AP: Bin Laden Tape Seen As Bid to Sway Vote (world response)

[truthpusher]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041030/ap_on_re_mi_ea/bin_laden_world_1

Bin Laden Tape Seen As Bid to Sway Vote

47 minutes ago Middle East - AP

By JILL LAWLESS, Associated Press Writer

LONDON - Staunch U.S. ally Australia responded to a new videotaped message from Osama bin Laden (news - web sites) by underlining its resolve to "confront and defeat" terrorism, and international experts said the message was a clear attempt to influence the U.S. presidential election.

Around the world, observers debated what impact the dramatically timed message would have on the U.S. election, just days away.

"Whenever he says these things and whenever these Islamic extremists and fanatics say these things our message to them is a simple message, and that is: 'We will defy you and we will defeat you, and countries like Australia must not flinch in the face of these fanatics,'" said Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer.

Many saw the tape — in which the al-Qaida leader warned Americans not to "mess" with the security of Muslims — as an attempt to influence Tuesday's presidential vote.

more: http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041030/ap_on_re_mi_ea/bin_laden_world_1

[benito]

1. It's too bad

that thousands (possibly quite a lot more) of people have already voted. Maybe some of those bushbots, after seeing UBL live and in color, are wishing they could change their votes.
It's madness.

[truthpusher]

2. it's not to often that you get an opportunity to get blood on your hands..

..just for voting. Your right, these folks that have cast there Bush vote thinking Osama was either dead or captured; should have voted for the guy who will kill or capture him.

[flordehinojos]

3. Because perception is everythign in the minds of voters ...

Bin Laden's aatempt to, influence Americans "to give Kerry their votes, not Bush." ... could have just the opposite effect.

"Bush supporters are confident the video will be widely seen as an attempt to blackmail the nation into changing course, something that can only play to the advantage of the incumbent," noted Britain's Daily Telegraph...

I am left wondering if the Bin Laden tape is a backhanded attempt concocted between Poppy Bush (famously known for his connections to the Bin Laden family prior to the 9/11 event) and Osama Bin Laden
to influence the elections in a very twisted way against Kerry and in favor of junior... you know, POPPY'S backhanded OCTOBER '04 SURPRISE-- stopping as it has, for a moment, the wind on Kerry's back by focusing the backdrop of the election against Kerry's message of hope and in favor of Bush's message of post 9/11 fear.

It seems to me that Kerry needs to continue HIS HOPE IS STILL ON THE WAY MESSAGE for a better health care for Americans, for a stronger middle class, for the safeguarding of retirement social security benefits for Americans 62 (early retirement) 65 (full retirement) and older AND,

KERRY NEEDS TO MAKE A RENEWED PROMISE TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE THAT HE WILL KNOW HOW TO FIND AND CAPTURE OSAMA BIN LADEN AND HIS DEADLY ALQAEDA GROUP...

BUT THAT THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS FINDING AND CAPTURING OSAMA BIN LADEN AND HIS DEADLY ALQAEDA GROUP BEGINS NOVEMBER 2ND WHEN AMERICAN VOTERS VOTE TO SEND AN INCOMPETENT GWB (AND HIS BACKHANDED POPPY) BACK TO CRAWFORD, TEXAS.

[July]

4. OBL, alive and well, mocking Bush.

Regardless of the content of his message (who in their right mind cares what he thinks?), the fact that he's STILL out there saying and doing whatever he wants is a HUGE indictment of Bush.

[CookieD]

7. Unfortunately most Americans won't process the message that way.

It will take several days if not weeks for people to conclude that OBL's tape underscores how Bush lost focus on the true villain of 9/11. For now the tape hurts us because voters are not focusing on the missing explosives, the Halliburton probe, the crappy economy, etc., etc., etc. Every time the topic switches to terror Bush spikes in the polls. It's stupid but it's a fact. Let's just hope this sidetrack won't be enough to stall Kerry's momentum in the final days.

[kayell]

8. I disagree. I think this will remind people of how * shifted focus away

from the real problem and on to the pet war project that he wanted to pursue instead. He ignored Bin Laden, dismissed him as unimportant, and went after the Saddam boogie-man, at the cost of thousands of Iraqi civilians dead, and well over a thousand American military dead, and more thousands of American troops horribly wounded. He created more terrorists with his foolish, ill-planned adventure in Iraq, and even provided them with 380 tons of high-explosives to do their damage to our troops and quite possibly more. Bush let Osama stay alive and able to harm us. * is a dangerous incompetent, and this should underscore that fact.

Particularly if we remind people of that rather than bemoaning what the media pundits have to say.

[Bragi]

11. Pause on that thought

I'm not sure what is gained by pretending it is sensible not to pay attention to what Osama has to say. You will fare better if you know your enemy, and this includes trying to udnerstand how he thinks.

Having read the transcript (so far) it seems to me that Osama's message is largely directed at Mulsim moderates more than at Americans, and its less about the elction than what happens after.

What he' saying is that the future is in the hands of Americans, not Bush, not Kerry.

I think he says this to promote the view, especially among Muslim moderates, that if Americans vote to endorse Bush's holy crusade against the Muslim world, then more attacks on American soil will be necessary, and justified by the Q'uoran.

I'm not agreeing with this, but I think that it's important to try to understand where these guys are coming from. Know everything you can about your enemy.

- O

[July]

14. I'm not saying I didn't read it.

But its relevance to me is very, very low.

It's hard to determine what he's trying to achieve with this, but I assume he's propagandizing someone, whether us or his followers or Muslim moderates.

It's information, sure, but it's not easy to interpret. He certainly carries little weight with me, and I'd rather not try to parse his words. Clearly, his coming out with a tape at this time is an attempt to manipulate us; my response is to give it little importance and therefore NOT be manipulated.

And if his message is directed at Muslim moderates, perhaps they should give it more attention than we do.

What's important about it TO ME is that he's still out there.

[truthpusher]

6. I agree that this helps Bush a little - but just the fact that he is still

...out there has got to piss a lot of people off.

[joeunderdog]

15. Bush is OBL's best recruiting tool.

He wants Bush in. Recruitment is thru the roof for Al Queda and no one's chasing OBL around. I think a paradoxical response by voters to this tape is anticipated by most. For OBL, what could be better?

As much as I hate to admit it...what a sick bunch of pathetic voters who would relate an image of OBL with a reason to re-elect this country's biggest threat--Bush himself.

[tngledwebb]

5. Re the last sentence-

There's news, and then there's 'new shit Sherlock.' Assuming the tape is what the media says it is: Ask whose side is OBL really on?

Or ask how the biggest, most expensive military and intelligence forces in the world, plus the PNAC masterminds and their adorable ventriloquist's dummy, could have killed 100,000 in Iraq, imprisoned thousands more, while Emmanuel Goldstein II and followers still roam free and promise more attacks on US soil?

And ask who won the last election, and who will the next president be.
Now ask how and why is this happening....

Are you getting warm?

[xchrom]

9. obl = bush's best friend

that being said -- if americans would only remember -- bush didn't do what he was supposed to do -- get obl and grind al queda bones to dust -- none of that has happened.

[bemildred]

10. Aw, dang, it's not just a coincidence it came out now?

:puke:

But seriously, the interesting thing is the terrists apparently are NOT
copying what happened in Spain before their election.

I would guess the timing has more to do with getting lots of attention
than anything, eveybody is focussed on the US election, and in that
case it's a big success.

[Dover]

12. Now why wouldn't bin Laden take out Bush and friends himself?

If he is so determined to cause devastation in the U.S., why not focus on the perpetrator?

[StrongbadTehAwesome]

13. does anyone else find it funny that they're saying this is an attempt

to turn voters against Bush, but that that March letter calling a truce in Spain ("Kerry and the Democrats have the cunning to embellish blasphemy and present it to the Arab and Muslim nations as civilization; because of this we desire Bush to be elected") was ALSO seen as anti-Bush, pro-Kerry? Apparently that was reverse psychology, but this isn't. :roll eyes: