They've Got OBL, I'm Now Pretty Certain About It

[Beetwasher]

Rumsfeld Says Osama Will Probably Be Found One Day

KABUL (Reuters) - Osama bin Laden (news - web sites) will probably be captured or killed one day, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Thursday, but he added he had no idea when.

--snip--

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=578&e=3&u=/nm/20040226...

I was waiting for this signal. Up until now no one in the admin. had mentioned his name in a LONG time, it was always military guys. Now this. They've got him.

[proud patriot]

1. So what we need to do is project that

We need to call it as we see it .

[Mari333]

2. poll numbers down=OBL taken off ice

with a Hollywood flourish of infantry and a script..and the people will lap it up like its real, just like they did the Jessica Lynch film.....
WAG THE OSAMA

[tom_paine]

15. Exactly..."Wag the Osama" LOL

Now THERE'S a meme I wish I had a $5,000,000,000 Party-Loyal Sub-Media to innoculate the populace with!

[Zero Gravitas]

3. they've said it many times before

and don't have anything to show for it, why is this time different?

[Beetwasher]

6. Nope, not someone this high up in the admin

His name has been unmentionable since before the Iraq invasion...This is the first time in a Looooong time someone this high up has mentioned the unmentionable.

[Mari333]

8. election year and shoddy poll numbers

they are desperate and trying to make it seep into the american conciousness slowly and then wham they have a movie photo op...

[mopinko]

4. it's not october yet

hope he is happy on ice. that's where he will spend the summer.

[grannylib]

5. I think it's too soon...people have short memories...they will need to

keep him on ice until closer to October I think for it to have any impact...

[Beetwasher]

11. Yeah, but they already have him

That's why they can start talking about him again...They may keep him for later, but this tells me they've already got him...

[nostamj]

7. saddam didn't help * much

will OBL really do much?

OBL back in the news means 9/11 back in the news which means WH stonewalling, the House blocking the investigation extension, the widows on TV for their 'reaction' to the capture...

i don't think it's a sure thing that it helps *]

P.S. please check your PMs for the latest from "short notice theatre"!

[Beetwasher]

13. Honestly, I Don't Know, But I'm Pretty Sure Rove Thinks It Will

help. He's all about the big splash and getting the fix in and creating the set-up...

[Nashyra]

9. I think your right

I think the candidates need to come out and start talking about how and who actually captured Saddam.

[tridim]

10. "will probably be captured or killed one day"

See this video of dead Osama? Yep, he's dead.. America is now safe because George Bush's military killed Osama.

I think "killed" is the key word here.

[mopinko]

24. agreed

you all saw what happened to howard for suggesting that he be tried. they do not want the hornet's nest on their hands, much as they would like to publically fry him.

[pmbryant]

12. These rumors are all just a ploy to get the critics to shut up

After all, we can't exactly get vocal about the Bushies' inability to capture public enemy #1 if they start spreading rumors that they've already got him and are just waiting for the right moment to unveil him.

This just isn't plausible to me. The right moment to unveil him would have been back in 2002, not now, after all the damage to Bush's credibility has already been done.

--Peter

[Beetwasher]

16. I Don't Know About That

An ace in the hole like this, with a set-up like we've been seeing lately is exactly Rove's M.O. This is a classic PR stunt set-up we're seeing...

[pmbryant]

17. More like a classic bluff

Alas, it is working apparently. The vast majority here appear to believe it.

:-(

EDIT: Once upon a time, last summer, few were willing to criticize the Bushies over the lack of WMD found in Iraq, because of rumors that they were holding on to it to reveal their finds at the opportune political moment. That obviously turned out to be bunk. I'm quite sure the same is true of the OBL rumors.

--Peter

[Beetwasher]

19. That Is A Possibility

:shrug: It's my gut feeling though that it's not a bluff...If it is, it's a risky one...The tell w/ the WMD's bluff was the gradual (or not so gradual) shift in the language used to describe WMD's becoming more vague. These guys don't make definitive statements (even though he says "probably", this is still pretty definitive, considering) unless the fix is in. Think: "My brother promised me FL." type of statement. The only way Rummy would say "We're probably going to get him" and get that definitive, after they already went the vague "he's not important any way" route, is if the fix was in and they already got him. Just my opinion though...

[pmbryant]

20. Rumsfeld's statement is extremely vague and non-committal

Here it is, from a Reuters article on Yahoo (I couldn't get your link to work, but I suspect this is the same story you quoted above):

"Close doesn't count. The world will be a better place when he is captured or killed. That is the goal of a great many nations...I suspect that we'll find that it is accomplished at some point in the future and I wouldn't have any idea when."

I don't see anything close to definitive in that statement.

--Peter


EDIT: Here's the link to the story I got this from: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040226/ts_nm/afghan_rumsfeld_dc_7

[Beetwasher]

21. Yeah

But it's still a far cry from being unmentionable...They are now directly referring to him and to his capture...Like I said, just my gut feeling...

Are you up for a friendly wager? Just for shits 'n' giggles? ;-)

[pmbryant]

23. He was directly asked about OBL apparently

In principle, a friendly wager sounds like a fun idea. But I don't want to be betting on the side of Public Enemy #1. So I think I'll restrain myself.

But if he is caught or killed before the election, and if credible evidence suggests he has been 'on ice' or otherwise held until the opportune moment, you certainly have the right to remind me about this conversation. :-)

--Peter

[GCP]

14. Ya know, I don't think it matters any more

Most people will say, "what took so long" and "what are you doing about getting my job back from India".

[ElementaryPenguin]

18. Won't help Chimp. All good 'Muricans know that SADDAM did 9-11!!

Ain't that right? Osama hasn't been mentioned enough - he is sooo yesterday's news to 'Muricans! 'Muricans have for the most part forgotten him - in fact, judging by the lack of furor over ChimpCo's refusal to cooperate with the 9-11 investigation - 'Muricans have by and large forgotten Sept. 11!!!

:shrug:

[maggrwaggr]

22. wasn't Rumsfeld talking about something really bad happening on 9/11

Wasn't he giving a talk on the day of 9/11 itself, where he said that something really bad and ominous and horrible was certainly going to happen "soon?"