The latest Osama bin Laden statement, if accurate, confirms that the anti-war movement has done real damage in the fight against terrorism. In the statement (available here), bin Laden is clearly addressing the Angry Left, even adopting much of their language. Here are some excerpts from his remarks, and you can determine if they are that far off from a NY Times editorial:
You can give us this truce so we can build Iraq and Afghanistan that you have destroyed.
This will prevent the loss of millions of dollars, billions of dollars that go to corrupt businessmen in the United States…
But I wanted to talk to you because of the lies that have been given to you by your President Bush when he commented on the results of the opinion polls in your country that showed the majority was for the pull out of U.S. forces in Iraq.
You [Bush] opposed this opinion by saying a pull out of U.S. forces would send the wrong message and that it is better to fight them in their land than they fight us in our land.
I have an answer for this. I’m saying that the war in Iraq is lit up like crazy and the operations are estimated in our favor in Afghanistan and the number of dead and injured on your side is greater and greater, in addition to material losses.
The result of the opinion polls are wise and Bush must follow it. Iraq has now become a point of attraction to all qualified people the mujahadeen who by the grace of God were able to infiltrate all the security measures that were taken by Coalition forces. And as proof to that: The bombings that you saw in many important capitals of the world…
So you see how Bush was misleading people. The opinion polls are for the pull out and it’s important that opinion polls say the people didn’t want to fight the Muslims in their land and they didn’t want the Muslims to fight them in their land.
I propose a long-term truce that will give the two sides stability and security.
And this is the most important, most diligent solution as a result of which there will be no losses.
Apparently, bin Laden realizes that his only hope in defeating the U.S. is to divide the country. However noble liberals think their motives are, make no mistake that the anti-war activists are playing right into bin Laden’s hands.
A high-level government review of the �¢â�¬��war on terror�¢â�¬� two years after the invasion `focused on
how to deal with the rise of a new generation of terrorists, schooled in Iraq over the past couple
years. Top government officials are increasingly turning their attention to anticipate what one
called �¢â�¬��the bleed out�¢â�¬� of hundreds or thousands of Iraq-trained jihadists back to their home
countries throughout the Middle East and Western Europe. Ã?¢âÂ?¬Ã?Â?It’s a new piece of a new equation,Ã?¢âÂ?¬Ã?Â
a former senior Bush administration official said. Ã?¢âÂ?¬Ã?Â?If you don’t know who they are in Iraq, how
are you going to locate them in Istanbul or London?Ã?¢âÂ?¬Ã?ÂÃ?¢âÂ?‰Â?¢ (Washington Post)
Last May the CIA reported that �¢â�¬��Iraq has become a magnet for Islamic militants similar to
Soviet-occupied Afghanistan two decades ago and Bosnia in the 1990s,�¢â�¬� according to US
officials quoted in the New York Times. The CIA concluded that �¢â�¬��Iraq may prove to be an even
more effective training ground for Islamic extremists than Afghanistan was in Al Qaeda’s early days, because it is serving as a real-world laboratory for urban combat.Ã?¢âÂ?¬Ã? Shortly after the London bombing last July, Chatham House released a study concluding that Ã?¢âÂ?¬Ã?Â?there is `no doubtÃ?¢âÂ?‰Â?¢ that the invasion of Iraq has `given a boost to the al-Qaida networkÃ?¢âÂ?‰Â?¢ in propaganda, recruitment and
fundraising,` while providing an ideal training area for terrorists.Ã?¢âÂ?¬Ã?Â
Naturally, apologists for the invasion will continue to ignore inconveniant facts such as these, even when they come from the Bush Administration, and continue to pile abuse on the anti-war movement, the very people who correctly warned of the increase in terror. I don’t make a habit of of paying attention to the completely un-serious PR attempts of an opportunistic psychopath like Bin Laden and I see no reason to start now.
Well at least Osama’s truce offering (request) has been completely absent from mainstream media. Wouldn’t want to scare any ‘mericans into thinking that we’re actually gaining ground.