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After 9/11, my husband started each morning reaching for the remote and saying, "Let's see if they caught Osama." This greeting began as an expectation, evolved into a lingering hope, and finally deteriorated into irony.
Six years later, our ritual preceded an early morning appearance by the newly trimmed and black-bearded terrorist. Thus fear descends into farce.
It was no accident that bin Laden timed his videos for Sept. 11. But then again, how fitting it was that the hearings on the Iraq War coincided with the anniversary of his attack.
The testimony was dotted with overt and subtle messages about Iraq as the center of the war on terrorism without acknowledging how it became the center. In opening statements, Ambassador Ryan Crocker used "al-Qaeda" nine times and Gen. David Petraeus used it 17 times without mentioning that there was no al-Qaeda in Iraq before we were in Iraq.
There was nothing new in this false connection. For that matter, there was no news at all from the hearings, if by "news" we mean something unexpected: "General Bites Commander in Chief."
Was there any doubt that Petraeus wanted to keep the surge troops as long as possible? Was there any doubt that Bush would claim to follow the advice of the man he commands and announce plans to withdraw those 30,000 troops by next summer?
Nevertheless, to my surprise, these hearings did mark a turning point. In place of swagger, we saw sobriety. There was no presidential voice in these rooms telling the senators and representatives, as he told the Aussies, "we're kicking ass." The cockeyed optimism of "Mission Accomplished" was replaced by the controlled pessimism in Crocker's voice as he claimed, simply, that "success is attainable."
One word leaked out of both men repeatedly: "frustration." It's a word that every American shares. The general who came bearing medals as well as a Ph.D. admitted, "I'm as frustrated with the situation as anybody else." But if you need more proof of sobriety, there was the moment of the hearings when Petraeus was asked whether Americans were safer now. After a pregnant pause, he answered: "Sir, I don't know, actually."
This was supposed to be the week of Osama's makeover or Bush's do-over. It was the week when the public conversation may have shifted permanently. We have entered the debate over the lesser of two catastrophes.
Americans gave up the belief in Iraqi WMDs long ago. Gradually, most of us have given up the idea that we can create democracy in Iraq. Now we have also lost confidence that the surge can create the "breathing space" in which the Iraqis will achieve reconciliation in their disintegrated society.
Mission creep has become "mission shrink." The real role of American troops in Iraq now is to try and keep a lid on the terrible violence unleashed by our own invasion. Our job in Iraq, as Crocker put it, is preventing a "big, nasty street fight."
So we get down to the tale of two catastrophes. On the one hand the war's supporters claim only that things will get horrifically worse if we leave. "Make no mistake," said John McCain, "the consequences of American defeat in Iraq will be terrible and long-lasting."
On the other hand, the war's opponents insist that staying the course will only stay the disaster. All we get from prolonging the war are more casualties of the war. "Buy time?" asked Chuck Hagel, the Nebraska Republican retiring from the Senate. "For what?"
These clashing catastrophes will be the central theme of the next presidential election. The choices facing voters will be these: Chaos in Iraq, or casualties in America. The forces of terrorism let loose in the world, or the real war against terrorism distracted by the war in Iraq. One side will ask how we can justify the massacres and mayhem that may well follow our departure. The other side will ask how we can justify asking one more, or 1,000, or 5,000 Americans to die-for what? A mistake.
Between these two unbearable options, I choose leaving. But any choice comes with a bitter recognition of the financial, moral and political fallout from this president's decision and deception.
In Robert Draper's aptly named book on the Bush presidency, "Dead Certain," the president muses on his retirement. "I'll give some speeches, just to replenish the ol' coffers," he says. "We'll have a nice place in Dallas," he adds, where he will run "a fantastic Freedom Institute. I can just envision getting in the car, getting bored, going down to the ranch."
Just think. Osama is on the loose with his hair stylist. Iraq is coming apart at the seams. How swell that one American has an exit strategy.
Ellen Goodman's e-mail address is ellengoodman(at)globe.com.
© 2007 TruthDig.com
35 Comments so far
Show AllFrankly, Ellen, I don't think you need to concern yourself with what Hagel's or McCain's slant is on Iraq - President Bush and Vice President Cheney will have pushed us into a situation with Iran that will ensure Bush's continued postion as president under the guarantee his latest presidential directive dictates. I foresee Bush keeping his pathetic position in the oval office long after these next sixteen months because of the actions he's pushing for with Iran.
At the risk of coming off like an uneducated alarmist, I honestly don't see any of the contenders for the presidency realizing the position anytime soon - not to change the subject. The idea of Iraq being a central theme in the run for president will have become moot, secondary to saving their skin should Bush and his administration perpetrate and perpetuate yet another life-exhausting, fund-draining, unnecessary war.
So, Osama bin Laden's words (via PDJ), shows he's no more than an evangelical. He calls from the Age of Aries across Pisces to halt Aquarius, who comes regardless. We having individuated, the call of the universal spirit ahead is greater than those tribal influences left behind. Fulfillment of the law in spirit comes with abandon, of the tribe, of the individual, to join the one. There's the true path.
you know that he will be bored and on the ranch, period.
maybe he can hook up with oj and together they can scour the golf course for osama and nicolle and ron's killer at the same time.
they have a lot in common, oj and bush, both psychotic pampered murderer's with a big empty hole on the hard drive where their conscience should be.
Thanks PJD for referring us to the site with the (I think) latest OBL message. It wasn't dated. I had no idea yesterday when I posted the first comment in this discussion that it would provoke (to me) such an interesting dialogue. Something that has haunted me since reading a OBL message from 2004 was that we will lose in our effort to conquer the Middle East just as the Soviets lost in Afganistan. OBL warned that they will bleed us dry, financially and morally. They may not have to attack us again to do that. Our leaders seem to be playing right into their hands. God people, they've got us taking off our shoes at the airport! Bin Laden and his bunch must be really laughing at that!!!! They can just sit back and watch us make fools of ourselves. And if we were attacked again, I would take a SERIOUS look at who would benefit the most. It would be the perfect excuse to declare matial law and suspend elections. The media made a big deal of Bin Laden's call for us to all convert to Islam. That sounds ridiculous of course, but reading between the lines I wonder if he really meant that we should put more God into our lives. Just a thought. And while we're on the God thing, I have to wonder if God may just be on their side. They seem to be winning. My vision and highest hope is that whoever succeeds our current leaders will come out and make a statement to the whole world that we have made a terrible mistake. We have elected a bunch of madmen who have truly run amok. We would now like to apologize, ask for their forgiveness. We'll even help to rebuild their countries. And we'll be happy to just BUY the oil?
This whole thing about Osama is fishy. Why is it that the journalists have access to him but not the powers that be? And why was his hunt stopped?
I am not buying any of this.
"One side will ask how we can justify the massacres and mayhem that may well follow our departure."
The simple fact of the matter is, there are a number of ways to prevent "massacres and mayhem" once we depart--by bringing Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and maybe Turkey and the UN into the deal, for example. But since this would involve Junior and the US eating crow and foregoing permanent military bases, it's off the table.
The simple fact of the matter is Christo-Republicans don't give a shit about the possible massacres and mayhem that are likely to ensue. The only good Muslim, as far as they're concerned, is a dead one.
How do we know that a bloodbath will occur if we leave that is any worse than the violence caused by the presence of a foreign occupying force? What does history show?
There was little doubt that General Petraeus would promote the White House's warmongering agenda in his testimony. Somewhat less certain is how members of Congress will now respond to it in the days and weeks immediately ahead. From a psychological perspective, warmongering often "works" because we fail to confront it with cogent and uncompromising counter-arguments. Such resistance is especially difficult when the warmongers target our core concerns about personal and collective vulnerability, injustice, distrust, superiority, and helplessness. I apply this analysis to the Bush administration's war in Iraq—and its possible plans for an attack on Iran—in a 10-minute online video entitled "Resisting the Drums of War." The video examines ten warmongering appeals and counterarguments against them. It's available for viewing HERE.
PS I think Goodman's piece actually does reflect the feelings of Americans in the Main - who find it hard to believe the realities of this nightmare.
The lies they get from the people and politicians they trust (or reasonably should) and the snide condescension they get from the other side.
Boo to all elitists - "progressive" or otherwise.
Dear goeff29 and Ussamma and others of their ilk.
so ... what's the plan? Obviously voting for anyone out there is off the table.
so what ... we just keep going as we are ... let them elect Rudy ... see what happens ... heighten the contradictions?
And then?
Ah clearly if only we were ALL as smart as you guys ... but wait you guys don't have any answers either.
Kucinich? I think it's time to put that guy to bed. How many years has it been? What are his numbers? Uh ... dudes, it's not working.
Oh yeah I forgot. The big media has it in for him. That's the explanation for every failed strategy by Progressives. Couldn't be that progressives don't know how to align themselves (i.e. empathize) with the Amercian people
Like the compassion we get from Ussamma:
"Damned be the proles who are nothing but cannon fodder and consuming brainless robots."
Proles? Are you f***king serious?!
WÄ°TH FRIENDS LÄ°KE YOU ...
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/unsanam2
Unless the American populace experiences a sudden mass epiphany and rises up in total solidarity to overthrow the fascist regime now in control we're not going to be able to stop this disaster. I think it's time to ask for some help.
send money to dennnis kucinich and do whatever you can to get him elected . i am hoping people will wake up and vote for their own long term self interest and that of the word
PEACE
Ellen Goodman writes: "After 9/11, my husband started each morning reaching for the remote and saying, "Let's see if they caught Osama."
Personally I don't care to turn on the idiot-box very often, but when I do, *my* hope is to hear that BushCo have at last been arrested for their truly appalling crimes against humanity...
As to Pyjama bin Laden's words (if so they be), it doesn't take much to see, -between him and Bush- who has the greater depth of understanding of world affairs, and a higher IQ.
I abhor any call to further bloodshed on this planet, and seemingly bin Laden has been responsible for enough of this, but then, BushCo have surpassed even that measure, - but ostensibly for less rational reasons.
Are children today still taught, "Two wrongs don't make a right"?
And did Barbara 'Barbed' Bush never tell her ever-errant eldest son that thing?
'I blame the parents' ...
Once, (back in March 2003) two days before the beginning of the war on Iraq she told ABC's 'Good Morning America':
"Why should we hear about body bags and deaths? Oh, I mean, it's not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?"
-So we can now see where GW Blunder gets his fine humanitarian principles, his humility, and his deep compassion from, can we not?
:p
Never Forget..., Bush lied to start the war..there was never any basis for it in law, there were never any WMD, there was no Al Qaeda connection, Bush violated the Geneva Conventions and world opinion in order to start a war of agression.
No one ever asked him to bring democracy to Iraq, other than some self serving ex-Iraqis on the CIA payroll.
Leaving NOW would be the only honorable course of action.
"big, nasty street fight."
Isn't it curious that the USA does not seem all that concerned with all the other "big, nasty street fights" it has caused in the world, just this one.
could it be O_I_L?
I'd vote for Dennis Kucinich just to have First Lady "Hottie"
Like Jon Stewart says, the mans got to be swinging some major pipe.
Have I told you people how much I love you lately?
Why is it some comments don't show up out here?
Ellen Goodma,
This article is a perfect illustration of the average American's psyche, and the way important issues are analyse by those immersed to their nose in corporate media propaganda. You sound as naive and gullible as the majority that bought bush/cheney's fearmongering bogus arguments that let these born criminal start a new war of agression planned way before bush hijacked the presidency. Ben Laden is dead as his named is definitely removed from FBI's list of Most Wanted. But even alive it does not change anything. Following the lead from George Orwell's '1984', a prologed war of agression is waged not to liberate but to dominate, not to build but to destroy; and also to keep the unelected Elite in power for ever. Fearmongering through boogeymen such as a phony Emmanuel Goldstein or Ben Laden is essential to terrify the 'proles' and make them accept the pressure.
As for the next presidential election, don't count on it. There may not be one as His Majesty Cheney does not intend to abdicate so soon from The Throne and so easily. But what is a presidential election anyways? It is a Hollywood show, it is a farce to keep the 'proles' entertained. As for the outcome, the 'proles' have absolutely no choices at all. They certainly have the illusion of voting 'democratically' while their vote is not worth even a cent or a piece of pebble. The 'choice' has been decided upon already in the offices of the Federal Reserve, and no surprise is allowed or tolerated. If the past two fraudulent elections have not convinced you yet that you have no choices, then you deserve what you will get next time around. Wake up, please, and listen to Sheehan or someone else who has an idea of how the corrupt system is geared towards functionning for the rich and only the rich. Damned be the proles who are nothing but cannon fodder and consuming brainless robots.
I don't understand why people are so afraid to vote for Dennis Kucinich. I mean we for once have the chance to put someone in office that will actually make a chanage. Someone not tied to the Skull and Bones, the Giant Corps. Or anyone else evil for that matter.
I know people in other countries have to be laughing there arses off at us.
It's Like having 3 buckets in a burning building, 1 filled with Gasoline, 1 with lighter fluid, and 1 with Water. For some reason no one grabs the damn bucket with the water in it.
Foolish.
~Future~
Yes, we're lost, but I think of Rabbi Lerner and some of the other great voices of today and yesterday, beginning with Socrates and the Buddha and Lao Tzu and Jesus, but I needn't list them; we know who they are; if we didn't, we would be dead. And we're not dead, as these postings testify, and as our libraries remind us. We're lost, but not dead.
"The choices facing voters [in 2008] will be these: chaos in Iraq, or casualties in America. The forces of terrorism let loose in the world, or the real war against terrorism distracted by the war in Iraq."
Why should I believe these catastrophes are mutually exclusive, and that framing the 2008 Presidential election in these terms creates anything but a false, wholly illusory choice?
Continue Bush's policies in Iraq, and we'll get chaos there, and casualties in America, and the forces of terrorism unleashed in the world, and the real war against terrorism (against al Queda) will be distracted by the war in Iraq.
But renounce Bush's policies in Iraq and completely bring the troops home, and at least you can eliminate the last of these four catastrophes with absolute certainty.
As my old guru used to say, concentrate on accomplishing the things that are within your control, and don't spend all your time and energy worrying about the things that lie largely beyond your control.
As to the translated Osama tape: Whoever bin Laden's new script consultant is (assuming the Just For Men reincarnation is not just Memorex), he certainly has some bizarre takes on US history.
John Kennedy got whacked because he was about to end the American military/CIA role in Vietnam? Bobby maybe. But JFK? More likely it was blowback from the Bay of Pigs, or the mafia, or homegrown white supremecists. What with the passage of all this time and the scrambling of the evidentiary trail, it could just as easily be that Colonel Mustard did it in the library with the candle stick.
But for this one time, on this one thing, I say Osama speaks an absolute truth:
Because the major decision makers of the Vietnam War debacle were never held politically or legally accountable for their crimes, many failed and bloodstained militarists were indeed able to re-emerge and regain power in the Bush regime, rattling their sabres and brandishing a neo-con revisionist history, in order to justify renewed pursuit of Pax Americana empire in the brave, new world when "Everything Changed" post-9/11.
Well, I for one am not about to make the same mistake twice. And there's plenty more chickens left to come home to roost from Mesopotamia.
If I were Little George, I wouldn't be so dead certain that in a post-Pinochet world, he and his sidekicks will be forever free to just ride off into the sunset, and kick back later reminiscing together at reunions prayer breakfasts in the fantastic Dallas Freedom Institute.
Bill from Saginaw
Are we sure Osama isn't living at Camp David and just filmed occasionally as a propoganda tool?
"These clashing catastrophes will be the central theme of the next presidential election. The choices facing voters will be these: Chaos in Iraq, or casualties in America. The forces of terrorism let loose in the world, or the real war against terrorism distracted by the war in Iraq. One side will ask how we can justify the massacres and mayhem that may well follow our departure."
Where to start with this pile of BS? "Chaos is Iraq" is in reality the Iraqi Holocaust and is clearly deliberate Death Party policy. "Casualties in America" already exist and can be expected to multiply; for example, see Aaron Glantz's article on GI suicides. "The forces of terrorism let loose in the world" are feverishly at work trying to create more mayhem by attacking Iran, whereby every threat of force made by the US government is an act of terrorism by the world's #1 terrorist organization. "The real war against terrorism" is being waged by the Iraqi resistence and other global forces aimed at containing and defeating the evil US Empire. The Iraqi Holocaust will end upon US troops' departure as the "massacres and mayhem" are the direct result of policy. There will be a struggle for power amongst the various Iraqi power groups, but in NO way will they kill and displace as many millions as the Holocaust has to date.
Do the right thing: Personally defund the war and Empire by not paying federal taxes of any sort. The federal government is illegitimate, and acts nullifying its unconstitutional laws and edicts must multiply. Nor will this end with the next election. The Imperial Hydra must be drained of its blood so that it cannot ressurect itself; that blood consists of tax dollars.
"The real argument has always been, lets get to the root cause of the grievances of those who would run planes into the lower manhattan financial district."
I would love to get on with this important discussion, but as you will soon find out right here, the discussion will be quickly taken over by people shouting that no one had any grieviences, no terorists ever hijacked any planes, it was all an elaborate plot by Bush using remote controlled planes and explosives...
This is another "middle of the road" commentary.
This is like pondering "who should we vote for, clinton or obama?"
the answer is that no matter who the president will be or has been, the situation has been deteriorating from way back and promises to continue to do so.
The truth of the issue was never really going after bin laden as a cure all, no matter what his personal involvement. The real argument has always been, lets get to the root cause of the grievances of those who would run planes into the lower manhattan financial district. Who after all could have anything against those well meaning institutions?
My problems with this kind of article just continue from there. This article conceals an underlying belief that the ship of state is all of a sudden going to right itself and we can go back to life in america as we are accustomed. TV will get better again and less commercially influenced. Our elected officals will be wise, brilliant and eloquent. Our financial institutions will act on humanistic/altruistic causes rather than darwinian survival of the fittest tactics where supply and demand determine the market's course. We'll all be driving hybrids.
Parenti stated it eloquently several years ago - it's not whether we should stay or go, it's that we shouldn't be there in the first place.
American society getting better? Not likely. Not without radical changes. To schools, to villages and towns, to the way we use energy, to the political system itself, etc so on and so forth.
Do the majority of americans want those changes which might mean a little discomfort for those not used to living a life of simplicity? Keep dreaming. Most of our time is spent fearing even the slightest change to our habits.
This article just preaches a readjustment to the status quo. Then we can all go back to our 9 to 5 jobs, or 8 to 6, or whatever the hell it is now.
Maybe we can run Osama as a 3rd party candidate next year. He makes more sense than what we have seen so far.
The above post on Osama was first posted by
ezeflyer September 12th, 2007 11:24 am
FWIW...
a purported video and text translation of the speech is here
(the video link may be broken):
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18342.htm
Also, a strangely grainy, fax of a fax of the translaton text is here:
http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/sections/news/070907_bin_laden_transcript.pdf
Well everyone wants to know and this is what he says. And this is not an original post by me but another well informed member of CD.
Osama speaks:
"Your information media during the first years of the war lost its credibility and manifested itself as a tool of the colonialist empires, and its condition has often been worse than the condition of the media of the dictatorial regimes which march in the caravan of the single leader."
"Why are the leaders of the White House keen to start wars and wage them around the world, and make use of every possible opportunity through which they can reach this purpose, occasionally even creating justifications based on deception and blatant lies, as you saw in Iraq?
In the Vietnam War, the leaders of the White House claimed at the time that it was a necessary and crucial war, and during it, Rumsfeld and his aides murdered two million villagers. When Kennedy took over the presidency and deviated from the general line of policy drawn up for the White House and wanted to stop this unjust war, that angered the owners of the major corporations who were benefiting from its continuation.
And so Kennedy was killed, and those corporations were the primary beneficiary from his killing. The war continued after that for approximately one decade. But after it became clear to you that it was an unjust and unnecessary war, you made one of your greatest mistakes, in that you neither brought to account nor punished those who waged this war, not even the most violent of its murderers, Rumsfeld. Even more incredible is that Bush picked him as Secretary of Defense in his first term after picking Cheney as his vice president, Powell as secretary of state and Armitage as Powell's deputy, despite their horrific and blood history of murdering humans. It was a clear signal that his administration - the administration of the generals- didn't have as its main concern the serving of humanity, but rather, was interested in bringing about new massacres. Yet in spite of that, you permitted Bush to complete his first term, and stranger still, chose him for a second term, which gave him a clear mandate from you - with your full knowledge and consent - to continue to murder our people in Iraq and Afghanistan.
History shows the genocide and holocausts which took place at your hands: only a few specimens of Red Indians were spared, and just a few days ago, the Japanese observed the 62nd anniversary of the annihilation of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by your nuclear weapons.
Then you claim to be innocent! It is impossible to humor any of you in the arrogance and indifference you show for the lives of humans outside America, or to humor your leaders in their lying, as the entire world knows they have the lion's share of that. Not taking past war criminals to account led to them repeating that crime of killing humanity without right and waging this unjust war in Mesopotamia.
"This war was entirely unnecessary, as testified to by your own reports. Among the most capable of those from your own side who speak to you on this topic is Noam Chomsky, who spoke sober words of advice prior to the war, but the leader of Texas doesn't like those who give advice. The entire world came out in unprecedented demonstrations to warn against waging the war and describe its true nature in eloquent terms like "no to spilling red blood for black oil," yet he paid them no heed.
It is time for humankind to know that talk of 'the rights of man' and 'freedom' are lies produced by the White House and its allies in Europe to deceive humans, take control of their destinies and subjugate them.
Among the things which catch the eye of the repercussions of your unjust war against Iraq is the failure of your democratic system, despite it raising of the slogans of 'justice, liberty, equality and humanitarianism'. It has not only failed to achieve these things, it has actually destroyed these and other concepts with its weapons - especially in Iraq and Afghanistan- in a brazen fashion, to replace them with fear, destruction, killing, hunger, illness, displacement and more than a million orphans in Baghdad alone, not to mention hundreds of thousands of widows. Americans statistics speak of the killing of more than 650,000 of the people of Iraq as a result of the war and its repercussions.
People of America: the people of the world have recently come to know that, after several years of the tragedies of this war, the vast majority of you want it stopped. Thus, you elected the Democratic Party for this purpose, but the Democrats haven't made a move worth mentioning. On the contrary, they continue to agree to the spending of tens of billions to continue the killing and war there, which has led to your disappointment.
And here is the gist of the matter, so one should pause, think and reflect: why have the Democrats failed to stop this war, despite them being the majority?
The answer to this question is: they are the same reasons which led to the failure of former president Kennedy to stop the Vietnam war. Those with real power and influence are those with the most capital. And since the democratic system permits major corporations to back candidates, be they presidential or congressional, there shouldn't be any cause for astonishment in the Democrats' failure to stop the war.
You're the ones who have the saying which goes, "Money talks." After the failure of your representatives in the Democratic Party to implement your desire to stop the war, you can still carry anti-war placards and spread out in the streets of major cities, then go back to your homes, but that will be of no use and will lead to the prolonging of the war.
It has now become clear to you and the entire world the impotence of your 'democratic' system and how it plays with the interests of the peoples and their blood by sacrificing soldiers and populations to achieve the interests of the major corporations.
It has become clear to all that they are the real tyrannical terrorists. In fact, the life of all of mankind is in danger because of the global warming resulting to a large degree from the emissions of the factories of the major corporations. Despite that, the representative of these corporations in the White House insists on not observing the Kyoto accord, with the knowledge that the statistic speaks of the resulting death and displacement of millions of human beings, especially in Africa. This greatest of plagues and most dangerous of threats to the lives of humans is taking place in an accelerating fashion as the world is being dominated by the 'democratic' capitalist system, which confirms its massive failure to protect humans and their interests from the greed and avarice of the major corporations and their representatives.
And despite this brazen attack on the people, the leaders of the West - especially Bush, Blair, Sarkozy and Brown- still talk about 'freedom' and 'human rights' with a flagrant disregard for the intellects of human beings. So is there a form of terrorism stronger, clearer and more dangerous? This is why I tell you: as you liberated yourselves before from the slavery of monks, kings, and feudalism, you should liberate yourselves from the deception, shackles and attrition of the capitalist system.
If you were to ponder it well, you would find that in the end, it is a system harsher and fiercer than your systems in the Middle Ages. The capitalist system seeks to turn the entire world into a fiefdom of the major corporations under the label of "globalization" in order to protect 'democracy'.
Iraq and Afghanistan and their tragedies; the reeling of many of you under the burden of interest-related debts, insane taxes and real estate mortgages; global warming and its woes; and the abject poverty and tragic hunger in Africa - all of this is but one side of the grim face of this global system.
So it is imperative that you free yourselves from all of that and search for an alternative, upright methodology in which it is not the business of any class of humanity to lay down its own laws to its own advantage at the expense of the other classes as is the case with you, since the essence of the laws under which you live is that they serve the interests of those with the capital and thus make the rich richer and the poor poorer."
John Bengston,
Another reason the bin Laden tapes are not available was reported by al Jazeera, all of the pro al Qaeda web sites that usually would have put up the tapes went black right after the U.S. intercepted the first tape a few days before 9/11/2007
Here's some of the article from Al Jazeera;
"Soon after Washington announced it had the video, all the websites that usually carry statements from al-Qaeda went down and were inaccessible, in an unprecedented shutdown, according to the Associated Press news agency.
The reason for the shutdown was not immediately known.
Evan H Kohlmann, an expert at globalterroralert.com, said he suspected it was the work of al-Qaeda itself, trying to find how the video leaked to US officials.
Others suspected the US might be behind the shutdown."
Here's the article;
http://tinyurl.com/2owqz8
Since al Qaeda is the definitive decentralized organization the idea that they shut down their favorable web sites is laughable, no doubt the NSA blacked them out.
If the Osama videos are available to the public, one may find that they can really find out where and when the tapes were made.
I think Hollywood is still looking for their lost tapes of "Wag the Dog II"...
john bengtson: Intelligence officials worry that there are codes embedded in the speech that might signal waiting terrorist cells to attack. Unfortunately, it is a necessary precaution.
However, that aside, I'm guessing our leaders would hesitate to put those tapes out for public consumption due to the likelihood that hearing the terrorists might make some of us understand their grievances (which, as far as I can tell, are that Americans/Israelis are occupying lands that they consider holy, and that said occupiers are often killing Muslim people, deliberately or not). Bad trouble for the imperial economy if that got out.
"Bush's guys" have a distinct advantage because they don't need to be any "smarter" than their constituency.
Why is it that Osama Bin-Laden's tapes aren't available to the public online? I would certainly be interested in what he has to say. The last one that I could find was from 2004. Bin-Laden's guys are defineatly alot smarter than Bush's guys.