I don't believe Bin Laden's tape influenced the election and that he is "masterfull." The same pronounced divisions were apparent in the electorate as were there pre 9/11. The difference was the numbers of folks voting. I believe most newly registered people had to register before the tape was even aired. Besides, how many people were even aware of the tapes?
Bin Laden does have a gigantic ego and is an opportunist. If you look at the reality of his threats compared to the numbers of people the terrorist's actions have actually directly affected, we have more to fear from our own fears than from Bin Laden.
Any word of new Osama tapes being shopped around? I saw a link here on FR earlier about two?! new tapes maybe. can anyone confirm?
You are looking at usama with non-muslim eyes. And you are considering what that tape said with non-muslim ears. usama's genius lies in how he relates to the muslim world.
usama is masterful in the sense that he knows how to rally the so-called moderate muslims and turn them into muslims who actively join him in hatred for the West; some become terror recruits, others simply support the jihad in other ways. In all cases, they become haters of America and its allies. This is what usama has done masterfully. This may well have been his sole intention since 911, to build support across the globe against the West. He has accomplished this. (And I am not even counting the youth in the muslim world who do not know any better and come under his spell.)
usama is no doubt happy that we took sadam out and are fighting in Iraq and issuing ultimatums to Iran. It adds to the events he can twist against us in order to hook more of his targeted audiences. He has not convinced everyone that this war on terror is merely a war against muslims, of course, but he has surely gained more followers since 911.
Actual attacks may be #2 on usama's priority roster, while #1 is building support for fanatical islam.
There are a few good articles that you might be interested in reading to see more about this point of view, but I don't seem to have the links at the ready. If I come across them, I will FreepMail you or post them if you would like.
welcome aboard marsh!