Bin Laden’s Sleight of Hand: Sign of His Decline

The newest Bin Laden video tape, aired so willingly by the Islamist Jihad Network, Al Jazeera, timed as an “October surprise” only days before our election carries many lessons for America. Osama Bin Laden in his latest diatribe not once mentions Iraq. While his first lieutenant Zarqawi took the al-Qaida war to Iraq, OBL is now beginning to focus upon Israel and HAMAS. Witness the probable al-Qaida bombings in the Egyptian Hilton Hotel of Taba which viciously murdered 28 and injured over 100, mostly Israelis, a few weeks ago. Soon after, this latest tape surfaces. A whole new pattern is emerging. Following the pattern of every other Middle Eastern tyrant, he is diverting attention away from the battles he is losing in the hearts and minds of Muslims (i.e. Iraq and Afghanistan, where elections are soon to be held) toward the one he can demagogue as a rallying cry – the Israeli Palestinian crisis. This is a desperate sign that he is losing grip on his original goals as stated in his declaration of war in 1998 against America. As the HAMAS leadership has disappeared, OBL is now trying to fill the power vacuum with Machiavellian motive. Philosophically, HAMAS and al-Qaida share similar methods, similar fascism, and share dreams of theocracy. Bin-Laden is also aware that Americans, different from the Spanish will most likely respond with a hawkish anti-terror vote for President Bush if OBL leads another attack prior to the election. So he now presents a case for Sen. Kerry. His effaced video to the world carries a sublime air of victory over the Bush administration in plain defiance by only demonstrating that he is still alive against the war machinery of the U.S. It harkens back to the same narcissitically defiant pan-Arabism and fascism of Gemal Abdel Nasser, the tyrant of Egypt in the 1960s who after having his entire military handed to him in the Yom Kippur war of ’67 gave a speech to his brainwashed populace that “we have actually not lost the war since you still have me as your leader.” Bin-Laden’s resurfacing seems to imply the same thing. Additionally, Al-Qaida’s recruits are becoming much harder to find as freedom begins to ring in the Middle East. It should be clear to all that OBL is now begrudgingly stepping up the ideological battle, he long tried to deceptively dismiss. The longer he could hide the clash of ideologies, the longer he had to break the will of the American populace. For Americans will not walk away from a fight against an ideology that threatens freedom. Bin-Laden this week decided to come out of hiding, blow his cover and throw some last salvos. He has now gone beyond the simple America hating vitriol to a more detailed indictment of our form of government, making inferences to an “American monarchy”, attacking the Patriot Act, attacking President Bush’s response at the moments of 9/11, and comparing the Bush administration to repressive Arab regimes. In point of fact, now those in America who have ignored this fight, are going to have a much harder time doing so. OBL may be trying to frustrate the world with what he is trying to portray as the Bush administration’s apparent lack of success in eradicating Al-Qaida. He has, however, in the process now exposed his real motives. Most telling was his statement, “We fought you because we are free and because we want freedom for our nation. When you squander our security we squander your’s.” Bin-Laden could not help himself. In desperation and frustration, he has admitted to 9/11 and once and for all silenced all of the conspiracy theorists with pathological denial. He also just handed the world the answer to “Why do they hate us?” The question most bandied since 9/11. This war is not about terror. It is about freedom and liberty. It’s about Al-Qaida wanting us to leave Middle Eastern dictatorships and monarchies alone for them to continue their oppression over the Muslim people. To destroy Bin Laden and his networks, the Middle East, which created him, must be freed. As he whimpers in desperation he is quickly moving from his original anti-American war cry toward feebly trying to convince his warriors that their ticket to freedom is theocracy and not secular democracy. As he dishonestly uses the language of freedom, he actually reveals his real cause – disdain for freedom and democracy and desire for Islamist theocracy. In that battle we cannot waiver. We must answer with resolve in this war that the greatest antidote to his Islamist plague is the inoculating spread of secular freedom and liberty. A freedom that cherishes free expression of religion and human rights for all. This October surprise may backfire on bin-Laden. Now most voters will go to the polls asking themselves before they punch their chad, “which candidate better understands the enemy, the ideology we are fighting, and what exactly is at stake in this war?” “Who will have the resolve to see this war on militant Islamism to its end? Bin Laden attacked us and declared war on us long before President Bush’s policies had any impact. President Bush finally has Al Qaeda in desperation. Does anyone know what exactly a Kerry administration would do in this war? Can we afford to take that chance? This column can also be found at this link at the Arizona Republic