:34
  • The source video uses this quote to promote the concept that 9/11 was a false flag conspiracy. It is *absolutely* relevant that Bin Laden *was not consistent* after his initial denial and in 2004 took responsibility. I suggest that the question be restored to its original form. – Larry OBrien Sep 13 '14 at 17:26
  • The video does not claim consistency and makes different claims about the other of Bin Laden's videos. – Sklivvz Sep 14 '14 at 08:15
  • Voting to close since, as I've discussed in comments, I think the question, as it stands, constitutes cherry-picking that reduces it to a non-notable claim. – Larry OBrien Sep 14 '14 at 23:20

1 Answers1

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Although he initially denied involvement he later claimed responsibility, according to the New York Times reporting on a video released by Bin Laden in 2004:

[Bin Laden] accused Mr. Bush of "misleading" the American people three years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the Al Jazeera Web site said, and added that "we decided to destroy towers in America" because "we want to regain the freedom of our nation."

The Associated Press said Mr. bin Laden also went on to say in the videotape: "God knows that it had not occurred to our mind to attack the towers, but after our patience ran out and we saw the injustice and inflexibility of the American-Israeli alliance toward our people in Palestine and Lebanon, this came to my mind."

Bin Laden Takes Responsibility for 9/11 Attacks in New Tape

UPDATE: This answer was posted in response to the original question which asked whether Bin Laden was both immediate and consistent in denying involvement.

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    The first and last paragraphs of that article are relevant to the question (unlike the paragraphs you quoted which don't seem to be relevant). But the article says he didn't confirm his involvement, and doesn't say that he had denied it, doesn't quote or confirm the alleged statement posted in the OP. – ChrisW Sep 13 '14 at 01:04
  • To my reading, "we decided to attack the towers" and "...this came to my mind" are clear and direct statements of his involvement. If your point is that he denied involvement initially, that's true, but these quotes show that (one way or the other) he was not "consistent" in what he said. – Larry OBrien Sep 13 '14 at 17:08
  • Your answer is that, in 2004, he claimed to be involved. The question is whether he had once in 2001 denied being involved. – ChrisW Sep 13 '14 at 17:13
  • Is there evidence that he "initially denied involvement"? Do you have a reference for the "statement (allegedly) issued to Al Jazeera within days of the 9-11 attacks" which is quoted in the OP? – ChrisW Sep 13 '14 at 17:16
  • I would suggest that his initial statements are not the notable claim. The notable claim relates to whether his statements, in totality, support or undermine his involvement. – Larry OBrien Sep 13 '14 at 17:28
  • I'm afraid you are addressing a straw man. The video *explicitly addresses the "confession" video* and claims it's false. They certainly acknowledge its existence. As far as I can tell they present the frame in question without further commentary. – Sklivvz Sep 14 '14 at 08:04
  • @Sklivvz As I commented on the post itself, it seems to me the OP quote does not constitute a significant claim absent the original wording that Bin Laden "consistently" denied involvement. I think it's highly misleading to cherry pick an exculpatory claim. The site has clearly evolved from scientific skepticism to broad fact-checking, but at least it has maintained some discipline with "significant claim." – Larry OBrien Sep 14 '14 at 18:00
  • @LarryOBrien the video is not claiming consistency... I am not quite sure what you are saying! :-) – Sklivvz Sep 14 '14 at 19:09
  • What I'm saying is that the question/claim posted on Skeptics is supposed to be notable. IMO, "Did X ever say Y?" is rarely a notable claim unless coupled with "...and never the opposite" or "...and denied having said that Y," or somesuch. Otherwise, it feels like cherry-picking. (And just to reiterate, I posted the answer when "...and consistently" was part of the question and commented that I think the question should be reverted to that. Otherwise I would apply my just-stated reasoning and vote to close.) – Larry OBrien Sep 14 '14 at 20:07
  • A less potentially-inflammatory analogy would be the difference between the questions "Did Lance Armstrong deny using PEDs?" (IMO not notable) and "Did Lance Armstrong consistently deny using PEDs?" (IMO potentially notable) – Larry OBrien Sep 14 '14 at 20:15
  • I understand that you answered before the edit, however the video in question (which hasn't changed since the beginning) already openly says that there is the evidence you present, and they discount it as fake. Now, we can debate whether it is, but that's not what this question was ever about. Is there a notable claim that OBL kept on proclaiming his innocence? There could be, but it's not what this video is saying. The video is saying that he initially was reported to proclaim his innocence, and afterwards a fake video was produced by the US. – Sklivvz Sep 14 '14 at 22:51