Bin Laden - Then and Now

[Nbadan]

May 26, 1998

October 7, 2001

November 3, 2001

December 26, 2001

October 29, 2004

Bin Laden Today

Any questions?

[Nbadan]

The al-Qaida leader said major corporations were to blame for the continuation of the conflict, which he said the "vast majority" of Americans want stopped.

“You elected the Democratic Party for this purpose," he said, accorded to a translated transcript. “On the contrary, they continue to agree to spending of tens of billions to continue the killings and the war there.”

the Tape

Didn't the extended bin Laden Family and other powerful Saudis have shares of Carlyle Group, a defense contracting conglomerate?

[ChumpDumper]

He either colored the beard to look healthier or it's a fully fake beard because he's now in SE Asia.

[Nbadan]

Still got the same robe?

[ChumpDumper]

Why not?

[Wild Cobra]

He either colored the beard to look healthier or it's a fully fake beard because he's now in SE Asia.

Wouldn't that be something if he violated his religion to blend in somewhere else, and it is a fake beard...

[ChumpDumper]

Killing innocent people is a violation of Islam too -- go figure....

[xrayzebra]

the Tape

Didn't the extended bin Laden Family and other powerful Saudis have shares of Carlyle Group, a defense contracting conglomerate?

Transcript of the tape.......

http://abcnews.go.com/images/Politics/transcript2.pdf

It is six pages long.

[Yonivore]

I also read somewhere that he only moves for about 3 and a half minutes and that during the rest of the video, he's frozen-framed while "his" voice keeps droning on about global warming and democratic failures to surrender in Iraq.

Personally, I think if Osama can overcome his "insane" tax policy comment, he'd make an excellent Democratic Presidential candidate. It certainly seems as though he's been reading Dean's playbook.

[Yonivore]

If you haven't read the transcript of Osama bin Laden's newest video, in which he speaks directly to American listeners, is available here. It is intensely interesting, for a number of reasons.

First, the subject matter is Iraq, almost exclusively. Bin Laden and other al Qaeda leaders have said that Iraq is the main front in their global war against us. That sentiment is repeated in the video. Bin Laden begins by saying that he will "[discuss] the war that is between us," and that discussion is entirely about Iraq. Later, he says it is "our duty" to "escalate the killing and fighting against you" in Iraq, and that "our brothers are carrying it out." It has never been plausible to suggest that the war in Iraq is anything other than fundamental to our conflict with al Qaeda and related groups; after this video, any such suggestion is impossible.

Second, the affinity between Muslim extremism and Western leftism has never been so clearly displayed. Bin Laden sounds for all the world like a Marxist. He praises Noam Chomsky as one of the "most capable" of American war opponents. Over and over, he attributes American foreign policy to "the owners of the major corporations." In bin Laden's view, "[t]hose with real power and influence are those with the most capital," and "the essence of man-made positive laws is that they serve the interests of those with capital and thus make the rich richer and the poor poorer."

Third, bin Laden's disappointment in the Democrats is palpable:

The vast majority of you [Americans] want [the Iraq war] stopped. Thus, you elected the Democratic Party for this purpose....

Let's pause there. Remember the video that bin Laden released just before the 2004 election? It was virtually a campaign commercial for John Kerry. When the Democrats finally won in 2006, bin Laden must have thought victory was at hand. But no:

...but the Democrats haven't made a move worth mentioning.

He's right about that. Bin Laden offers the Marxist explanation that our government is controlled by big corporations, so the Democrats are powerless.

Fourth, the extent to which bin Laden's talk is a pastiche of liberal cliches and conspiracy theories is striking. He obviously has access to our newspapers, and it sounds like he may be a fan of left-wing web sites as well. Thus, "all of mankind is in danger because of...global warming." The Kennedy assassination finds its way into the story: it was ordered by "the owners of major corporations who were benefiting from [the Vietnam war's] continuation."

Speaking of Vietnam: just as the Democrats can't let go of Vietnam analogies, neither can bin Laden. He says--shades of John Kerry!--that Americans "murdered two million villagers" there. Bin Laden goes a little astray, however, when he tries to lay Vietnam at the feet of the "neoconservatives." He describes Donald Rumsfeld as "the most violent of [America's] murderers" in Vietnam. Actually, Rumsfeld served in the Navy from 1954 to 1957, but was too old for Vietnam.

On Iraq, bin Laden reads from the liberal script. Iraq is a "civil war;" America's involvement was fomented by "neoconservatives like Cheney, Rumsfeld and Richard Perle;" "American statistics" say that 650,000 Iraqis have been killed; the justifications for the Iraq war are "based on deception and blatant lies;" the war was "entirely unnecessary, as testified to by your own reports;" war opponents have denounced the conflict in "eloquent terms" like "no to spilling red blood for black oil;" "thinkers" world-wide have predicted the imminent collapse of the "American Empire;" Bush's problem in Iraq is that he "refused to look at the facts on the ground." And, weirdest of all: "If you would like to get to know some of the reasons for your losing of your war against us, then read the book of Michael Scheuer in this regard."

Michael Scheuer is the former CIA analyst who headed the CIA's bin Laden desk (Alec Station) during the Clinton administration and then worked as an advisor to the CIA's bin Laden unit until his retirement from the agency after the 2004 election. Yesterday bin Laden recommended Scheuer's book to those who want to understand why the United States is "losing the war" against al Qaeda. (Bin Laden didn't name the book, but he was certainly referring to Imperial Hubris.) In the article "The CIA examines itself," Gabriel Schoenfeld fills in some background and tries to figure what the recent CIA self-examination reveals about Scheuer. Scott Johnson noted Scheuer's role in the bureaucratic war against the Bush administration in "Three years of the Condor."

I'm starting to think bin Laden is a regular poster on the Daily Kos.

Bin Laden's tirade does have a point: "To conclude, I invite you to embrace Islam." Presumably the American liberals who share so many of bin Laden's beliefs don't intend to convert. Sometimes I wonder, though, what their alternative is.

Finally, in one respect, bin Laden does diverge from the left-wing line: he denounces America's "insane taxes," and points out that "[t]here are no taxes in Islam, but rather there is a limited Zakaat [alms] totaling only 2.5%." I suppose it's a case of the blind pig and the acorn. Someone might want to tell bin Laden there are one or two places where he needs to catch up with the party line.

[boutons_]

"dead or alive"

dubya will be out of office in a few 100 days, but OBL/AQ will still be alive and trying to kick the US's ass.

you're doing a heckuva job, dubya

[Holt's Cat]

Concurrent bolded and larger text. Progressive.

[Yonivore]

THIS IS JUST SCARY!

On the radio last night John Gibson compared the words of the world's most wanted terrorist, Osama Bin Laden, with the words of Keith Olbermann.

There's an echo in the room...

Damnit, I wish we could embed video

John Gibson asks, "Does Osama sound like the democrats? Or, do the democrats sound like Osama?"

Hmm... Coincidence??

[clambake]

Nah, he just sounds like a guy that owns boy blunder.

[ChumpDumper]

Why does Yoni hang on Osama's every word?

Does he fancy him?

Or maybe he just likes politicizing terror?

I don't care what he says, I just want the might of the US resourcs focused on killing him. We haven't done that for five years thanks to Bush, and Al-Qaeda has gotten stronger because of it. Every breath this asshole takes and every word this asshole speaks and this asshole Yoni tries to spin for his petty politics is solely the accomplishment and responsibility of George W. Bush.

Congratulations Yoni, it's obvious you prefer having Osama alive and providing fodder for your blogs.

You disgust me.

[Ignignokt]

I fancy Yoni, yoni fancies Osama. It's a vicous love triangle.

[ChumpDumper]

Why don't you post under your main screen name anymore?

[Ignignokt]

For s and giggles.

[Nbadan]

Osama Bin Laden's widely publicized video address to the American people has a peculiarity that casts serious doubt on its authenticity: the video freezes at about 1 minute and 36 58 seconds, and motion only resumes again at 12:30. The video then freezes again at 14:02 remains frozen until the end. All references to current events, such as the 62nd anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Japan, and Sarkozy and Brown being the leaders of France and the UK, respectively, occur when the video is frozen! The words spoken when the video is in motion contain no references to contemporary events and could have been (and likely were) made before the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

The audio track does appear to be in the voice of a single speaker. What I suspect was done is that an older, unreleased video was dubbed over for this release, with the video frozen when the audio track departed from that of the original video.

Link

The top American bin Laden expert agrees. Professor Bruce Lawrence, head of Duke University's religious studies department, has just published a book of translations of bin Laden's speeches. He says that the recent tape is a fake and that it is possible bin Laden is not even alive.

[Yonivore]

but why would there be a fake osama bin laden tape?

wouldn't people's fears be alleviated somewhat by knowing that he's dead?

You say that as though it was someone other than al Qaeda that produced the tape. Is that what you believe?

[DarkReign]

but why would there be a fake osama bin laden tape?

wouldn't people's fears be alleviated somewhat by knowing that he's dead?

I hope thats rhetorical.

The government stands to lose way too much if the boogey-man died.

Keeps people like Yoni looking sane and rational with the "lets war for war's sake" take on reality.

Fact is, governments love war. Makes lots o money. Mild publicity, too.

People, on the other hand, not so much interested.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

He either colored the beard to look healthier or it's a fully fake beard because he's now in SE Asia.

actually, i read whenever they trim their beards, it's a sign of going to war. these radicals believe in asking their enemies to join islam before they result to physical tactics. these last videos are a pretty strong campaign to join islam. scary times indeed.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

I hope thats rhetorical.

The government stands to lose way too much if the boogey-man died.

Keeps people like Yoni looking sane and rational with the "lets war for war's sake" take on reality.

Fact is, governments love war. Makes lots o money. Mild publicity, too.

People, on the other hand, not so much interested.

something deep down inside of me tells me we know exactly where he's at? if we can find saddam in a hole and read a liscense plate from space, we can find that smelly bas .

[Yonivore]

something deep down inside of me tells me we know exactly where he's at? if we can find saddam in a hole and read a liscense plate from space, we can find that smelly bas .

I'm still not convinced he's alive.