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Is bin Laden Losing Heart?
The Toronto Star ^
| January 14, 2004
| Richard Gwyn
Posted on 01/14/2004 12:57:56 PM PST by quidnunc
A terrorist leader who appeals for advice on how to fight adversity is already applying the loser label to himself
Except as confirmation that he's still alive, Osama bin Laden's latest audiocassette has largely been dismissed as yet another "same-old, same-old," rant.
In fact, bin Laden's tape is one of the most interesting he's given since the Al Qaeda leader's early days on the run when he defiantly called for holy war to demonstrate that defeat in Afghanistan didn't mean the defeat of terrorism.
The interest in this new tape lies not in its content, which is indeed familiar and stale, but in its tone. That tone is palpably pessimistic.
As in: "O Muslims, The situation is serious and the misfortune is momentous."
And: "Lend me your ears and open up your hearts to me so that we may examine these pitch-black misfortunes and so that we may consider how we can find a way out of these adversities and calamities."
Rather than a Churchillian-style speech of a general rallying his troops for a last, glorious charge to the top of a hill, these are the ruminations of a commander who not only is keenly aware of the setbacks his side has experienced but who himself is beginning to become demoralized.
-snip-
(Excerpt) Read more at thestar.com ...
TOPICS: Extended News; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: alqaeda; binladen; obl
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1
posted on
01/14/2004 12:57:57 PM PST
by
quidnunc
To: quidnunc
Hey, maybe we should cheer the poor fellow up...I know - let's all chip in and get him a Candygram! I know some fellers in funny-looking blotchy clothing who'd be happy to deliver it...
To: Howlin; Ed_NYC; MonroeDNA; widgysoft; Springman; Timesink; dubyaismypresident; Grani; coug97; ...
I'd be more likely to believe that Bin Laden's heart has stopped.
Just damn.
If you want on the list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...
3
posted on
01/14/2004 1:04:40 PM PST
by
mhking
(I like my coffee extra crunchy, thank you...)
To: quidnunc
Hmmm...
Maybe we need to change the "Daschle is deeply saddened" posts to "Bin Laden is deeply saddened."
4
posted on
01/14/2004 1:06:27 PM PST
by
John H K
To: quidnunc
Even a demented jihadist can only take so much failure and defeat before he starts to lose heart. Think how his followers feel. They die while he hides and all the while W and the Americans rout them at every turn. They are truly pathetic and who can't see that?
5
posted on
01/14/2004 1:07:05 PM PST
by
Tricorn
To: quidnunc
Is bin Laden Losing Heart?Pulled out of his dessicated body by the indigenous wildlife? Here's hoping they have wild hogs over there.
6
posted on
01/14/2004 1:08:06 PM PST
by
Stentor
To: quidnunc
More likely, he's losing kidney.
7
posted on
01/14/2004 1:11:26 PM PST
by
Doctor Stochastic
(Vegetabilisch = chaotisch is der Charakter der Modernen. - Friedrich Schlegel)
To: quidnunc
If anything, he's losing kidney. Isn't he supposed to need regular dialysis? I often wonder how available kidney dialysis machines are in the mountains of Pakistan.
8
posted on
01/14/2004 1:12:03 PM PST
by
LexBaird
("I don't do diplomacy." - Donald Rumsfeld)
To: Doctor Stochastic
Moew likely, he's frustrated because he can't seem to get another attack going. I bet he's shelled out millions and seen nothing in return.
9
posted on
01/14/2004 1:12:49 PM PST
by
AppyPappy
(If You're Not A Part Of The Solution, There's Good Money To Be Made In Prolonging The Problem.)
To: Stentor
I should say he has lost heart. And every other body part. Being dead does that.
To: quidnunc
Are we supposed to feel sorry for this clown because he's depressed?
Are we supposed to feel guilty because we are making him depressed because we are thwarting his schemes?
He's certainly got enough money for some Prozac.
11
posted on
01/14/2004 1:14:12 PM PST
by
DoctorMichael
(Thats my story, and I'm sticking to it.)
To: quidnunc
Except as confirmation that he's still alive A low-fidelity audio tape doesn't confirm anything. I could cobble up an audio tape of President Bush giving the order to nuke Paris or announcing the abolition of the Departments of Energy and Education (whichever one you consider less plausible).
12
posted on
01/14/2004 1:14:17 PM PST
by
steve-b
To: quidnunc
"A terrorist leader who appeals to his supporters for advice on how to "find a way out of these adversities and calamities" is already applying the loser label to himself."
I wouldn't count on a large percentage of Muslims being smart enough to figure that out!
To: Billthedrill
..I'll say...As long as your taking suggestions
Lets' have Barbecue for the guy, Like a grand old "Necktie party"..the kind held in TX. w/GWB hosting it, ben Hidden as guest of honor!...ya think so?
14
posted on
01/14/2004 1:17:58 PM PST
by
skinkinthegrass
(Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get you :)
To: quidnunc
Is bin Laden Losing Heart? Heart, stomach, spinal fluid, liver, spleen, lower intestine, skeletal muscle, aqueous humor, lungs, bone marrow, connective tissue, kidneys...
Pretty much everything that gets squishy and runny in the presence of bacteria and mold.
15
posted on
01/14/2004 1:18:35 PM PST
by
Redcloak
(It's life, Jim, but not as we know it.)
To: quidnunc
I hope he is/was good and depressed when he is/was snuffed out.
16
posted on
01/14/2004 1:18:51 PM PST
by
onedoug
To: quidnunc
I don't think he's exactly lost his heart. Its likely to be somewhere within the radius of the debris field caused by the high explosive blast that caused it to cease functioning.
17
posted on
01/14/2004 1:18:56 PM PST
by
skeeter
(Fac ut vivas)
To: LexBaird
Someone told me that dialysis machines would be easy to trace as only one or two companies make and sell them. Does anyone know if that is true or not? If it is true, they why not trace bin Laden that way?
18
posted on
01/14/2004 1:25:22 PM PST
by
AngieGOP
To: quidnunc
I agree with this for the most part. But to say he's losing heart implies there was some degree of bravery to begin with.
To: quidnunc
He sounds like Jimmy Peanuts when he came down from Camp David saying there was 'a malaise' in the country. Thank God for Ronnie!
20
posted on
01/14/2004 1:40:07 PM PST
by
expatpat
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