A video has been released purportedly from bin Laden. Purportedly, because graphics and computers have come a long way.
For the moment lets go with the idea it really was him though. He is apparently comparing Danish cartoons of Mohamed to the crusades - one is tempted to intemperate language here...
From this one might be forgiven for assuming he is so disconnected from reality that he is incapable of distinguishing the difference between marks on paper and an actual physical conflict, where real people get really injured and killed.
It seems he even blames the Pope - given that only 3% of the population of Denmark is Roman Catholic this is a bit disingenuous, even for bin Laden. Either that, or he is simply displaying contemptuous ignorance; “All you Dhimmies look the same to me”. Given that he visited Europe to sample the’ high life’ as a teen though, probably the former.
Two percent of the Danish population is Moslem, almost as big as the Roman Catholic influence; maybe he ought to commit suicide to get revenge (fingers crossed).
By extension he blames all of Europe, clearly he has problems with rational categorisation.
He nebulously ‘threatens’ a “reckoning”. This of course allows him to claim credit for almost anything at all, as the likes of his organisation have to take what targets they can get.
The weakest targets that no decent human being would consider, even then they need to launch many plots for one to succeed. Still as the IRA once famously observed of the British Government: “You have to be ‘lucky’ all the time, we only need to be ‘lucky’ once”.
Going down this route means they have to be able to justify killing innocent people. They seem to do this by claiming they are not innocent on religious grounds. So that makes it all right then. They don’t seem to consider that they may equally well be bound for eternal damnation, viewed by other religious grounds.
The thing to remember is that you are more likely to be killed, or injured, every time you get behind the wheel of a car. Yes it does happen and if it is you personally, or someone you know or love involved it will have a massive, in the former case possibly terminal, impact.
This risk and many other risks of daily life do not stop the majority of us carrying on with our lives as per normal and does not significantly alter our behaviour. Hopefully nor should the likes of these threats.
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5 comments:
Re “rousing hostility and conflict between muslims and non-muslims.”
I suspect that his exactly what he wants – one of his aims. Without such conflict he can’t have a ready supply of riotously enraged cannon fodder. Suicide bombers are a resource that get used up and a ready supply is needed if one doesn’t want to run out entirely.
One of the points I was making is that we tend to assess the real risk from these people far to highly - because they are high profile and when they succeed score a high number of victims, in one place and time. They actually represent less of a threat to a given individual than driving to work does, taken across the whole population.
Iteresting that you mention Western christianity. Islam has largely displaced and all but exterminated Eastern Christianity in their own 'crusade' crescentade maybe?
And what is bin Laden doing now but being an Islamicist 'crusader'?
Bin Laden certainly knows how to play the PR game. First we are told he is going to release a video which gets plastered all over the news. Then he releases the video, which again brings his cause to the front.
In his message he invokes the Crusades - this appeals quite nicely to his own followers and as you quite rightly say is good for recruiting suicide bombers. In parallel the Crusades also gives the soft left a chance for breast beating and declaring how we have brought the misery upon ourselves.
Whatever they, Bin Laden and his team are not stupid.
On the risk issue you are right. I commented elsewhere that the IRA were far more successful, (if that is an appropriate adjective) yet we resisted the draconian measures now proposed, with the Labour Party being in the vanguard of those opposing any extension security powers.
You are fond of quotes and dig out some very good ones, which I always enjoy, so perhaps now is the time to invoke Benjamin Franklin: “Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.” (There are many versions of this quote attributed to him but all have the same meaning)
GS, Spot on – and thanks. You are right re Ben Franklin and I agree with his sentiments 100% on this they are absolutely appropriate, there are many variations. I covered one here and generally try to avoid repeating them, unless absolutely forced.
Re draconian measures. One suspects they were resisted before, because New-Labour and their ilk were not in power then.
If they had been one suspects we would be living in a very different state and possibly not making these comments.
I'm convinced this is a fake, its made him look quite ridiculous.
Wolfie, Well, one begins to wonder if bin Laden has any more objective reality these days than Col Sanders. As I hinted at in the post.
You can do an awful lot these days with time, some old video footage, some sound recordings and a good personal computer. If bin Laden had died then it would make sense on a number of levels for al-Qaeda to pretend he was still in charge.
If he were genuinely healthy and available one would imagine they could probably come up with something a bit more convincing that what they have released. Even severely ill.
Maybe al-Qaeda is just another franchise that retains the idea of a dead figurehead as a convenient reference point and to keep it’s more gullible followers happy – and face it an organisation like that definitely needs some really gullible followers.
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