Osama’s Terms
Essentially, the new Bin Laden tape says “please don’t wage war on our turf, but let us wage war on yours.”
Bringing the War on Terror to the center of the politically dysfunctional Muslim world is absolutely key to obtaining the long term victory Americans expect and the world deserves.
Osama’s terms:
“We do not mind offering you a long-term truce with fair conditions that we adhere to,” he said. “We are a nation that God has forbidden to lie and cheat. So both sides can enjoy security and stability under this truce so we can build Iraq and Afghanistan, which have been destroyed in this war.
“There is no shame in this solution, which prevents the wasting of billions of dollars that have gone to those with influence and merchants of war in America,” he said.
Here’s a link to the entire transcript (via Fox).
UPDATE: Comment 17 — superb snap back. I spent several months in Baghdad (and some time in Babil). I saw the same thing you saw: many innocent people murdered by terrorists. I always wondered where the internationalista “human shields” were. Why didn’t they place themselves between the terrorists and the Iraqi people? They can still deploy, and place themselves in and around Iraqi hospitals, schools, and markets.
Purported bin Laden tape talks of attacks, truce Al-Jazeera aired an audiotape purportedly from Osama bin Laden on Thursday, saying al-Qaeda is makin
Trackback by Unpartisan.com Political News and Blog Aggregator — 1/19/2006 @ 12:17 pm
Absolutely! The terrorists may need to regroup and recruit, but we don’t.
Comment by Scott Sterling — 1/19/2006 @ 12:29 pm
I recall during the 2004 election cycle Osama came out with a plan reflecting Kerry’s plan for Irqaq. Strange how Osama comes out with a plan to get the US out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Is he a Democrat or a Republican plant.
Comment by davod — 1/19/2006 @ 12:43 pm
Personally I’d love to see the roles reversed, Austin. Car-bombings, beheadings, torture, death squads, and tons of civilian casualties, every day, without rest, smack dab in the middle of your whitebread neighborhood, whilst a bunch of Iraqi and Afghani idiots with blogs broadcast their irrelevant opinions about what a bunch of fascist, terrorist scum you Americans are for resisting such a thing. If there is any justice in the world, Bin Laden’s next move will be on your turf, amongst your friends and family, so as to give you a little dash of perspective on the “war on terror” and that long-term “victory” you’re willing to break international and american law in pursuit of. ED NOTE TO THIS COMMENT: I lived in New York for eight years (Manhattan) and I’ve worked in the Pentagon. My neighborhood has been attacked.
Comment by Yessir — 1/19/2006 @ 12:54 pm
Great comment. This makes what we are fighting for absolutely black and white.
Comment by bbscan — 1/19/2006 @ 12:54 pm
Isn’t it wonderful that the Muslim world is politically disfunctional and we are not. Just imagine if it were the other way around. They may have killed 30,000 innocent Americans and we may have only killed 3000 innocent Muslims.
Comment by jlwilliams — 1/19/2006 @ 1:09 pm
Al Jazeera Plays bin Laden Tape From the AP:Al Jazeera aired an audiotape purportedly from Osama bin Laden on Thursday, saying al Qaeda is making preparations for attacks in the U.S. but offering a truce to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan. The voice on the tape said heightened security …
Trackback by protein wisdom — 1/19/2006 @ 1:35 pm
Bin Laden wants peace? Tolkien expressed it well: “Yes, we will have peace,” he said, now in a clear voice, “we will have peace, when you and all your works have perished–and the works of your dark master to whom you would deliver us.”
Comment by pst314 — 1/19/2006 @ 1:46 pm
Maybe we should open a dialogue and rope-a-dope them until we’ve taken their measure for the vicious haymakerthat will rid the world of this scourge once and for all. Maybe we could send out more dinner invitations to discuss details of the truce.
Comment by Paul Castro — 1/19/2006 @ 1:48 pm
OMG, that is the perfect way to say it. Let us attack you at home and you stay there and take it. Tell you what, send some more Tomahawks out to the place I was a few weeks ago, but please no boots on the ground. You know, lets go back to when Clinton was in the White House, he was my kind of fellow.
Comment by James Stephenson — 1/19/2006 @ 2:03 pm
Gee, what happened to fighting to the death, martyrdom, all that stuff? Guess who got a whiff of smoke from that bombing in Pakistan…
Comment by Korla Pundit — 1/19/2006 @ 2:07 pm
Hudna thought it? [source, source, source] Al-Jazeera aired an audiotape purportedly from Osama bin Laden on Thursday, saying al-Qaida is making preparations for…
Trackback by Low Earth Orbit — 1/19/2006 @ 2:08 pm
JWilliams, you are hilarious. Do you have any CDs or DVDs avaiable for purchase?
Comment by Rob — 1/19/2006 @ 2:12 pm
Beware the islamafacist “truce”. Its just a hudna, the concept created by the warrior “prophet” Muhammad wherein the forces of islamafascism make a tactical peace with infidel only so long as it takes the islamfascits to rearm and get their strength back up to start the war again. The only peaceful jihadi is a dead jihadi.
Comment by Minuteman — 1/19/2006 @ 2:47 pm
Top 5 Potential U.S. Responses to Osama Bin Laden’s offer of Truce: (1) “NUTZ” - Forgetten Generals engaged in desperate struggles always inspire, but this is essential American Eloquence. (2) “Mr. Bin Laden, End this War…Surrender Yourself, Your People & Your Evil Cause” - Adaptation of Ronald Reagan. (3) “Al-Qaida Surrenders or Bin Ladden Dead” - One good adaptation deserves another so how about a Teddy Roosevelt Remix. (4) “NO DICE” - So little says so much for indefagitable defiance of Terrorism and Tryanny in defense of Liberty. (5) “Beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing” - A timeless caution to any who would broker false peace with real enemies and squander future hope in apprehension of present fear, Thanks Winston.
Comment by TheMarine — 1/19/2006 @ 3:04 pm
The AlJazeera web site suggests the tape was made at some point in December. It is more likely a result of Rep Murtha’s calls for immediate withdrawl rather than last weeks bombing.
Comment by Soldier's Dad — 1/19/2006 @ 3:18 pm
That’s funny…I just “lived” and “worked” in Samarra, Iraq through all of 2005. All the dead civilians I saw were killed by the terrorists…uh…I mean….uh….dissidents, no, activists, no, freedom fighters. Go to hell and bring your buddies with you.
Comment by RockTheMarne — 1/19/2006 @ 3:34 pm
Re: Comment 4 — The needs to be a corollary to Godwin’s Law for anyone that does not understand what a Fascist is, but instead uses it as a catch-all perjorative. I’ll get to work on some sort of auto-flame script.
Comment by LizardAbroad — 1/19/2006 @ 4:17 pm
I found it interesting how often Osama kept referring to the “Polls” of American dissatisfaction with the war.
Comment by James — 1/19/2006 @ 4:56 pm
Is it just me? Does anyone else envision Baghdad Bob when you read the latest Bin Laden transcript?
Comment by brad figley — 1/19/2006 @ 5:12 pm
Yessir, You’re a sad little chickendove. Urging al-Qaeda, al-Qaeda-in-Iraq, and other down-and-out terrorist groups to continue with its American quagmire from your comfortable chair by your computer — I bet you’re even in your pajamas! You probably cancelled your cell phone service because you’re scared Dick Cheney might be listening in! If you don’t have the guts to put your butt where you’re mouth is and start planting some IED’s in Mr. Bay’s “whitebread neighborhood or slit some flight attendant’s throat and fly a plane in a building, then kindly shut your piehole.
Comment by Todd Gunther — 1/19/2006 @ 5:34 pm
And let us not forget, the Koran says it is all right to violate any treaty you have with an infidel. Mohammed said (and did) so, and explained why it was all right. So basically this “truce offer” is valid until OBL feels strong enough to strike. Put another way, “Stop hitting us!” — Osama bin Laden.
Comment by Stanley — 1/19/2006 @ 5:35 pm
It’s a weird statement, I’ll grant you that. Two quick observations: 1) The guy is delusional - you can’t speak truce after you’ve killed 3,000 clear non-combatants; 2) Beware victory laps - y’all are also getting too much pleasure out of this. The societal frustrations in the Middle East far deeper than bin Laden. Whether he dies or goes to jail (in terms of “martyr’s death,” the latter is oddly preferable; it’s not about what he deserves, but what most deflates the man’s image), the disparities in wealth and the social dysfunctions in the Middle East mean this is far from over. There are a lot of caveats to what we’re doing in the Middle East. For instance, it’s entirely conceivable that Americans are not the proper agents of change in the region; then again, maybe we are. One thing I’m sure of: bagging bin Laden will salve our desire for revenge (a well-placed one too), but I’m less confident that ending his time as a free man on this earth will mean all that much in the grand scheme.
Comment by Jeff Bull — 1/19/2006 @ 6:11 pm
jl williams said: “Isn’t it wonderful that the Muslim world is politically disfunctional and we are not. Just imagine if it were the other way around. They may have killed 30,000 innocent Americans and we may have only killed 3000 innocent Muslims. ” Were the Muslim world not politically “disfunctional” [sic], nobody need have died at all to satisfy Arab paranoia and impotent rage. In case you hadn’t noticed, that’s exactly the situation we are trying to remedy right now.
Comment by Reid — 1/19/2006 @ 6:13 pm
We certainly shouldn’t discount any threat, even from a former would-be Caliph. But isn’t this the same Bin Laden who threatened, just before the 2004 election, to punish states that voted for Bush? I’m still waiting for my spanking.
Comment by cosmo — 1/19/2006 @ 6:22 pm
Furtive Glances - Osama’s Back Edition A few quick links worth your time. He’s baaack. Bin Laden Threatens Attacks, Offers Truce. Not exactly. What he has said is You surrender and leave, and we won’t fight you in the places you left anymore. Meanwhile, he’ll be
Trackback by Joust The Facts — 1/19/2006 @ 8:44 pm
After reading that transcript, I couldn’t think of bin Laden’s words as anything more than propaganda. That’s why I titled my article Utter Propaganda. When bin Laden said “It was not my intention to talk to you about this, because those wars are definitely going our way”, the first thing I thought was that Baghdad Bob had joined his ’staff’ as a speechwriter. It was that full of BS. Trusting him would be something that I’d expect a John Kerry or Al Gore to do. Thankfully, George Bush isn’t like that & will laugh off bin Laden’s non-truce truce.
Comment by Gary Gross — 1/20/2006 @ 3:22 am
TheMarine - You took the words . And to those saying I should suffer terrorism in my neighborhood, I had a colleague on Flight 77 and volunteered for duty in support of the warfighter at work and volunteered for a medical trial at NIH. What have you done to support your fellow man? The citizen’s response to terrorism was on Flight 93. Would you have done the same to save your fellow man at the cost of your life? They thought the country was worth fighting for and knew the cost. What you have said slanders the dead, and I resent it. And the attitude that goes with it. More than armies, this is a war of the citizens, the hearts and minds of those who would see liberty spread. And that dream grows in Afghanistan. In Iraq. In Lebanon. Citizens have had enough of terror and abuse and are stepping up to the plate in places where there are bombings in their neighborhood. I take the threats of Osama seriously, and I volunteered for things to help out. I cannot fight, but I can honor their spirit. Support the living. Remember the dead. And Honor the spirit of liberty and want it to grow. Be careful what you wish far. America fights well with just a peace time economy. Not even at Cold War levels for military support. And saying we have not had fellow citizens fight and die and succeed is a slap on the face. Wishing for more *will* change this country. It *will* change the world. America enraged is not a pleasant thought.
Comment by ajacksonian — 1/20/2006 @ 8:27 am
The question I have is which dummocrat/liberal wack job will be calling for us to actually consider his “truce”? Are you there billary, pelosi, feinstein, teddy, skerry, murtha, howie, code pink, moveon, michael fat ass moore, babs, cindy, et al? Which one of you has the brass balls to actually come out publicly and say we should consider the offer? After all, he is parroting your words. Hell, he could be your spokesperson.
Comment by Theresa — 1/20/2006 @ 8:49 am
I think commenter 4 has it right on. If Bin Laden’s next move is in the United States it must change the perspective of the Kossites and their friends who sit in the comfort of the US and call the Iraqis puppets and tools of fascists. Iraqis are doing what they can to resist the terrorists and deserve all of our support, not denigration and abuse. If the bombings were here instead of in Baghdad would people be so concerned about Iraq’s detention policies?
Comment by nittypig — 1/20/2006 @ 1:14 pm
These people are clever. They clearly follow American polls closely and monitor opinion. They are well aware of the fissures in American politics and aim to exploit them to the fullest. Bin Laden is positioning himself as broker, but it’s entirely a self-assumed posture. As we have seen recently in Iraq, Saddamists and others have been gunning for Al Qaeda. In North Africa recent polling demonstrates that support for bin Laden has fallen. Moreover the Middle East isn’t “his turf”. There are growing reform movements in the Middle East and the liklihood of a more widespread move toward democratization. Increasingly bin Laden’s brand of anachronistic theocracy is viewed as regressive. The arab world is slowly changing, and Osama seems to be the last one to get it. What I find sinister about this offer though, is that it is being proffered in the full knowledge that it will be rejected. Is it being offered to absolve bin Laden and associates of guilt should they follow through with the threat; offered perhaps to direct blame for the atrocity onto the head of Bush? In the aftermath of an attack it allows them to say - “we offered you a solution and you rejected it - now look what you have done to your people”. As I said these people are very clever and highly manipulative - they always attempt to seize the high ground with their rhetoric. They choose their targets carefully and regard inaction as a strategy also. When you consider their cunning, it makes you wish that some of the loud mouthed refusniks in the U.S. would take a pill. I go onto a variety of chats now and then. What I find instructive is that you rarely, if ever, read text posted by people from other countries who make it their explicit mission to villify and degrade their leadership in public. The only voices doing this are American. I have had a few issues with Bush myself - but since I’m Canadian I don’t have to deal with the fine distinctions of separating loyalty to flag and country with loyalty to the duly elected leader. That’s for Americans to weigh. Having said that, as a neighbor who is a friend and ally of the U.S., it shames even me that some go such lengths to demean their leadership in the eyes of the world. The recent pathetic stunt by Belafonte in Caracas is a graphic example of this tendency. At what point does pride and a sense of loyalty kick in so that you are not making yourself look like an idiot as you rant endlessly about your “chimp-in-chief”. There are people reading such commentary who don’t even have the dignity afforded by a leader who has been given a democratic mandate. Many view America as their greatest hope. What kind of message is it when Americans shed their dignity and curse and abuse their President in public forums? It is precisely this type of opinion that bin Laden is manipulating to his advantage. Part of his meta-message insinuates that there is some kind of covert solidarity with the anti-Bush crowd, and the sickening truth is that there are some people in the U.S. whon would even buy into that. In the face of this threat, detractors of this administration need to consider how their rhetoric is being co-opted and manipulated, in order to lend Al Qaeda moral stature. People are entitled to have issues with this administration, but whether they love Bush or not, they need to consider more carefully how their negative commentary is being framed and manipulated.
Comment by Aidan Maconachy — 1/21/2006 @ 2:24 am
Osama reappears Michelle Malkin and The Counterterrorism Blog report on the videotape that the terror-supporting al Jazeera aired of Osama bin Laden, in which the cannibal threatened more attacks and then offered a truce(!) with the US. Sorry Osama, but if you’re go…
Trackback by Tel-Chai Nation — 1/21/2006 @ 11:05 am