Wretchard, at Belmont Club, analyzes Osama Bin Laden's malfeasant manifesto:
It is important to notice what he has stopped saying in this speech. He has stopped talking about the restoration of the Global Caliphate. There is no more mention of the return of Andalusia. There is no more anticipation that Islam will sweep the world. He is no longer boasting that Americans run at the slightest wounds; that they are more cowardly than the Russians. He is not talking about future operations to swathe the world in fire but dwelling on past glories. He is basically saying if you leave us alone we will leave you alone. Though it is couched in his customary orbicular phraseology he is basically asking for time out.
If you want to see Osama's words yourself, there are a thousand sites that will feed them to on a paper plate. As far as I'm concerned, while Osama Bin Laden is capable of doing great evil, there is no reason whatsoever to really give his words much consideration.
I agree with Wretchard that Osama's is proposing a settlement of sorts. But, Osama Bin Laden is not a head of state. He is not even truly the leader of Islamofascism anymore. Islamofascism, with it's roots in the Wahabbist (Saudi) tradition of Islam is an ideology with millions of adherents. Some of these adherents of very militant. A leader helps them organize, but if you cut the head off, there are still other leaders, Zawahiri for example.
Ultimately, Osama Bin Laden rules no one and is ruled by no one. He is merely a fomenter, a motivational speaker of sorts.
As such, his asking for peace means nothing. In fact, as Wretchard phrases it, he's only really asking for a "timeout."
Roger Simon points out that this is squarely within the tradition of Islam. Follow Roger's link on the word "hudna" if you want to understand more about the word:
A time out in Islamic parlance, as many of us know by now, is a hudna, which is not a peace settlement but more of a cease fire while they lick their wounds and re-arm for the fight to come.
posted by Pastorius @ 10:26 AM
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