Al Qaeda's Olive Branch

By now, there can be no doubt that al Qaeda's message to the West has been distilled down to two simple concepts. The first is that the terrorist group can be appeased. The second is that, if they aren't appeased, Westerners face grave consequences. The latest Osama bin Laden audiotape, released on January 19, makes these points explicit and shows how bin Laden intends to fashion his message for Western ears.

In the tape, bin Laden offers a truce in return for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. "We have no objection to responding to a long term truce according to equitable conditions which we would honor," bin Laden says, "so that the two sides could enjoy security and stability under this truce, and so that we could rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan which the war has destroyed." Of course this isn't al Qaeda's first offer of a truce.

By now, there can be no doubt that al Qaeda's message to the West has been distilled down to two simple concepts

1) They are getting their clock so cleaned that they're begging for mercy, i.e. a truce.

2) Now more than ever is the time to step up the pressure on them and crush them.

...so that we could rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan which the war has destroyed [that's a misquote: Bin Laden said which the US has destroyed].

That's a laugh. Al Qaeda, who has been destroying the infrastructure of both Afghanistan and Iraq (not to mention its people) in their terrorism against duly elected governments, now would rebuild them!

Truce? No. See "Hudna."

"What is being touted as a 'cease-fire' is something called a 'hudna.' A hudna [also known as a hudibiyya or khudaibiya] is a tactical cease-fire that allows the Arabs to rebuild their terrorist infrastructure in order to be more effective when the "cease-fire" is called off." -- "Cease-fire?" by Shira A. Drissman

Bin Laden never offered a "truce". The MSM altered the words. Read from this post (emphasis mine):

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1562731/posts

Courtesy of MEMRI.org, the website of the Middle East Media Research Institute, we find that the media apparently "mistranslated" the latest tape from Osama bin Laden. Although it was widely reported that bin Laden offered America a "truce," in fact what he offered was to adhere to a truce should we propose one. Translated by MEMRI.org, these are the relevant portions of what bin Laden actually said:

"We have no objection to accepting a long-term cease fire under fair conditions which we will uphold…both sides will benefit from such a cease fire, from security and stability…"

Unsurprisingly, one of the mistranslations originated with Al-Jazeera, which is hardly an impartial source. Indeed, one has to wonder whether they have a slot in the door marked, "al-Qaeda tapes." This is their translation of bin Laden’s statement:

"We do not mind offering a long-term truce based on just conditions that we will stick to…hence both parties of the truce will enjoy stability and security…"

The main difference is the choice of the word "accepting" vs. "offering," but the end result is significant. The latter version softens bin Laden’s image, which perhaps explains why it was embraced by the western media. In their desperation to cast President Bush as the bad guy, they’re presenting an arch-terrorist and mass murderer as someone worthy of negotiating with.

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