"Bin Laden" Surfaces
Allegedly Osama Bin Laden has allegedly made another blustering audiotape that allegedly was sent to al-Jazeera which broadcast the portions it considered "newsworthy."
Maybe this means that he's still alive. Maybe it means that al Qaeda has an inexhaustible supply of OBL impersonators. Maybe it means he recorded a big pile of tapes before he croaked. And maybe it means that we got Ayman al-Zawahri last Friday after all.
Whatever the truth is, there is one aspect of it that is telling to me:
Would al-Qaeda be begging for a truce if they thought they had the upper hand on us in the GWOT? And notice that "bin Laden" didn't offer one, because AQ knows damn well that we wouldn't accept it, and that offering one would make them look weak, a huge no-no in Islamic culture. Finally, consider the timing of this audio tape coming less than a week after the Damadola Predator strike that wiped out five more members of the AQ palace guard, including their top WMD expert.
Now could they be "finishing preparations" for another attack here? Well, sure; but isn't that pretty much a given? How is that "newsworthy"? Were there any high-profile OBL audio or video tapes heralding the 9/11 attacks? I don't recall any.
People who can "walk the talk" generally don't make a practice of talking a whole lot. This audiotape suggests to me that after al Qaeda's latest setback, "talking" is pretty much all they've got left.
[HT: the Corner]
Maybe this means that he's still alive. Maybe it means that al Qaeda has an inexhaustible supply of OBL impersonators. Maybe it means he recorded a big pile of tapes before he croaked. And maybe it means that we got Ayman al-Zawahri last Friday after all.
Whatever the truth is, there is one aspect of it that is telling to me:
On January 19, 2006, Al-Jazeera TV broadcast excerpts from a new audiocassette by Osama bin Laden, in which the Al-Qaeda leader threatens further attacks on the U.S., "immediately with the completion of the preparations.”
At the same time, bin Laden makes a plea to accept and uphold a long term truce under fair conditions [if America offers it to him], which will provide security and stability to both sides and will make it possible to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan. "We are a nation forbidden by Allah to betray and lie," promises bin Laden.
Contrary to mistranslations in the media, from Al-Jazeera for example,(1) bin Laden did not offer a truce, but made a plea to genuinely uphold one if America offers it to him. [emphasis added]
Would al-Qaeda be begging for a truce if they thought they had the upper hand on us in the GWOT? And notice that "bin Laden" didn't offer one, because AQ knows damn well that we wouldn't accept it, and that offering one would make them look weak, a huge no-no in Islamic culture. Finally, consider the timing of this audio tape coming less than a week after the Damadola Predator strike that wiped out five more members of the AQ palace guard, including their top WMD expert.
Now could they be "finishing preparations" for another attack here? Well, sure; but isn't that pretty much a given? How is that "newsworthy"? Were there any high-profile OBL audio or video tapes heralding the 9/11 attacks? I don't recall any.
People who can "walk the talk" generally don't make a practice of talking a whole lot. This audiotape suggests to me that after al Qaeda's latest setback, "talking" is pretty much all they've got left.
[HT: the Corner]
posted by JASmius at 4:29 PM
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