yawn - big surprise

[Edited on Dec 29, 2004 3:33PM]

Bin Laden's goal = keep bleeding us to death in Iraq with a thousand cuts. This fits right in with that strategy.

Why can't we kill bin Laden?

[Edited on Dec 29, 2004 7:44PM]

Why can't we kill Bin Laden?

Urge Iraqis not to take control of their lives, laud a man who has devoted his life to killing Iraqis. You go, Osama!

Fantastic!

[Edited on Dec 29, 2004 by stockula]

Iraqis are already being urged not to take control of their lives. Democracy can't be given.

Zarqawi is a myth. He probably is a real person somewhere but every time something goes wrong the perpetrators have "ties to Zarqawi" or "Zarqawi claimed responsibility"
And all those tapes that look like different guys wearing masks over their faces that are supposed to be Zarqawi never get proved if they are or not. The news always says "the man on the tape 'appears to be' Zarqawi", or "claims to be Zarqawi".

The idea that one guy controls everything is just too easy, it feels like the US is being played big time by someone, whether it be osama, Iran, or possibly even the 'prewar' Iraqi intelligence service.

Think about it, what better way to get Iraq to hate the US than have some imaginary non Iraqi guy responsible for everything (including the killing of innocent Iraqis) and he keeps moving from city to city where we follow his non-existent ass with bombs and destruction.
They could theoretically lead the army around like a crazed bloodhound stomping on cities until everyone in Iraq is against the coalition forces.

This is news? Rates up there with refrigerator defrosts, film at 11.

IMHO you're looking for a conspiracy here where there really isn't one... I don't know the guy's voice, but I think it wouldn't be too hard to establish it's the same guy in the same mask every time.

The thing I don't get (just looking at the extracts above) is how Bin Laden endorsing someone means they've been in touch with each other. If I endorse Tony Blair's actions in Iraq, it doesn't mean I've spoken to him...
Now that sounds fishy to me...

Oh, I don't really mean that it isn't the same guy, the point is it would be easy to establish it is the same guy but they never bother because he is unimportant.
He is a tool, on the US side he is "one crazy evil guy" from jordan, a propaganda piece that makes it look like we are only fighting terrorists, baathists, or "dead-enders" instead of the real situation that has us facing all of the above plus regular local Iraqis who are fighting because they want us out. If the army has to admit that the people are fighting the US then the people of the US will have to ask "why are we fighting the people we came to 'liberate'"?

On the opposition side whomever is coordinating the really well planned strikes have used him for nearly the same purpose, to carry out attacks against the US and Iraqis that incurs reprisals against the "Zarqawi terrorists" and the Iraqi people, since no matter how hard we try there will always be collateral casualties. What they who control the Zarqawi image want is to radicalize the Iraqi people against the US and create an image that the US army is heavy-handed. They do all of this by-proxy meaning that all the blame goes to a non existent third party that they control and can theoretically stop if and when they wish. (possibly if the US withdraws, or a certain favorable faction comes to power?)

Zarqawi is nothing, he is just a tool in a humungous propaganda/political power play.

I'll remind the next German or Japanese national I meet.

Because while he's alive he's a perfect boogeyman, and a dead Bin Laden would pretty much undermine the appearance of necessity of our current wars in the eyes of the segment of the public that supports them.



[Edited on Dec 31, 2004 by hopey]

Hopey if we could kill him he would be dead. A million satillites billions in intelligence does not make the perfect net of a terrorist. You see the damn thing about those terrorists is they learn from there mistakes. They stay in dead zones, keep to large crowds, and have read every book on counter survailince. Not to mention the thousands of terrorists we are trying to keep tabs on at the moment.

If we had popped Bin Ladin Bush would have been garunted a relection and I bet he would have if he could have.

Heh, every time a new bin Laden tape comes out I imagine the enthusiastic response by his followers.

"Yo, you hear that new bin Laden joint?"

"Nah, he got new shit out?"

"Yeah, that shit is off the hook! Much iller than his last tape, you should cop that ish playa!"

Don't forget the Vietnamese and North Koreans while you are at it