Posted on 09/08/2007 7:39:57 AM PDT by TornadoAlley3
(CBS) "People of America," he says, "lend me your ears."
So says the most wanted man in the world, Osama bin Laden, appearing in a new videotape which has surfaced nearly six years after the attacks of September 11, 2001.
In it, he rails against Western corporations, neoconservatives, and Democrats in Congress, telling Americans they had voted for Democrats to stop the war, but in his words, the majority party hasn’t made a move worth mentioning.
CBS News consultant Michael Scheuer, a former CIA analyst and author of "Imperial Hubris: Why the West Is Losing the War on Terror" and "Through Our Enemies' Eyes: Osama bin Laden, Radical Islam, and the Future of America" (Potomac), has been critical of the administration's efforts to capture bin Laden, and says the newly-released video shows an al Qaeda leader taunting the U.S. for failing to catch him.
Scheuer spent years tracking al Qaeda as the head of the CIA's bin Laden unit.
Discussing the video with CBS Saturday Early Show anchor Maggie Rodriguez, Scheuer said, "First of all, the setting is very relaxed, very comfortable. He is not in his camouflaged jacket. There's no rifle. What he is trying to say is that he is under no pressure from the Americans. The Americans are failing in their effort to kill him, and in their effort to destroy al Qaeda."
Of our progress in battling al Qaeda, Scheuer said, "It points directly to the fact that we failed utterly in Afghanistan to send enough either intelligence officers or military people.
"You know, we have about 30,000 troops there, and we've asked them to defeat the Taliban, keep President Karzai's government in power, build a democracy, eradicate the opium industry - and in their spare time go after Osama bin Laden."
The mere appearance of bin Laden, four years after the last new video recording and six years after the 9/11 attacks, "is the reminder of a failed policy."
The tape's script seems calculated to authenticate its currency by including pointed references to the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, both of whom took office earlier this year.
Informed sources tell CBS News they now believe he is holed up in a rugged no-man's land in Northern Pakistan.
"Well, I think they're blowing a little bit of smoke," Scheuer said. "They have to say something now that he is back in the public eye, but if you look at the territory, it is impossible to find any single person up there, and we don't have enough people to do it, and we respect Pakistan's sovereignty. I guess they're not going to go into Pakistan."
Bin Laden makes mention of Scheuer's writings, saying in the tape, "If you would like to get to know what some of the reasons for your losing your war against us, then read the book by Michael Scheuer."
Scheuer said the referral makes the point that the former CIA analyst communicates what recent American presidents have not said about the nation's war against Islamic fundamentalism.
"The war is motivated on the enemy's side by the impact of our policies," he said. "It's not about democracy. It's not about women's rights. It's not about freedom or elections. It has everything to do with the impact of our foreign policy in the Muslim world. It's not to say that our policy is wrong, it's simply to try to understand the motivation of your enemy."
The Intel Center, an independent analysis group which has studied the tape, said that bin Laden makes no overt threat, no indication of an impending attack upon America or its citizens. Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff has also said there is no reason to push the panic button now.
But Scheuer is not convinced.
"The Intel Center is almost always right," he said. "I think there's an overwhelming threat in it. Bin laden, again, offered us a chance to convert to Islam, which is required in their religion before they attack us. So to say there's no threat in this message is just 180 degrees incorrect."
And the timing of the message, on the eve of the anniversary of the September 11 attacks, "is not a coincidence at all."
"He is gloating. They think they're winning, and I think they're probably correct at the moment."
Based on what? Your brilliant analytical powers? NO ONE who worked in the CIA just prior to 9/11 has ANY competence in intelligence matters to lecture anyone about anything.
Sounds like an excellent talking point for the Rats.
He's NOT winning. If he was HAPPY with what the Democrats were doing (the much talked about but little action WITHDRAWL), then he would be WINNING.
Make him angry. He's not long for this world.
....the tape is a fake. I’d love to believe it’s really bin Ladin - but it’s not.
The fact that the media thinks it is him proves how stupid they are - and how stupid and easy to manipulate libs are...
I agree.
Scheuer is an ass clown of the first order. His thesis that US policies in the middle east are the root cause of islamist violence is refuted by 1200 years of Islamic history prior to the founding of the American Republic. But when you are a double-naught spy like Scheuer, why let a small detail like 1200 years of contrary history get in the way of your sound bites!
He is “winning” because the U.S. mainstream media is treating this video like it is the second coming, when in reality it is little more than a long, droning advertisement for Just for Men bead and mustache dye.
First of all, a man on kidney dialosis machine doesn’t suddenly die his beard and look younger living in a cave molesting goats! He is only winning with the left because they share the same values, utter contempt and hatrid of the United States, only the left is too damn stupid to realize that they will be the ones muzzie first exterminate due to their immoral life styles!
No wonder CIA is the most effective, politically corrupt organization besides the UN when people like THIS totally clueless guy make it to management positions.
I must overwhelmingly agree with this. As soon as I heard his (bin Laden) statements I knew there were threats in the message. WHY DO WE HAVE PEOPLE ANALYZING ISLAMIST MESSAGES WHO DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ISLAM?!?
What "policy" has failed?
Keeping bin Laden in the box he has been in for four years and marginalizing his influence by keeping him out of communication with his followers seems to be a better policy than making him a martyr. The DBM helps him get his message out and makes him a mythical figure that the Great Satan can't touch then claim bin Laden is winning. Is it any wonder why so many question which side they are on?
Understanding the motivation of an enemy who has declared that anyone who does not convert to their belief system will die doesn't help us defeat them. It is not our foreign policy that is driving the hatred. It is our belief system being at odds with theirs. Changing our policies now will only convince them that we are weak and can be conquered.
Why would I lend him anything except dog poop by the long ton?
He sounds like a RUN Paul voter.
I had always felt that the Soviet propaganda movies of the 70s and 80s portraying the CIA as bumbling idiots (who were more dangerous to themselves) was just wishful thinking on the Soviets part...but, not anymore. And this guy is a classic example of buffonery(not my fault I couldn’t do my job;please buy my book)
These fools... there is building consensus that this is a fake video... which really shows the level of ignorance in the press. cBS... NEVER BELIEVE A KNOWN LIAR!
LLS
The fact that the media thinks it is him proves how stupid they are - and how stupid and easy to manipulate libs are...
Of course it's fake, but everyone has a interest in keeping him alive: US govt-it keeps him from becoming a martyr, AQ-it keeps them from looking weak, media/Dems-why haven't we got bin Laden yet?
They would all say it was Osama if he came out in drag with blond hair and blue eyes.
What “policy” has failed?
their poliocy to create jobs, employment, technology, quality of life social goods and a future for themselves
thus they blame their failure on the US and G8.
its the same old blame the zionistas and the Americans
oops...
whose failure????
get me off my camel!!!!!
I think it is that American guy turned Muslim from Calif. I can't think of his name.
That black beard is the phoniest thing I have ever seen.
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