The above article, entitled “Osama bin Laden calls Barack Obama ‘powerless.’ It was posted on 9-14-09. I want to consider the “logic” of Osama’s arguments. So I’ll first quote the article and then examine his arguments below.
“Al-Qaeda's As-Sahab media released a video featuring a still image of bin Laden and an audio statement, said IntelCenter.
“In the tape bin Laden reportedly said Barack Obama was "powerless" to stop the war in Afghanistan.
“SITE Intelligence Group, a terrorist-monitoring firm that translated the address, said bin Laden blamed the war on the "pro-Israel lobby" and corporate interests.
“In the tape, bin Laden directly addressed the American public.
"’The time has come for you to liberate yourselves from fear and the ideological terrorism of neo-conservatives and the Israeli lobby,’ he said.
"’The reason for our dispute with you is your support for your ally Israel, occupying our land in Palestine.’"
“The purpose of the address was ‘to remind you of the causes’ of Sept. 11, he said.
“Bin Laden argued against the claims that the war was necessary for US security, saying current White House officials were merely following the strategy of former President George W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney to ‘promote the previous policies of fear to market the interests of big companies.’
“When Mr Obama became president and retained many of the Bush administration's military leaders, such as Defense Secretary Robert Gates, ‘reasonable people knew that Obama is a powerless man who will not be able to end the war as he promised,’ bin Laden said.
“‘If you end the war, so to it,’ bin Laden said. ‘But if it is otherwise, all we will do is continue the war of attrition against you on all possible axes.’
“The release came two days after the United States marked the eighth anniversary of the al-Qaeda-sponsored September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks which killed nearly 3,000 people.
“‘The video shows a still of bin Laden while the audio statement plays.
“There is no video footage of bin Laden or of anything else, aside from the graphics surrounding his still. There is no media footage or footage from other groups, IntelCenter said.
“The group described the release as ‘an address to the American public’ and said bin Laden typically releases such a statement annually around September or October.”
COMMENT:
Consider OBL’s first statement: “The Time has come for you to liberate yourselves from fear and the ideological terrorism of neo-conservatives and the Israeli lobby.” This reminds me of the approach of Goebbels: If you present the same lie often enough people will eventually believe it. Notice that “terrorism” is a tactic intended to inspire fear. Osama’s language indicates that he understands that perfectly well. “Terrorism” is the chief tactic of Al Qaeda, but he boldly accuses the anti-terrorist campaign designed to destroy him and his allies as terrorism. The war in Afghanistan was intended to remove his allies, the Taliban, and kill or capture the Al Qaeda members living in Afghanistan. If this was terrorism, then its intended victims were the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
Also in his first statement is his assertion is that the “neo-conservatives and the Israeli lobby” are causing this “terrorism” as an ongoing enterprise. But whatever influence the neo-conservatives had, and it wasn’t much, it ended when Obama took office. As to the “Jewish Lobby,” doesn’t Osama realize that Jews are predominately liberal and if anything are inclined to be lenient on captured terrorists and anti-Israel enterprises? I subscribe to the largely Jewish publication Commentary, and in the September 2009 issue is a “Symposium on Norman Podhoretz’s New Book” Why are Jews Liberals? This is a well known fact of American politics, but Osama doesn’t know it (unless he does and is simply lying).
Osama then says “The reason for our dispute with you is your support for your ally Israel, occupying our land in Palestine.” This wasn’t the reason for the beginning of Al Qaeda’s “dispute” with America. That beginning was caused by Saudi Arabia’s asking for American help against Saddam Hussein. Osama begged the Saudi leaders to let him fight against Saddam, that he would lead that fight and defeat Saddam, but the Saudi’s chose to ignore Osama and ask for help from America. Early on, when Osama decided to war upon America, Palestine was not a major issue. But Saddam is gone; so now it is. Osama might more accurately have said “The current reason for our dispute with you is . . . “
What Osama is doing here is drawing his line in the sand. This isn’t a new line. Others have drawn it before him, so he is declaring his oneness with the implacable enemies of Israel. There is to be no peace with Israel, only perpetual war until Israel is finally destroyed. America blithely sends diplomats to Israel and Palestine from time to time to create a peace agreement, but that is surely naïve given the number of Arabs standing on the other side of the line with Osama declaring eternal war against Israel.
Osama’s next statement is paraphrased: “Bin Laden argued against he claims that the war was necessary for US security, saying current While House Officials were merely following the strategy of former President George W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney to ‘promote the previous policies of fear to market the interests of big companies.” This comment, if it accurately depicts what Osama said, is amusing. Al Qaeda attacks the US, destroys the Twin Towers, in New York, and when American sends its military after his stronghold in Afghanistan, he calls it “policies of fear.” What he does is the righteous work of Allah, but when America responds, it is engaged in a “policy of fear”: funny stuff.
As a result of the American decision to war against Al Qaeda and his supporters in Afghanistan, “big companies” produced the equipment the military used in this war. Who in the world would believe that it was the other way around, that is, that the “big companies caused America to go to war against Al Qaeda? That isn’t entirely a rhetorical question because most of the Middle East is denied a free press; so the Arab “man in the street,” inundated with conspiracies theories against the US and Israel may very well believe it. And of course we have a few in America like Ward Churchill and Noam Chomsky who already believe it.
Osama is next quoted as saying “When Mr. Obama became president and retained many of the Bush administration’s military leaders, such as Defense Secretary Robert Gates, ‘reasonable people knew that Obama is a powerless man who will not be able to end the war as he promised,’ bin Laden said.” The “promise” Obama made had to do with Iraq and not Afghanistan. Also, the American Defense Secretary is not a “military leader” in the sense of being a military man. He is the Civilian Leader of the military. The American military answers to a “Civilian” government and not the other way around. Also, we do not get rid of our generals when a new Civilian administration takes office in the white house.
Osama next says, “If you end the war, so [be] it . . . But if it is otherwise, [what] we will do is continue the war of attrition against you on all possible axes.” America’s anti-Islamist views are shared by the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Yes, some anti-Al-Qaeda forces are being killed, but it is hardly the sort of stalemate that Osama seems to be implying that it is. We are not in trenches where we kill a few and then they kill a few. We are searching for the remnants of Osama’s organization, and of his allies the Taliban.
FURTHER COMMENT:
We do have anti-Americans here in the US. They don’t concern us as a nation because our population is above 300 million, and their numbers are tiny. We don’t believe in taking hammers after gnats. Sometimes I wish it was otherwise, but it isn’t. Given that fact, who in the US besides our anti-Americans is going to be impressed with this Osama “address to the American Public”? Will many in the US move into the cracks and crevices of our society with our anti-Americans after reading Osama’s address? I don’t think so.
This strikes me as an attempt at a bravura performance for the benefit of his supporters in the Middle East. “Look,” he seems to be saying, “I am still alive and well and continuing my Jihad against the American and Israeli infidels. Perhaps, Osama, you should have ended your “address,” with a few lines from T. S. Eliot:
“I am no prophet—and here’s no great matter;
“I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker,
“And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker,
“And in short, I was afraid.”
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