Michael Scheuer, the former chief of the CIA's "bin Laden Station", and the initially anonymous author of Imperial Hubris, pulls an O'Reilly on yesterday's Glenn Beck broadcast:

"The only chance we have as a country have right now is for Osama bin Laden to deploy and detonate a major weapon in the United States [...] only Osama can execute an attack which will force Americans to demand that their government protect them [...] with as much violence as necessary."

[more inside]
posted by WCityMike on Jul 1, 2009 - 96 comments

What is the logical consequence of noting the fact that the terrorist groups that make a difference on planet Earth—such as Hamas and Hezbollah, the PLO, Colombia's FARC—are extensions of, respectively, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and Venezuela? It is the negation of the U.S. government's favorite axiom. It means that when George W. Bush spoke, and when Barack Obama speaks, of America being "at war" against "extremism" or "extremists" they are either being stupid or acting stupid to avoid dealing with the nasty fact that many governments wage indirect warfare.

International relations professor Angelo M. Codevilla argues that Osama bin Laden is not quite influential, not quite relevant, and probably dead. (multipage version)
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Mar 27, 2009 - 33 comments

Who's soft on terrorism? Surely not the Democrats, who are about to enable the National Security Agency to extend its secret domestic wiretapping program after saying otherwise for months. Surely not the Republican White House, determined to rush out a new Osama bin Laden video even if it burns an intelligence connection spying on Al Qaeda that has been carefully cultivated for years.
posted by digaman on Oct 9, 2007 - 81 comments

On Wednesday Sept. 5^th, German police stopped a major terrorist attack. The planned bomb consisted of 730 kilogramms of hydrogen peroxide to be mixed with other chemicals. The explosive power would have been equivalent to 550 kilogramms of TNT. The IHT reports the possible targets were the Ramstein US Air Force Air Base and Frankfurt International Airport. The suspects had been under observation for 10 months, the chemicals had been clandestinely rendered harmless by German authorities. What caused the final arrest? Two things: 1) they had just recieved a call from north Pakistan urgently ordering them to follow through within 14 days. 2) a local village policeman blew the surveillance cover by literally telling them at a routine road stop that they were on a watch-list. German intelligence immediately knew the policeman had blown their cover. How? They had bugged the car [Spiegel, rough translation]. [more inside]
posted by umop-apisdn on Sep 8, 2007 - 45 comments

Transcript of the most recent Osama bin Laden tape. [pdf] [more inside]
posted by ND¢ on Sep 7, 2007 - 175 comments

The Ongoing Hunt for Osama bin Laden is a comprehensive Newsweek update on the search for Osama. Psychics can't find him. Native American trackers can't find him. As the Daily Show noted in 2004, the dead or alive terrorist mastermind is "a really good hider."
posted by kirkaracha on Aug 26, 2007 - 36 comments

It Isn’t Easy Being the Sexy Bin Laden : “the face is alluring (big dark eyes, long lashes, plump lips, caramel skin)”. Satin sheets, a feather boa and not much else. And who could resist alluring bin Laden quotes like this?

“At the end of the day, I believe that the American people understand things and they have compassion and they see what’s fair,” [bin Laden] says. "They’re very fair, and that’s why I love America, and that’s why my mom loves America.”

Or this quote:

“Come on, where’s the American spirit? Accept me. I want to be embraced, because my values are like yours. And I’m here. I’m not hiding.”

posted by Davenhill on Dec 24, 2005 - 58 comments

Bin Laden in Sweden Check out his HIP posse
posted by samlam on Nov 28, 2004 - 15 comments

what the news in america isn't telling us. Here is the Full transcript of Bin Ladin's speech
posted by Ladymerv on Nov 1, 2004 - 75 comments

This is a message to our neighbours north of the Mediterranean, containing a reconciliation initiative as a response to their positive reactions. Osama bin Laden's latest message to the world. (more inside)
posted by brettski on Apr 15, 2004 - 99 comments

Osama vs Gandhi. Alas not Celebrity Deathmatch but an interesting discussion of worldviews from the latest Prospect.
posted by biffa on Mar 26, 2004 - 9 comments

Osama bin Laden: missed opportunities The question for the 9/11 commission: If the CIA was able to get that close to bin Laden before 9/11, why wasn’t he captured or killed? The videotape has remained secret until now.
posted by Postroad on Mar 16, 2004 - 28 comments

'The Search For Osama'. A long, well-researched article in the 'New Yorker' about the ongoing global manhunt for the leader of al Qaeda and the architect of the September 11 attacks.
posted by eyebeam on Jul 30, 2003 - 5 comments

Osama Bin Laden Link To Iraq found by a Toronto Star reporter, Mitch Potter. "The documents, discovered yesterday in the bombed-out headquarters of the Mukhabarat, Iraq's most feared intelligence service, amount to the first hard evidence of a link long suspected by the United States but dismissed as fiction by many Western leaders." [more]
posted by alicesshoe on Apr 27, 2003 - 72 comments

Is the Pentagon using the Bible Code to hunt for Osama bin Laden? According to the book's author, Michael Drosnin, both America and Israel are doing just that. According to columnist Bill Keller's Pentagon source, however, Drosnin was interviewed for only an hour and dismissed. But the question remains - how did a nut like Drosnin manage to bend the ears of top DoD brass? MoJo-ers, care to take a whack at this one? [links via Tom Tomorrow; more inside]
posted by UKnowForKids on Mar 11, 2003 - 24 comments

Bin Laden's eldest son 'takes over al-Qaeda' Does this add to the speculation that Osama is dead, or could it be just another ruse?
posted by darian on Jul 30, 2002 - 24 comments

An excellent piece of media analysis by Michael Wolff in New York Magazine looking at the current summer-movie-plot version of Al Qaeda being artfully constructed by the NY Times ...
Then, perhaps most disconcertingly, the overall narrative itself is patently a dumbed-down rehash. It's Cold War stuff. There is the ubiquitous and yet unknown and unknowable enemy. There's the international jihad, which, with only minor adjustments, replaces the international communist conspiracy. There's the sudden purported hegemony of the Muslim world -- a new Soviet-bloc-style ideological monolith. There is the otherworldly dedication of operatives bent on overthrowing the West. There are the cells. There is the myth of superhuman discipline. There is now, even, the developing Kremlinology of the next tier of men who replace Osama. And at the center of the story, of course, is the bomb. Whether in massive retaliatory form or as a dirty-bomb package, it serves the same effect.
(link cribbed from Altercation)
posted by mantid on Jul 1, 2002 - 8 comments

Osama "The Stilt" Bin Laden victim of "close encounter of the worst kind with a hellfire missile"? May be, maybe not. What's more interesting is the hopefulness with which they offer the possibility based only on his height.
posted by Hildago on Feb 6, 2002 - 13 comments

Bin laden tape released. I'm watching it on CNN now....
posted by fvw on Dec 13, 2001 - 103 comments

Osama Time's Person of the Year? He's on the short list, apparently. "It would hurt the reputation of Time magazine in the eyes of subscribers if they started making cowardly decisions. And I don't think that they will." Besides, it's not the first time they've made a choice that'd be unpopular with readers. (via medianews)
posted by ice_cream_motor on Nov 29, 2001 - 34 comments

"To me, every fundamentalist Muslim, no matter how peaceable in his own behavior, is part of a murderous movement and is thus, in some fashion, a foot soldier in the war that bin Laden has launched against civilization." a comment by Daniel Pipes If Muslim fundamentalists are this bad I wonder what his views are of the other religious fundamentalists
posted by Qambient on Oct 22, 2001 - 49 comments

The Columbus Day Threat "Let the whole world know that we shall never accept that the tragedy of Andalusia be repeated in Palestine," Osama bin Laden said in his taped cave-side address. "We cannot accept that Palestine will become Jewish." Reuven Koret's Israel Insider column may explain the FBI's alert to terrorist activity: "Columbus Day, October 12, commemorates the founding of America in 1492, and 1492 represents the year in which Islam was driven out by Christianity. In bin Laden's mind, these two events are inextricably linked."
posted by Carol Anne on Oct 12, 2001 - 10 comments

Bert 'n' Osama As near as I can figure it, the guy who made the Osama poster everyone is waving happened to download from the "Bert is Evil!" site...look behind Osama's left ear. Sorry, but I had to post this.
posted by Kafkaesque on Oct 9, 2001 - 130 comments

Britain releases document that proves Osama Bin Laden is guilty...
Make of this what you will.....
posted by tomcosgrave on Oct 4, 2001 - 44 comments

US to give detailed evidence of Bin Laden's Involvement. Apparently the US government does have enough evidence to hang Osama, but they're not telling just anyone ... you have to be part of NATO or the Pakistan government to get in on the info.
posted by walrus on Oct 3, 2001 - 22 comments

"Umm, hi, Mum, I'm not going to be able to make lunch today..."
More evidence that Bin Laden is indeed the guilty party. (NYT link)
posted by TiggleTaggleTiger on Oct 2, 2001 - 11 comments

Just think of what could be if Bin Laden gets his hands on this stuff. Makes you wonder what he has in the tool shed.
posted by KevinSkomsvold on Sep 20, 2001 - 5 comments

Discovery Channel's Show on Terror Anyone see this show? I thought it was informative but rather over dramatic....
posted by ericdano on Sep 20, 2001 - 6 comments

Not trying to be alarmist or anything but this article frightens me. It was from July and they explicitly name Bin Laden as trying to aquire nuclear materials. It is possibly nothing, but made me wonder.
posted by Benway on Sep 17, 2001 - 5 comments

Cancer, and Carcinogens "This event is not an isolated instance of violence. This is not an 'act of war.' It is one symptom of a cancer that threatens to metastasize."
posted by fold_and_mutilate on Sep 13, 2001 - 2 comments

Bin Laden under house arrest Just read this article. I haven't seen this posted anywhere yet, so...
posted by crankydoodle on Sep 12, 2001 - 16 comments

Remote Yemen May Be Key to Terrorist's Past and Future -- an old NYTimes article with some insight into Osama bin Laden, his homeland and culture. Also, Yemenis' traditions under fire.
posted by kliuless on Sep 11, 2001 - 0 comments

Osama Bin-Laden confederate due to be sentenced tomorrow. Saudi citizen Mohammed al'Owhali, convicted for arranging the 1998 US Embassy bombings in Africa, is due to be sentenced on September 12, 2001. From indications, that would be at the US Courthouse in Foley Square, which is about a mile from the World Trade Center. A possible reason for the timing?
posted by dhartung on Sep 11, 2001 - 17 comments