Asked at a White House briefing on Wednesday whether officials had reason to believe that statements by bin Laden contained such codes, press secretary Ari Fleischer responded, "Well, people are analyzing that now... At best, it's pre-taped, pre-recorded propaganda, but propaganda of a most insidious nature. At worst, it could be actually signaling to his operatives."

When a reporter noted that government cryptography analysts must be examining the messages and commented that "it would redound to your good to know what the hell is going on," Fleisher replied, "The issue is not whether or not analysts are able to see these messages. The issue is whether or not terrorists are able to see these messages."