I think a review of the comments is in order. Unfortunately, I've only gotten about as far as this thread. There's also the possibility that Other More Interesting Stories might be neglected:
Iran, China sign $100b gas dealTEHRAN: Iran and China have signed a preliminary accord under which China will buy 10 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) a year for 25 years in a deal worth $100 billion, the ISNA news agency said on Friday. It quoted Hadi Nejad-Hosseinian, the deputy oil minister, as saying the deal could eventually reach 15 to 20 million tonnes a year, taking the total value to $200 billion. Delivery cannot begin for at least another five years though, as Iran must first build the plants to liquefy the natural gas. app/afp
I find that peculiar, don't you? Imagine ... Osama bin Laden being hidden in the keystone Evil Axis nation with whom our Most Favored Friends the Chinese are inking gabillion dollar energy deals. Wow. I guess with all the help Iran's received from the Former Soviets where nuclear power's concerned, they've got natural gas to spare.
Here's a little Reuter's piece. (Do you have a link to a transcript handy?). Lesseeee .... assuming Reuters hit the Highlights, we've got:
Osama bin Laden has accused US President George W Bush of deceiving the American peopleand said the September 11 attacks would not have been so severe if the president had been alert.Bin Laden also said the United States could face renewed attacks because the reasons for mounting the September 11 strikes still existed.
In an address on Al Jazeera television just days ahead of the US presidential election, bin Laden also said the US administration resembled "corrupt" Arab governments.
NOTE THE DIRECT QUOTE: "It never occurred to us that the commander in chief of the country (Bush) would leave 50,000 citizens in the two towers to face those horrors alone ... because he thought listening to a child discussing her goats was more important," bin Laden said, referring to Bush's visit to a school when the attack occurred.
In his clearest comments yet taking responsibility for the attacks three years ago, he said just days before President George W Bush faces re-election:
FINAL QUOTE"Despite entering the fourth year after September 11, Bush is still deceiving you and hiding the truth from you and therefore the reasons are still there to repeat what happened."
Al Qaeda leader bin Laden said he had first thought of attacking the United States after the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
US intelligence agencies believe that it appeared to be bin Laden on the tape, one official said. Bin Laden appeared to be sitting or standing at a table against a neutral brown background. He wore a round, white head covering and white tunic under a light brown cloak. Reading from a sheet of paper, his voice was strong and he appeared in fair health, his full beard a mixture of white and dark grey. At times he gestured at the camera with his right index finger to emphasise points.
Evidently the goat thing's been eating him for four years or he just recently saw Michael Moore's movie. I think the full paragraph quote midway deserves a Significant.
Twice he mentions how Bush has deceived us.
Additionally, single mentions include:
Yeah ... I think a person could learn a lot about Osama's priorities by picking apart what appears to be most important to him after four years of stewing in hiding.
You'd think the destruction of irreplaceable religious monuments, sacking of Arab libraries, "collateral damage" or maybe even issue a warning or two to those who -- taking their lives in their hands to be sure -- make the mistake of volunteering for policeman duties only to be blown up by terrorists on Osama's side.
I'll be interested in the full transcript. Given the Election Timing of the video, I'm just certain he must have included a Word-Up to his homies in Iraq and Afghanistan. I bet they feel pretty stupid for risking their hides only to have Osama himself come out swinging like a queen and crabbing like some Michael Moore redux.
"the Bush Administration is just as corrupt as the those of the Arabs, (we share fault)"
It also means he thinks the Saudis are more like us than like him. Now there's a deep thought to ponder a while.
"Al Qaeda leader bin Laden said he had first thought of attacking the United States after the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon."
Also very interesting. OBL is upset that the Israelis battled the PLO, the Syrians, and Iran in Lebanon. All three were Soviet clients, and funded/carried out terrorist acts on the Soviet's behalf.
UBL is being a little disingenuous. He issued his fatwa in 1996 declaring war against the United States. There is an AQ connection to WTC I. AQ blew up our embassies in East Africa in 1998 resulting in over 5,000 wounded and dead. He attacked the USS Cole in 2000. There may have been AQ involvement in Khobar towers bombing, the attacks in Riyadh in 1995, and Somalia. The bottom line is that UBL has been attacking the US for almost a decade. The WTCII was the first on our soil. However, technically an attack against our embassy is an attack on our soil.
Why would you analyze what Osama bin Hitler the psychopath has to say about anything - he lies from the same script as Howard Dean, John Kerry, Michael Moore, Ted pig Kennedy and Jimmy Carter...