But Which One Is He Endorsing?

Transcript of bin Laden's pre-election pitch. Reaction from Bush. Reaction from Kerry. Blast from the past moment: This whole thing is about the U.S.S. New Jersey?

Comments

[Ruthless]

From Whack-O-Sama's point of view, he just wants to be understood.
Should we be asking whether he prefers Prince Bandar over Prince Ali Baba?
All here should be so fortunate as moi to have a friend by the name of Abdul.
Whack-O-Sama is stating his grievances as clearly as anyone here can. Somewhere, other than al Jazeera, the "enemy" needs to start on the road to de-demonification.
He's reaching out for Christsakes!

[Bill]

It does seem like Osama is reaching out. It's so weird! He must see how a murderous bastard like Arafat became loved by so many. Maybe he's trying to be the next terrorist-turned-euro-celebrity.

[Fodderstompf]

If I recall correctly, this blog has a commenter or two who knew that the bearded one was dead. Would they like to comment on the news?

[Gorp]

I haven't commented on bin Laden before but I figured it was 98% certain the scumbag was dead. How sure are we that the tape is authentic? It sure as hell doesn't sound like any of his previous utterances, either in style or in substance.

[Ruthless]

Da Woild According to...

Give it up Gorp.

Back to what passes for your drarrwing board.

[Curtis]

If he's "reaching out" as some suggest, the question is: why? This was not a strong statement either in language or tone (given the norm). It actually seems that he's hoping to backtrack a bit. I think he gets it now that the twin tower attack unleashed a relentless hound in the USA, which he may not have fully expected. All guesswork, btw.

[Curtis]

For what it's worth (more subjective, sheer speculation), my reaction to the tape, and upon reading the transcript that didn't change, was that he had shown a great sign of weakness.

[Al Franken]

He's not a bad person, gosh darn it!
He's smart. Islamists like him, and he just wants to be loved.

[Curtis]

Sorry, Tim, but I neglected to address the question. OBL spoke more of Bush (all of which was negative) and that likely means Kerry would be the lesser evil, but Bush can't really use the "endorsement" to his advantage and neither can Kerry. For all we know, another attack is on the way before the elections. OBL is basically appealing to the US public and is saying neither of these fellows is doing the right job by you.

[Jon]

Maybe he's endorsing Nader.

[crimethink]

Is anyone here cynical enough to not be surprised when HS raises the threat level to red for schools, churches, and govt buildings in large cities on Nov 2? 😉

[Crazy Fear Monger]

Or another attack is on the way after the election - as "punishment".

[Gorp]

Ruthless

Have you seen the tape? Seriously, how sure are we that the tape is authentic? We've had numerous bogus audio tapes before. Has it been authenticated yet by impartial experts?

[berg]

I thought Bush's response was more dignified than Kerry's. Kerry is getting quite comical with his, "I will personally hunt down and strangle every terrorist" line, especially in combination with his other "We must form coalitions with France, Germany and the rest of the world" position.

[Mike G]

I have seen reports that it's fuzzy and entirely in longshot, which means that it could well be dubbed-- or a double. I think the rush to assume it IS him is a bit premature. Maybe it is, maybe the odds even favor that position-- but given the history of fakery of messages from him so far, why should we blindly assume it has now stopped? I mean, Laurence Olivier was just in a Hollywood movie....

[chilly]

This totally helps Bush. This is the October Surprise everyone was waiting for. UBL WANTS Bush elected. Why? Because Bush will continue to invade muslim countries (Syria anyone?) and kill muslim citizens. This is EXACTLY what UBL wants. At the same time Bush will be destroying our freedoms here at home. It's the same reason Bush doesn't really want to catch UBL. They need each other. It's a classic co-dependent relationship. BTW, I think Kerry sux too.

[Curtis]

CFM makes a good point. (I'm not convinced that the whole thing is authentic, but it "appears" to be.) The "conciliatory" approach could well be followed by an attack as punishment. OBL ain't a nice guy -- I'm not about to sit at a table and "reason" with him.

[boyroy]

Osama has to be for Bush. Bush provides the Christian Crusader Osama needs to fight. Hard to promote religious fanaticism without a fellow fanatic.

With Kerry, America gets all reasonable with other countries and goes back to exporting your seductive civilization. Look at Europe, China, and India, most of the population of the world, remove a few ethnic twists, and you got the States. Muslims bombing around in SUVs exchanging text messages with the hotty two lanes over aren't going to be big on strapping on gelignite and heading out to the bar mitzvah.

Coming from an oil rich region that is already really secular, gives me mixed feelings about the American election. I like Americans. The whole ugly American thing has been replaced by nice folks in RVs, who want to help me get satellite radio in Canada, and fellow business idiots, willing to compare company ethics programs. But oil over $50 a barrel, a government willing to let us steal your markets and bring hockey back home, gives me goose bumps.

[kwais]

Fodderstomp,
I also didn't say so on the blog, but I was convinced that 1st Force had guides some bombs down on the cave where he was two years ago.

I was wondering why they were keeping that shit a secret.

Apparently I was wrong. Well, its not the first time.

[David Tomlin]

We know the tape is authentic because the White House says so, and they didn't waste any time.