MetaFilter posts tagged with osamabinladen and osama

You See, In Order to Save the Village America, We Have to ...

WCityMike — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:24:25 -0800

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."

Earlier this month, Scheuer even wrote a speech he proposed bin Laden give. Disturbingly, bin Laden recommended Hubris in a September 2007 speech; if he's still alive, let's hope he doesn't follow Scheuer's media appearances. The video has spread off of political blogs onto sites nearer the mainstream, but mounting calls of treason are rendered a bit hyperbolic when compared with Article III and with U.S. v. Gadahn, the country's first treason indictment since 1952 and the only one post-9/11 ... not to mention reminiscent the worst of the right.

Osama bin Elvis

goodnewsfortheinsane — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 12:45:19 -0800

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)

Who's Soft on Terrorism?

digaman — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 08:02:40 -0800

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.

Is this what was supposed to happen before the Sept. 21st put options ran out?

umop-apisdn — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 07:20:20 -0800

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]. Notable:
Making a bomb out of hydrogen peroxide is school chemistry class knowledge. In combination with acetone and acid it becomes explosive and is commonly referred to as TATP or also, due to its instability, as the Mother of Satan. Hydrogen peroxide is the fluid that the airlines are scared of.

The Germans recieved the decisive tips that lead to observation of the suspects from American authorities. Even during the G-8 June 2007 meetings in Heiligendamm President Bush asked Chancellor Angela Merkel how "Operation Alberich" was proceeding [Spiegel, rough translation].

The terrorists were fully aware that they were under surveillance. Once one of them stepped out of the car at a red light and calmly walked up to the car following them and slit their tires. [see the previous Spiegel-links]

Oh and concerning the Sept. 21^st put options: the answer was posted by patricio here. There is no connection, this practice, referred to as a box trade, is a method of borrowing without a bank as a middleman.

bin Laden transcript

ND¢ — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 13:54:37 -0800

Transcript of the most recent Osama bin Laden tape. [pdf] Likes: Noam Chomsky, Michael Scheuer, Jews, Jesus, Mary Dislikes: the Holocaust, Bush, corporations, global warming

"Unfortunately, Bin Laden was a really good hider."

kirkaracha — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 10:43:02 -0800

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."

GC on bin Laden

Davenhill — Sat, 24 Dec 2005 01:17:27 -0800

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.”

Bin Laden in Sweden

samlam — Sun, 28 Nov 2004 16:27:21 -0800

Bin Laden in Sweden Check out his HIP posse

Full English text of Bin Laden

Ladymerv — Mon, 01 Nov 2004 23:20:44 -0800

what the news in america isn't telling us. Here is the Full transcript of Bin Ladin's speech

'Oppression kills the oppressors'

brettski — Thu, 15 Apr 2004 07:22:11 -0800

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)

Osama vs Gandhi

biffa — Fri, 26 Mar 2004 15:51:11 -0800

Osama vs Gandhi. Alas not Celebrity Deathmatch but an interesting discussion of worldviews from the latest Prospect.

Osama bin Laden: missed opportunities

Postroad — Tue, 16 Mar 2004 18:41:11 -0800

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.

'The Search For Osama'

eyebeam — Wed, 30 Jul 2003 11:59:39 -0800

'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.

Osama Bin Laden Link To Iraq

alicesshoe — Sun, 27 Apr 2003 15:37:38 -0800

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]

A new weapon in the war on terrorism

UKnowForKids — Tue, 11 Mar 2003 16:21:33 -0800

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]

darian — Tue, 30 Jul 2002 14:52:56 -0800

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?

mantid — Mon, 01 Jul 2002 12:14:41 -0800

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)

Hildago — Wed, 06 Feb 2002 22:48:20 -0800

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.

fvw — Thu, 13 Dec 2001 08:18:31 -0800

Bin laden tape released. I'm watching it on CNN now....

ice_cream_motor — Thu, 29 Nov 2001 09:47:10 -0800

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)

Qambient — Mon, 22 Oct 2001 12:37:15 -0800

"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

Carol Anne — Fri, 12 Oct 2001 07:04:38 -0800

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."

Kafkaesque — Tue, 09 Oct 2001 18:43:11 -0800

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.

tomcosgrave — Thu, 04 Oct 2001 09:16:34 -0800

Britain releases document that proves Osama Bin Laden is guilty...
Make of this what you will.....

walrus — Wed, 03 Oct 2001 08:14:42 -0800

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.