He’s Still Alive
Though I try (not always successfully) to make it a point to wish no ill will on anyone (it’s the surest sign of a lack of decent moral fiber to take delight in the misfortune of others), surely I can be forgiven for not exactly being delighted in the continued presence on this earth of one Osama bin Laden. However, it appears he is still among us:
Early analysis indicates the voice on a recently released videotape is that of Osama bin Laden, a U.S. official said Friday, as President Bush called the tape “a reminder of the dangerous world in which we live.”
A transcript of the video, obtained by CNN, shows it contains no overt threats toward the United States.
Some date references, including a mention of Democrats gaining the majority in Congress, may indicate the tape is new.
…The transcript also shows bin Laden blaming global warming on large corporations.
“The life of all mankind is in danger because of the global warming resulting to a large degree from the emissions of the factories the major corporations,” it says.
“And despite this brazen attack on the people [referring to global warming], 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 humans?”
The reference to French President Nicolas Sarkozy and new British Prime Minister Gordon Brown suggests that the tape was recorded this summer.
Quite touching, that last bit – concern for the environment from a mass murderer. I’m sure you’re all reaching for your hankies..
He’s dead. Has been since 2001.
Have you seen any video or stills from the tape? A bad body double. Fake, dyed beard.
As usual, Bush’s remark only gets part of it right. It is true that the video is “a reminder of the dangerous world in which we live.” However, he leaves out the part explaining why it is still a dangerous world: six years after promising to get bin Laden dead or alive, he’s there to thumb his nose at us, and the movement he leads has more followers as ever.
One could only imagine the howls from the right if a Democratic President was chronically unable to catch public enemy number one, despite all of the power and leverage of the US government.
The fact is: bin Laden won. We’re the ones who are fearful and divided, and they’re the ones who are winning hearts and minds. How an ideology which condones killing innocents could trump an ethos of freedom can only be ascribed to the military and diplomatic decisions the government has made. We went from having global sympathy as innocent victims to the world’s bully whon tells other nations to act as we say and not as we do. (One example: could you imagine the reaction here if China, for example, decided to incarcerate an American citizen indefinitely because it decided he was an “enemy combatant?”)
The sad thing, however, is that there is seems to be no strategic thought from any quarter beyond whether the level of violence in Iraq is incrementally better or worse than it was when the surge started. Perhaps a strategic vision for the Middle East is too much to expect of a man who confuses Austria with Australia, but the Democrats — except for maybe Biden — don’t seem to have any thoughts as to how to change things — if not for the better — at least to the status quo ante. It’s hard to believe that we’ve been outsmarted and outmaneuvered by a bunch of guys living in caves, but that’s where we find ourselves.
sorry, than ever
Bob, the government analysts seem convinced it’s him, and he makes contemporary references…thus, it’s not conclusive, but I would say “likely”, that the tape is him. Peter, I simply disagree with the significance of his remaining alive, though I, too, wish we had caught him: the fact is he’s reduced to video tapes from hiding, not pulling off spectacular terrorist incidences from plain sight in Afghan training camps…
Oh, and I read somewhere (sorry, no link) that it’s common among Islamic ’spiritual’ leaders to dye their beards – it gives off the impression of youth and vitality, and all that jazz…
Could you imagine the reaction here if China, for example, decided to incarcerate an American citizen indefinitely because it decided he was an “enemy combatant?”
It probably wouldn’t be very positive, but then, we treat the detainees better than the Chinese treat common criminals (including political prisoners), so that’s not a very good comparison.
What if French forces in Afghanistan had captured John Walker Lindh? It would only have upset the US if they were too lenient on him.
Furthermore, I doubt there would be a big political fuss if a US citizen were found fighting alongside Tibetan or Uyghur rebels and captured accordingly. The US gov’t didn’t get up in arms with Israel over Rachel Corrie, did it?
Whether we treat detainees better than China is arguable. Some of our detainees are sent to places like Syria and Egypt to be tortured. Others have been documented to be tortured at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere. Whether that compares favorably or not with the Chinese penal system is a distinction without a difference.
If an American citizen is fighting with rebel forces and is picked up, that’s his tough luck. However, we would insist on some sort of due process for him. Whether the people at Gitmo are terrorists or simply people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time is something we will never know, as there has been no effort to give them a fair trial and any evidence which may once have existed is shrouded in doubt.
Iran recently detained some Americans for no apparent reason, and there was howling here which was entirely justified. Without bringing people to trial and presenting evidence, howling from other countries is similarly justified, if not more so. After all, we claim to be a nation of laws, based on the principle of habeas corpus.
The issue is not that America detainees foreigners. It is that we have betrayed our principles by incarcerating foreign nationals indefinitely with dubious or non-existent evidence in violation of the principles which the country is founded upon.
Mark:
Did they say it was a slam dunk? It is someone who looks like Bin Laden using his pre-death recorded voice to read a script. Easy enough to do if you have average technical skills. Of course I can’t prove that but the CIA can’t prove it is him either.
Well, I agree it’s not a certainty…where we differ is that I tend to think it is him…but hey, I wouldn’t cry too much if I was wrong, believe me…
Links and Minifeatures 08 17 Wednesday…
Stephen Den Beste over at Daily Pundit covers the Gaza withdrawal from a dispassionate viewpoint. I agree with the allegation that it is unfair, anti-Jewish racism. I agree that Israel has bent over backwards to be accommodating to any hint……