May 3, 2012

Osama bin Laden saw opportunity for al Qaeda in the Arab spring.

So he said, in his last private letter, written after the presidents of Tunisia and Egypt had fallen:
“The fall of the remaining tyrants in the region was inevitable,” he continued, and said al-Qaeda must increase efforts by “educating and warning Muslim people” about “half solutions” touted by the Muslim Brotherhood and similar Islamist groups. If al-Qaeda were successful in recruiting the newly freed rebels, bin Laden said, “then the next phase will [witness a victory] for Islam”. 
He said al-Qaeda could capitalise on the revolutions, including “inciting people who have not yet revolted and exhort them to rebel against the rulers” and calling for jihadis to unite in a broader media campaign to that point.... 
He did not call the people involved with the revolutions “mujahidun” or “warriors of faith”, but instead referred to them as “free revolutionaries” or “thuwaar ahrar” taking part in a “liberation (tahrir) enterprise”.

35 comments:

Mark O said...

Don't tell me. Obama killed a freedom fighter? Che Osama.

Anonymous said...

Osama and Obama sitting in a tree...

SteveR said...

"half solutions"? Women and young males without body hair wonder what a full solution could mean.

edutcher said...

Sounds like Zero's big foreign policy win is about to hit some hard times.

PS Women without body hair?

Peter wouldn't even want to contemplate a world like that.

Superdad said...

This is about the most unsurprising thing I've read in a longtime. My only response, "is no shit." Does anyone study Realpolitik any more? Does anyone understand the benefits to having friendly dictators running strategically locate countries that are full of people with a 7th century mindset?

Penny said...

"He said al-Qaeda could capitalise on the revolutions..."

Capitalise.

Ooooooh, I LOVED it when my Osama talked dirty to me.

Anonymous said...

7th century mindset

Sorry, who are you referring to? I've been on this topic before...and I'm lurking again.

Besides, your comment implies 1) that you think what Bin Laden said he saw as an opportunity actually was an opportunity 2) that said opportunity still exists with or without him 3) that the opportunity will actually be seized and Bin Laden's goals achieved.

What proof is there of any one of those at this point?

Carnifex said...

@Partridge

1)Clitorectomies
2)stoning
3)beheading
4)honor killing

Say when you want me to stop with listing the enlightenment of the great Caliphate, ya douche...

5)slavery
6)genocide
8)Burqas
9)drivers licenses
10)womens education

anytime now, ya douche

11)honor rapes
12)wife beatings
13)democracy
14)science
15)killing jewish people

Still waiting douche...feel free to defend anay of these highly sophisticated points of civility propogated by Islam

16)terrorism
17)rioting over a book being burned, or be threatened to be burned, or just looked at crosseyed.

You are a douche

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Sounds like #OWS has an Osama Bin Laden endorsment.

Known Unknown said...

Off topic: I just want to thank the new captcha system for providing me with endless name possibilities for my Game of Thrones fan fiction.


Grajus Marnelker will be avenged!

leslyn said...

bin Laden wanted the "free revolutionaries" to do the "liberating"--then they could be co-opted and dumped for a "victory for Islam." Scary, that. And not yet played out.

bagoh20 said...

Then he got lead poisoning. Quite unfortunate.

Peter V. Bella said...

How do we know any of this stuff is real? It is coming from the most dishonest administration since Nixon. It could all be a fabrication.

Howard said...

Superdad says Does anyone understand the benefits to having friendly dictators running strategically locate countries that are full of people with a 7th century mindset?

Cough 911 cough

Howard said...

Carnifex makes a great superdad realpolitik argument for our continued military defense of the Saudi dictatorship. Naturally, our pals are doing a bang-up job of spreading the word to the faithful with their Aramco juice.

Wince said...

"Arab Spring. Half solutions, yes, but I like it too."

- OBL

Carnifex said...

@howard

Don't like the Saudi's either. If we had a real president, not some shyster beholding to BP, Exxon, and Shell, we could be energy independent.(this is both parties).

Don't get me wrong. There are plenty of nice muslims in the world. But they are controlled by the fanatics. In fact, if there were a world wide caliphate like the muj wanted, the moderate muj would be next on the chopping block. There is no moderate Islam.

Ps.

Am I the last person on Earth to have not read or seen "Game of Thrones"?

Carnifex said...

I don't think America should be in the business of holding up any other country. If you want our aid, fine, ask for it. And then be grateful you get it. This goes doubly so for tyranies and monarchies.

I thank God for his giving our founding fathers the wisdom to select a democratic republic. There's not another country I would rather live in than the USA.

Howard said...

Peter V Bella:

We don't know for sure, but it does seem to highly plausible after applying a bit of common sense.

Osama was a revolutionary wannabe in hiding and on the ropes. Revolutions start popping up all around his neighborhood. You might think he would want to think about trying to take advantage of the resulting power vacuums. How else is he going to get his 7th century freak on.

On the other hand, your fabrication theory could be true. Can you tell us what great advantage the O'Zero comrades would gain from such a inconsequential lie? What is it's purpose? Who is the primary target of this sneaky plot? Will it further illuminate Mitten's underwear? Perhaps it makes Osama seem even more of an evil supervillian ready to pounce from his lair, thereby increasing the value of his assassination. If that is true, then why would they also tell us that he was a pathetic shut-in watching Buffy reruns and eating boner pills? Are these mixed message lies part of the famous Chicago way of rolling over your political foes?

Expound on your theory Peter V. Bella and humor the world.

Carnifex said...

PPS.

I want a rail gun. It's within my second amendment rights, isn't it?(just sayin')

Howard said...

Carnifex:

You were reading my mind, I was just searching for one...

Real Railgun

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

Sitting in a bunker, ordering imaginary divisions to attack, waiting for the inevitable end.

madAsHell said...

I sat and watched NBC news with my mother tonight. They had Osama's last words as part of the telecast.

Osama said not to kill Joe Biden because he wasn't prepared for the job.

yeah...who knew that? Of course, our hostess voted for that moron.

Carnifex said...

I was thinking more along the line of a barrel lined with magnets that hurl metal ingots at relativistic velocities, but that will work in a pinch. :-)

I know. They'll have to be wrapped in ceramic to keep from being burned up by friction, but a guy can dream, can't he.

Toad Trend said...

Partridge quizzed

"What proof is there of any one of those at this point?"

Funny, the 'democracy' we are always reminded of in terms of the arab spring, etc. really is no democracy that we in the west would recognize. Agree or disagree?

BTW your question on the surface is terribly unserious. Facist muslim apologist?

Aridog said...

leslyn said...

"... bin Laden wanted the "free revolutionaries" to do the "liberating"--then they could be co-opted and dumped for a "victory for Islam." Scary, that..."

You say that like it is a new strategy.You seem surprised, or am I missing something? That strategy has been historically redundant for a rather long time.

You're quite right, it is scary and you should be scared.

Aridog said...

@howard ... I think @Carnifex is referring to something more like this one.

AllenS said...

Two others that were happy about the presidents of Tunisia and Egypt falling, and they were Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

The trifecta.

Rusty said...

Carnifex said...
PPS.

I want a rail gun. It's within my second amendment rights, isn't it?(just sayin')

Actually. In the spirit of the second amendment, you could legally own anything short of a crew served weapon. Railgun? No. Ma duece? No.
246SAW? Yeah!
OOooooh! Silencers!!

Superdad said...

By 7th Century mindset -- I mean the pan-Arab/muslim that recalls fondly the Caliphate of the 7th and 8th centuries.

As for the three implications. 1. It was and still is an opportunity for Islamists. Democracy doesn't magically make people into our friends. All it does is give power to factions that can muster a large following. Given the state of poverty experienced by many in the Arab world, they are likely to follow anyone who promises them food and security. 2. Bin Laden is not the whole of the movement. There are other leaders and other groups that may seize this opportunity. 3. I did not imply this, I simple point out that it is a possibility. But the news of out Egypt would seem to suggest that people with goals similar to Bin Laden have a seat at the table. Will they take control -- I can't predict the future.

AllenS said...

I can't predict the future

I can, Islam is on the march. Expect more nation/states to be ruled by Islamists.

Jim said...

Allen, if the Iraqi people had overthrown Saddam in late 2002, would you have said the same? Is it only liberation and freedom when we do it for them?

Aridog said...

@Jim said...

Allen, if the Iraqi people had overthrown Saddam in late 2002, would you have said the same? Is it only liberation and freedom when we do it for them?

1. If the Iraqi successfully revolted in 2002, then one Islamist dictator would have replaced a Bathist dictator. Muqtada al Sadr still has designs on ruling the country, even now.

2. It is only liberation and freedom when the whole population has free speech, freedom of assembly, and choice of coalition leadership without intimidation by militias and/or armies.

We're leaving Iraq now, save for the 10,000 odd mercenaries we've kept in place. Let's see how long it lasts as a real democratic republic. A great number of my neighbors are Iraqi refugees and their opinion isn't very positive, regardless of their hopes, and they regularly mention "corruption" as a big problem.

AllenS said...

Which Iraqi people, Jim? There are plenty of Islamists present that will notice the corruption that this current government (like the last government) is involved in, and they will have the same reasons to take over. The reason that they didn't replace the corrupt government that Saddam had was because of the utter and total ruthlessness that they possessed and used to stay in power. Make any noises against them, and your whole family would have been dead, dead, dead.

MarkD said...

The Arab Spring is possibly the most dishonest phrase since the Great Leap Forward.