Osama's new strategy

Washington Times ^ | Tuesday, December 21, 2004 | By Arnaud de Borchgrave

[JohnHuang2]

Don't hold your breath, but it begins to look like a new al Qaeda "MO" -- shifting the focus of terrorist attacks from the U.S. mainland to U.S. interests in the Middle East and European governments that support the United States in Iraq.
    As Osama bin Laden surveys the international scene from his secret base in Pakistan, he has convinced himself the U.S. empire can be defeated in Iraq and Saudi Arabia much the way his mujahideen guerrillas defeated the Soviet empire in Afghanistan.
    In his videotape released four days before the U.S. elections, bin Laden referred to the way the Afghan resistance had bankrupted the Soviet Union, which he invoked as a model for inflicting a similar fate on the United States. President Bush's wars on terrorism, he noted smugly, caused record deficits.
    In an audiotape posted on a jihadist Web site Dec. 16, his 18th message since September 11, bin Laden praised the Dec. 6 attack on the U.S. consulate in Jidda, Saudi Arabia, and urged Saudis to rise up against the House of Saud, "agents of infidels." The Western world's oil supply is now al Qaeda's priority target.
    In his current hideout, bin Laden has access to local and international media, CNN, FOX, BBC, Al Jazeera and other Arab satellite channels. He heard Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld tell Fox News he had not anticipated the strength of the Iraqi insurgency "because no one has a perfect view of the future." Bin Laden also watched CNN as Gen. Lance Smith, deputy chief of the U.S. Central Command, conceded a bold, innovative insurgency in Iraq is becoming more effective against U.S. supply lines and explosive attacks have slowed military operations.
    He can hear newscasts say the United States has

[Angry Republican]

O-Slimey can go f*** off, for all I care.

[HarryCaul]

Could work. Has the infrastructure in place. The people of the region won't care, they don't love their "establishment" anyway. Could be a fair amount of trouble over the years.

It's one step from losing for him, though.

[leadhead]

Two things:

A.He's dead, Jim

B.Those pretending to be him are reaching for camel dung.

C.W already has plans for the ones the ersatz OBL is bitching about.

D.It'll all have to be done in 4 years, so look out goat droppings!

Did I say two?

[KMC1]

Interesting...did you also hear about Saddam's new strategy?
Saddam to move trial to U.S.

[DoctorMichael]

The main point:

"Bin Laden's new strategy appears designed to (1) further detach the United States from its European allies — much the way the Soviet Union unsuccessfully tried to do throughout the Cold War; (2) assist the insurgency in Iraq by encouraging more jihadis to volunteer for suicide duty; (3) stoke public opinion against the royals in Saudi Arabia; (4) stoke public opinion against Gen. Musharraf in Pakistan."

"All this does not require an attack in the United States with CBRN WMD — chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear weapons of mass destruction. Bin Laden could be keeping this one on the shelf until his other pawns are in place."