Heeeeee's back!
The first day of the 6th year of the 6-day/6-week/surely-not 6-month Iraq War, a new audiotape from Osama bin Laden (remember him?) popped up on the internet and made the rounds of jihadi websites. The date also marks the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad, which is probably the real reason for the tape. But the irony of the coincidental timing with the anniversary of the Iraq embarassment can't have escaped Bin Laden (or whoever is pretending to be him). "Hey guys... remember me? 9/11? Dead or alive?" Okay, he didn't really say that, but he may as well have.
On the tape, OBL (or whoever) talks about the recent Annapolis peace talks between Palestine and Israel, tut-tuts about the Muhammad cartoons, and gives those infidels at the Vatican a jab or two:
"The voice on the recording says the cartoon, re-published recently in
all major Danish newspapers, was part of a "new crusade" in which Pope
Benedict XVI had played a "large and lengthy role".
all major Danish newspapers, was part of a "new crusade" in which Pope
Benedict XVI had played a "large and lengthy role".
The Vatican dismissed the claims on Thursday as "absolutely baseless".
A spokesman also pointed out that the Pope and his advisers had
"denounced the satirical campaign against Islam on more than one
occasion".
The drawing, first published in 2005, depicts the Prophet Muhammad with a bomb in his turban."
While the CIA has confirmed that
"It can be said with a high degree of confidence that it is in fact the voice of Osama Bin Laden"
these are the same guys who haven't been able to find him after an intensive 6-year manhunt. Considering that a wandering teenager (John Walker Lindt, "the American Taliban") was able to stumble right into OBL's bunker, I don't have a lot of confidence in the CIA at this point. That the CIA says it's OBL's voice on the tape means jacksquat. Which brings us to another question...
... dead or alive? I'm going with dead, only because the guy hasn't issued a new videotape for over 3 years. There was that faked up thing his gang put out last year, but that didn't make the cut, in my opinion. Plus, if OBL was alive, he'd surely be cranking out videos by the ton -- being able to see him, alive and well in spite of the USA's best efforts, would rally his supporters like... like... like the War in Iraq? Hmmmokay, so maybe he doesn't need to make videos anymore.
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