Arthur Chrenkoff has the latest compilation. He writes:
"Osama Bin Laden says in his latest MoveOn ad that "we fought you because we are free people, we don't sleep on our oppression. We want to regain the freedom of our Muslim nation."
Yes, the Muslim people around the world like freedom - albeit most of them not Osama's type of freedom - and increasingly they're not afraid to work towards it. Here's some recent positive developments along the road to greater democracy, freedom, free market and tolerance among Muslims worldwide"....
You may want to see Juan Cole's blog that discusses what OBL meant by the "towers of Beirut"
http://www.juancole.com/2004_10_01_juancole_archive.html#109921236176383690
When Osama says "freedom" he doesn't mean freedom as we would recognize it in the west. Democracy; the freedom of speech, press, assembly; the freedom to critize leaders; the freedom of religion, etc. Rather, he means the freedom of theocracy and strict Islamic law. The freedom to submit to the will of Allah and live one's life according to the exact, literal word of the Prophet Mohammed.
Linking MoveOn.org to Osama bin Laden is despicable, just like linking Bush to Hitler.
Chrenkoff may be on to something here. The odd thing is how similar the rhetoric in this tape sounds to a Michael Moore/ MoveOn piece. It seems like really weird language and approach to be coming from OBL, rather than the classic Islamic Khalifa stuff, yet the voiceprint apparently matches.
The shift is worthy of note and analysis. OBL clearly has different advisors these days.
Ah, Dan has addressed that very issue with an analysis...
The language is definitely linked to Michael Moore/MoveOn. I hope the government is investigating the MoveOn membership list. If it were up to me we should arrest all the MoveOn members right now for giving aid and comfort to the enemy.
It's attitudes like TAP's which have hardened my position toward the Bush administration. It is already arresting and prosecuting people for the "crime" of holding up protest signs where the president might see them (why? is George W. Bush so fragile that he'll fall apart if his eyes fall upon an obvious non-supporter? if so, is he fit to be president?). This flagrant violation of the First Amendment is against his oath of office and profoundly un-American, and I hope TAP can see that even his favorite candidate can do profound wrong.
Before the Supreme Court upheld McCain-Feingold, I would have dismissed the possibility of the First Amendment being destroyed as absurd. It's no longer possible to believe that, and I cannot support a candidate who would nominate judges whose decisions would further legitimize such police-state tactics. They are poisonous to a free society, and I would honestly rather risk an attack from outsiders than allow my nation to slide into the black hole of dictatorship from which we fought so hard to free others.
The language is definitely linked to Michael Moore/MoveOn. I hope the government is investigating the MoveOn membership list. If it were up to me we should arrest all the MoveOn members right now for giving aid and comfort to the enemy.
I've become a regular reader of this fine site, refreshed by the contributors' obvious dedication to analytical rigor and factual accuracy in critiqueing the administration as well as the challenger. And then, every once in awhile, something like this pops up. Congratulations guys.
Whoops. That was meant as satire.
It DOES seem like OBL is quite familiar with the arguments advanced by Michael Moore and others, whether first hand or second hand I dont know.
Im not sure why this is surprising.
I guess it's not actually surprising if a bootleg DVD of Fahrenheit 911 has made its way there. It's just strange to hear this language coming out of (allegedly) bin Laden's mouth. Joe is right, it's bizarre to compare it to the language in earlier such communiques.
By the way, I don't see anything on the main page yet, but there is what's supposed to be a the full 18 minutes. The redacted parts give me even more of that weird feeling: he namedrops Western journalists; he complains about the deficit; he even brings up "war for oil".
That should be "a transcript of the full 18 minutes". Preview is my little friend.