Al Jazeera's airing of a new video taped message from Osama bin Laden is good news for President Bush's campaign hopes. Al Qaeda and their media allies at al Jazeera have pulled out all the stops they can in influencing the American elections. Unfortunately Osama bin Laden, al Jazeera, and the al Qaeda network do not understand the American people.
Al Jazeera's English language homepage has changed all of their headlines to reflect this last ditch effort by the Islamists to influence the elections. Their main headline story passes on the message from bin Laden that Bush reacted slowly to the events of 9/11 without any mention of the quick fall of the Taliban and bin Laden's own forced exile from Afghanistan.
The terrorists believe the American people are as weak as the Spanish, who they view as caving to their demands. The terrorists believe that bin Laden's criticism of Bush can only hurt him. The terrorists believe that the reason John Kerry has escalated his criticisms of the President is because they have sufficiently scared the Senator--something which is not true, but which they believe anyway. The terrorists believe that by escalating the threat of a near-term attack they will sway the elections towards Bush.
They are wrong on all points.
The American people will not give in to terrorism.
The American people will take any criticisms given by Osama bin Laden as a compliment to the President.
John Kerry may have escalated his criticisms of the President because he is a political opportunist, but not because he is afraid of terrorists.
Poll after poll show that the American people trust President Bush over Senator Kerry to handle terrorism. Any escalation in that threat will only help Bush.
In the video, California native Gadahn spews forth virulently anti-American propaganda. He accuses Americans of killing innocent Muslims around the world and that we have blood on our hands. There is no insincerity in his voice. He believes that al Qaeda represents the good guys and the US represents the bad guys.
Why do so many around the world hate America? We can start with al Jazeera. Al Jazeera, and media outlets like it, blame all the world's ills on the United States. The context they provide for all images has a single unifying theme: the US is the cause of so much suffering in the world. When a picture of a dead child in Fallujah is shown, the context is that the US deliberately killed the child. When an image of a dead terrorist is shown, the context is that a freedom fighter met his fate at the hands of Imperialist aggression.
There is a reason that Osama bin Laden hates America, he believes us to be evil. There is a reason that Zarqawi murdered Japanese hostage Shosei Koda, he believed he was a spy sent by the evil Imperialist's ally. There is a reason that the Army of Ansar al-Islam murdered eleven Iraqi National Guardsman, they truly believed them to be collaborating with an enemy that routinely murders Iraqi civilians. There is a reason terrorists are demanding the release of female prisoners in Iraq in exchange for Polish hostage Teresa Borcz-Kalifa, they actually believe reports in the Arab press that American GIs are holding hundreds of woman in prison and that rape is routinely practiced by our soldiers.
In other words, many in the Muslim world are victims of the propaganda put forth by outlets such as al Jazeera. Al Jazeera and al Qaeda also believe they can foist this worldview upon the American people. They are wrong.
What will our response be to this propaganda effort? I am more confident now than I was just hours ago that President Bush will win reelection.
What should our response be to al Jazeera's propaganda efforts? Bomb al Jazeera now. Take it off the air. Destroy it.
Al Jazeera is directly responsible for the death of innocent Americans.
Al Jazeera is directly responsible for reinforcing the morale of our enemies in Iraq.
Al Jazeera is directly responsible for helping create an atmosphere of sympathy for terrorists around the world.
Al Jazeera is an enemy to the United States of America and a direct threat to our national securty. It is time we start treating them as such.
1
I was waiting for someone to say that Al Jazeera is the REAL enemy! However, if we bomb them, do we hafta nuke the whole country or just them?
;-)
Posted by: Laura at October 29, 2004 04:11 PM (ptOpl)
2
Take out the whole country....just to be sure.
Posted by: Chad at October 29, 2004 04:18 PM (la8jb)
3
Yeah, you're right...just to make sure we get 'em all!
Posted by: Laura at October 29, 2004 04:22 PM (ptOpl)
4
Actually Qatr is not only an ally, but probably one of the more progressive/liberal regimes in the Arab world. Moreover, it's population is largely from non-Arab countries, including India and other parts of Asia.
It would be tremendously satisfying to initiate a targetted strike on Al Jazeera, but the long run consequences might be quite negative. It would be better for us to simply take them seriously, and start fighting them with the same kind of weapons they use... information. We have a media and information infrastructure that's actually far more effective than theirs, we just haven't chosen to deploy it. Wretchard has been predicting this level of information warfare for some time. What we need is a coherent strategy.
Posted by: Demosophist at October 29, 2004 04:38 PM (OtR16)
5
I have always considered it a mistake to allow the propaganda arm of any enemy to operate unimpeded. I have always considered the guy who carries the ransom demnd to be an ally of the kidnapper deserving the same punishment.
Posted by: Walter E. Wallis at October 29, 2004 04:48 PM (7XPVo)
6
***Al Qaeda and their media allies at al Jazeera have pulled out all the stops they can in influencing the American elections*** - interesting diatribe you wrote but at the end of the day that was all just generic American foaming at the mouth (fun to read thou).
Sit down and re-evaluate...
#1 Bin Laden explicitly said he doesn't care who wins the election because its the policies he opposes and not the parties. Neither party is ready to do a u-turn on Iraq, and, IF UBL is routing for anyone, it's probably Bush: dubbuya may be more aggressive in attacking al qaeda, but his knack for offending the entire world and making Americans seem like arrogant jingoists does wonders for al qaeda's recruiting department. I personally think the surfacing of two major tapes in a week (the first ever of an american al qaeda voice, and the first of UBL in two years) is a trigger for a terrorist cell to launch an attack, and not a direct attempt to influence the elections.
#2 It's true that Al Jazeera is a pro-Arab liberal media organisation, but then Fox News is a pro-US conservative media organisation - neither is any worse than the other. Why on earth shouldn't Al Jazeera be allowed to release an incredibly newsworthy video of Bin Laden, and how is it any different from ABC & Fox releasing an (uncorroborated) al qaeda video earlier this week? Remember that most Arabs in the middle east prefer Al Arabiya news because they think Al Jazeera is too moderate. IOW: DON'T SHOOT THE MESSENGER!
#3 I think it's particularly ironic that mypetjawa has made such a fuss about Al Jazeera screening this video when this site does exactly the same in a much more extreme, repulsive manner. You make a point of showing gruesome pictures of every terrorist beheading video you find... why? Because powerful images carry powerful messages. You say want to show your audience 'how evil the enemy we face is' - surely one lot of screenshots would suffice for that purpose, yet you repeat the process for every single beheading. The truth is that the wave of terrorist media productions (beheading videos, zarqawi's pledge of allegiance, azzam the american's threats, bin laden's message) is a consequence only of their effectiveness as propaganda tools. They will not stop being made, and if Al Jazeera stopped screening them then another news channel would fill their shoes in seconds.
You cannot cry bloody murder when Al Jazeera screens a tape, yet turn a blind eye when both Fox and your own website do the same, if your only justification is that you (wrongly) believe the content of one (the beheading videos) promotes your agenda; while the other works against it.
Posted by: Martin at October 29, 2004 05:25 PM (oOSwc)
7
' I have always considered the guy who carries the ransom demnd to be an ally of the kidnapper'
When is the guy who carries the ransom demand NOT an ally of the kidnapper?
You haven't even remotely considered what you're babbling about.
'It would be better for us to simply take them seriously, and start fighting them with the same kind of weapons they use... information'
Yes. Damn them. Damn them for using information.
Who do they think they are? Some kind of......some kind of......news network or something??????
'We have a media and information infrastructure that's actually far more effective than theirs, we just haven't chosen to deploy it'
Considering that study which showed that Bush supporters believe the wackiest things, like WMDs actually having been discovered in Iraq, this is pretty obvious.
'I was waiting for someone to say that Al Jazeera is the REAL enemy!'
You're not alone.
Many people need validation for a fantasy so that they don't burst into tears at the realisation of their own disconnection from reality.
Seriously though, I think it's very interesting that you all seem so angry about Al Jazeera showing the video.
I guess this is due to it undermining your fantasy that Bin Laden was hiding in a cave injured.....on the run from Sheriff Bush.
You may now all go back to feeding from Rumsfeld's trough.
Posted by: judas iscariot at October 29, 2004 05:59 PM (PWKix)
8
Fox is on our side.
That may not mean anything to Marty, but it sure does to me.
Posted by: Walter E. Wallis at October 29, 2004 06:01 PM (7XPVo)
9
'Fox is on our side.'
Rupert Murdoch is America's #1 altruistic patriot.
Posted by: judas in a chariot at October 29, 2004 06:14 PM (PWKix)
10
What if we take whatever the hell women prisoners they say we've got, and start making hostage videos of them, with the American Flag behind them, and some of us soldiers maybe in superman costumes or some shit and holding machine guns to their heads....?
Posted by: Laura at October 29, 2004 06:29 PM (ptOpl)
11
Just wait until that "Al-Jazeera International" channel goes live. It's 100% in English and is meant to be be broadcast on satellite to countries worldwide.
I'm betting France is first to signup for it.
Posted by: Digger at October 29, 2004 06:29 PM (FYEx6)
12
Canada is getting it soon.
Posted by: Jane at October 29, 2004 06:35 PM (+7VNs)
13
Gee, does it come in digital?
Posted by: Laura at October 29, 2004 06:39 PM (ptOpl)
14
Al-Jaz is not "directly responsible for helping create" any "atmosphere of sympathy" towards Islamic terrorism. it is simply echoing the popular opinion of the arab world. i agree, it has at times a pro-arab slant. just as our(USA) media [largely] has pro-west flavorings. shocking isn't it?
isn't it just a wee bit hypocritical, as an unshakably faithful, fawning pro-right editorialist, to be criticizing ANY bias you perceive in any form of media.......?
Posted by: jack at October 29, 2004 07:11 PM (ywZa8)
15
americans, they just dont understand that a lot of people in the world doesnt like US simply because they are a self appointed world police, they can do whatever they wants... they want all the power in the world, control the worldwide market, control the military, control everything.. its just so simple... do go nosy around other people's country.. and we dont hate you.. dont shove people with your american ideas what to do or what not to do... still dont get it?.. you say to protect people.. well not us but just america.. but then again.. all this terrorism, its all pointing out to you. its ok to bomb other people, civilians killed.. but its not ok if its happened in america. still cant see?... what happened when us states out that, we will have economy sanction on this particular country? the people will suffer, economy wise of that country will go down, people will have no jobs.. etc etc.. and at the end.. people of that certain country.. will of course hates US, and will try whatever it is to venge out their anger.. still cant see? just look at all the history of all the us intervention in all those countries.. u can seed double standard treatment... i pity the americans that they are always being brain washed with this "we need to protect our country thingy"... and you all believed everything thats being shoved.. pity that youre paying the taxes but its invested in buying military equipemnts (and advertised to other countries) but not for your people's requirements, jobs, health etc. at the end of the day.. the company that produce the weapons gets richer, the us president and its cronies gets some of the cut.. and you all still have to pay taxes... sedih siot... kesian korang
Posted by: Laud at October 29, 2004 07:15 PM (km/KO)
16
Hey Laud, it's called protecting one's country, asshole! WE didn't start the fire, savvy? You come fly your planes into our buildings, that is WAR, brother.
We didn't stick our nose into anything....they started it. And we will finish it too.
Innocent civilians? What do you call 3,000 + lives lost in the attacks on 9/11? More people were being killed by Saddam THEIR OWN LEADER, than any of us in the USA could ever do. IMO, if we didn't stop Saddam, there would've been more than 100,000, and even that's up in the air...100,000? Yeah, if you add the ones killed by Saddam, maybe.
Posted by: Laura at October 29, 2004 07:28 PM (ptOpl)
17
MARTIN: Al Jazeera and Fox news the same? What camel jockey buggered you and made you like it? What happened? Someone denied your request to move here?
Posted by: greyrooster at October 29, 2004 09:09 PM (CBNGy)
18
Jane: So proud of Canada for getting Al Jazeera international. Sure hope all the subscribers stay in Canada. Canada's going to be just fine when we close the border and keep the jobs here. I'm not ready to close the border yet. I still remember the old Canada but some of you are starting to piss America off.
Posted by: greyrooster at October 29, 2004 09:20 PM (CBNGy)
19
LAUD: Sounds like you're jealous. Please stay in your wonderful country and don't come here.
Posted by: greyrooster at October 29, 2004 09:24 PM (CBNGy)
20
Laura: the Superman costumes are a nice touch.
Posted by: Ghost of a flea at October 29, 2004 10:41 PM (bVWvl)
21
I tend to agree with views raised by Martin. They way ur trying to attack Al Jazzera is just meaningless.
Al-Jazzera from my point has only helped the US.Why?
1. By showing off terrorist props video, they have only strengthened the case raised by George Bush/cons.
2. By showing off civilian casualties/american abuses scandals/..etc have never had any effect on the US public..even if it has only has provided a election tool for the democrats..
One way the other it is helping the " US " ..no doubt
Another thing if the US wanted to stop Al-Jazeera from broadcasting there is no need for nuke stuffs just a phone call to the Qatar regime which is strongest ally( Puppet too ) of the US.
Whatever any news agency says that its independent .. no one can survive without the aid of the GOVT....
Bottom Line: Al Jazzera- Strongest ally of the US
Posted by: Roopesh at October 30, 2004 03:14 AM (q9wBH)
22
ROOPESH: No one can survive without the aid of GOVT. I guess that holds true of the middle east ISLAMIC TERRORITS too. MY POINT ALL ALONG. Stepped in it this time didn't you? Has Daewood contacted you yet?
Posted by: greyrooster at October 30, 2004 10:26 AM (CBNGy)
23
With bin Laden seemingly appearing to be pro Kerry, I suspect reverse psychology is a play here. Bin Laden would love to see Bush get another 4 years. But Bush has made bin Laden more important than he actually was.
Posted by: alistar at October 30, 2004 01:13 PM (bsR7q)
24
Now that it is becoming obvious that President Bush will win re-election I notice the America haters are already making excuses. Like Bin Laden would love to see Bush another 4 years. Bin Laden not very important (just admitted to killing 3000 people at the world trade center). The US president getting a monetary cut of war profits. Picking on Al Jazeera. Innocent Iraqis (same ones that drag multilated bodies thru the streets). World police (who else has the balls). WMD. On and on and on.
HEY! This retoric means you have thrown in the towel and now begins another 4 years of crybaby losers on this blog. So be it. Proves that American voters are a lot smarter that jealous crybabies.
In a few days President Bush will no longer have to worry about re-election. HEH, HEH, HEH. Our turn to get down to business and your turn to cry. We don't want you and we don't need you.
Posted by: greyrooster at October 30, 2004 05:18 PM (CBNGy)
25
I have a three point hearts and minds battle plan for winning the war on terrorism against the Islamofascists
#1 We need to start jamming Al-Jezeera and replacing it with our own Arabic language broadcasting over the top of it with pro American media stories and broacasts throughout the Arab World. We need to use this media to point out the criminals, murderers, and general mischief makers are the enemy.
#2 We need to start hunting these fuckers where they live in a much more aggressive manner. I am talking about carpet bombing, nuclear bunker busters, snipers in the trees, lasers from the sky (the USAF actually has one mounted in a 737) whatever we have.
#3 Ensure that we are exporting the right kinds of things from our republic. Things like voting, the Bill of Rights, representative governance, capitalism, choice, freedom and liberty.
Bin Laden will not be able to defeat us on the battlefield, but he will keep trying to beat us in the media.
Fuck Osama. God Bless America and freedom loving people everywhere.
Posted by: David B at October 31, 2004 01:00 AM (xfI1/)
26
That post is so great. I was thinking this the other day; although the bombing part of it is a great touch. Al Jazeera is the 'voice of Al Qaeda' and should be taken out.
Posted by: Cao at October 31, 2004 01:21 PM (RyucI)
27
ROOPESH: Will you get your nose out of America's business. Go worry about your own country. We don't need or want your bullshit. Go Away. Get lost. Nobody is going to listen to you. Shut up. You're saying we should stay home. You should stay home. you're just another jealous foreigner. Mind your own business. Go worship a snake or 19 legged goddess.
Posted by: greyrooster at October 31, 2004 10:21 PM (CBNGy)
28
I don't undrstand the terrorists organizations wanting Kerry instead of Bush. Kerry says he's going to get help from all the countries in the world, The united nations, the girl scouts, etc: The whole world is going work with us under his leadership to destroy the terrorists.
Then again maybe the ISLAMOFACISTS understand the situation better the Kerry and his silly ass following.
Posted by: greyrooster at November 01, 2004 03:28 PM (CBNGy)
Posted by: greyrooster at November 02, 2004 06:12 AM (CBNGy)
30
What the hell was that?
Posted by: Laura at November 12, 2004 01:59 PM (ptOpl)
Posted by: good sucky at March 15, 2005 04:12 AM (REhqq)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
