Purported Bin Laden Tape Offers Truce to Europe-TV

[Zhukov]

In addition to geologists who claimed to be able to determine the location pictured in previous bin Laden tapes by the rocks, there were reports from people who recognized and had physically been to those locations.

But you are right. It would not be too difficult to arrange a recording in a non-descript building or cave with a sheet up behind any speakers.

Perhaps they feel otherwise constrained against using video recording equipment based on some sort of tell-tale radiation it may emmit. Again, one might imagine a cave would be sufficient cover against that.

Perhaps he is deliberately not releasing visual recordings in order to release one in the future when he feels it will have a greater impact. Perhaps immeadiately before our elections.

As relates to the change in strategy with respect to the offered truce, he's certainly not above playing politics. But it is an interesting offer. One that I thinks sounds desperate. Perhaps we are closer to him than we think.

On an aside, I heard an interesting comment about this most recently released tape. That bin Laden did not make any koranic references in this edition as is his wont.

Who knows, maybe he is dead. Somehow I doubt it.

 

[Comrade]

Originally posted by Zhukov

Perhaps he is deliberately not releasing visual recordings in order to release one in the future when he feels it will have a greater impact. Perhaps immeadiately before our elections.

That's certainly an alternative I've considered. Do you think any kind of message to the US at that time would benefit OBL, or sway the voters in America against him (ie. voting for Bush)?

 

[preemptingyou03]

I think anything OBL does will want America to stick with the stronger leader, unlike the Europeans who want to appease. If there was an attack before our elections, Bush would get in without a doubt.

But then of course a few months down the road, we'd have a hearing to what went wrong with the intelligence.

The War on Terror is different because you can't measure how good we're doing. Our strategy can be working, we can be kicking terrorist ass all over... but then boom, one day, some lone terrorist sneaks in our country and commits an attack. Should that one attack judge how we're doing in the War on Terror? There would be a lot of second guessing by liberals, if so.

 

[Zhukov]

Originally posted by Comrade
That's certainly an alternative I've considered. Do you think any kind of message to the US at that time would benefit OBL, or sway the voters in America against him (ie. voting for Bush)?

Whether it would or not, bin Laden may hope it might. He might think that by releasing unequivocal proof of his survival, along with a message claiming the President's efforts against global terrorism were largely ineffectual, he may sway enough people to vote for a change in leadership.

I however don't believe it would have much effect.

Now, were it accompanied by a catastrophic domestic attack....

 

[musicman]

Condoleeza Rice made a damn good point while testifying before the laughing academy. She underlined the daunting nature of the task we face by saying, "We have to be right every time. The terrorists only have to be right once." It's going to be a long haul, and the Democrats are going to politicize every fart in the wind. I pray to God that the American electorate are discerning enough to understand this.

 

[preemptingyou03]

Americans won't understand this until we get our ass kicked again. It is pathetic that a lot of Americans only have resolve in our hour of mourning. Resolve should be sustained for years at end.

 

[musicman]

"The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot...."