In an audio tape a man claiming to be Osama bin Laden has said he is responsibility for the failed attempt to blow up an airliner on Christmas Day and warned Barack Obama that there will be further attacks on the United States.
The Obama administration said intelligence analysts had not confirmed that the al-Qaeda leader’s voice was on the tape and many bloggers are also sceptical of the claim.
Just as we had forgotton about Osama he pops up again one blogger comments.
Referring to this and other claims this blogger talks about the mirage bin Laden being used by Al Qaeda.
Andy Borowitz agrees and jokes that bin Laden has claimed responsibility for the Balloon Boy Hoax.
The US State Department spokesman doubts al-Qaeda involvement. P J Crowley said “He (Osama) is trying to continue to appear relevant.”
But the US group, IntelCenter, have said that the tape was a “possible indicator of an upcoming attack” saying that the tape contained specific language that bin Laden had used in earlier attacks.
Does it matter if the audio was real or fake? Is bin Laden still relevant?
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Of course bin Laden is still relevant. Every time the US government wants to unveil a potentially unpopular piece of legislation a new tape pops up purportedly from him. He serves the same purpose as Emmanuel Goldstein did in 1984- to direct the national displeasure away from national government and towards some vague and ill-defined foreign entity. Funny this should appear just after the government raised the national security level with no specific intelligence grounds for doing so.
Even though Bin Laden remains in hiding these calculated releases from his camp stand to ensure his leadership against the perceived wrongs done to the Muslim world from western countries, especially the United States. The unavailability to access the Koran, the secrecy of its teaching and fear of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda retribution force these rural populations who remain isolated by poverty and terrain to accept his teachings. The youthful need to be part of something bigger, to work for Allah to reap rewards in heaven entice millions of young Muslims into these terrorist cells from around the world. Therefore Bin Laden will remain relevant as long as there are people who feel they have been slighted, who feel their faith is not respected and who hate the American way of life. As each of his posts address subjects that are relevant to the time, he tries to insight more and more retaliation against the United States and other western counties to further his agenda and that of Al –Qaeda, he absolutely remains a relevant figure.
I agree with the analysis and comments, which I imagine come from people with some understanding of the Muslim faith.
Osama Bin Laden would seem to be relevant and to have demonstrated the ability to draw the attention of the World.
As I believe in one God, Allah could be their name, I feel sure anything done in their name should be for the good of all humankind.
JC taught us to love one another and to forgive one another as God may forgive us.
Thy will be done.
Inscha Allah
“The Obama administration said intelligence analysts had not confirmed that the al-Qaeda leader’s voice was on the tape and many bloggers are also sceptical of the claim.”
Did he ever exist as a real threat outside the vivid imaginations of those who would have you pulling the blankets over your head for their own gain?
Osama Bin Ladin IS fairly relevant but is almost definitely is not alive; but then he doesn’t need to be for either side to continue to war.
It’s the Orwellian ‘War in Oceania’ syndrome; people on both sides just need to believe the lie.
There is little or no evidence of Bin Ladin talking about 9/11 on film, and no evidence at all of him talking on film post 9/11 on any other subject. Every edict issued through Al Jazeera or similar supporting news media outlets are almost certainly faked and dubbed by Islamic supporters.
The Islamics don’t necessarilly need him to be alive either. They just need the idea of al-Qaeda to live, so they can continue to slaughter christians in the name of Islam and enforce Islam on the world.
Meanwhile, the UK Labour Govt. needs the excuse the put CCTV in every street ‘for our protection’ (sic), dilutes our heritage and nationality to ease our path towards total state control, which is their ultimate aim.
One enforced multicultural nation under CCTV.
I could not agree more wiyh your analysis ,there’s no room for doubt anymore,this Orwellian nightmare is being forced upon us and many seem blind to the fact.What is most in their(the politicians)favour is the fact that many Brits dont know and dont care about politics,they’ve been systematically discouraged/mis-educated and removed from any knowledge of or participation in politics/civic life,fed on a diet of tv pap/hello mag/soap opera/jeremy kyle rubbish.British culture has almost vanished completely and decent values are seen as “old fashioned” I cant help but think that 9/11 was America’s very own Reichstag fire and that we’ve ALL been suckered(including muslims)into believing that America was attacked by external forces,when sober analysis of the FACTS show a quite different (and scary)picture.Osama therefore is the bogeyman that both the jihadi’s and the western powers vested interests need to conduct their propaganda war against the peoples of the west.We have been sold a lie!Investigate the soon-to-be North American Union when Canada,America and Mexico become one “country”I kid you not!
Why would bin Laden claim credit for a thoroughly inept, failed attack? “Hey everybody it’s me, Osama! Our punk kid failed to ignite his knickers.” What if you held a war on terror and nobody came? What if your citizens stopped soiling themselves at the thought of an Islamofascist takeover of Fox News and actually expected representative government?
If Bin Laden didn’t exist, it would be necessary to invent him. This applies to both sides in the “War on Terror”, whether he is still alive and/or kicking or has passed on to the realms of the virtual, human beings have to attach a name to their heroes and villains and give her/him a physical persona.
Islam fundamentalist jihadists won’t go away, the infection has spread much too far and wide, not least because of the West’s total ineptitude in addressing many of the original problems that caused the sort of anger that has now turned to mindless violence. For these people he is and will always be a figure head and Al Q’aida is just a convenient blanket name for all those small local organisations who share the same hatred and employ the same tactics. Those in the West who believe equally irrationally in the W on T need him as their Bogeyman figure. However, whether or not he really was behind the knicker bomber and if that audio tape is actually B-L, I would have thought he’d been rather embarrassed about such a botched job and be unlikely to own up to it in the first place.
Terrorism thrives in an atmosphere of uncertainty. Terrorists are evil and are determined to spread mayhem. As long as Ben Laden remains at large, he will be able to dictate the pace of events and prevent President Obama from carrying out his bold initiatives. So many terrorist attacks have been attributed to the al Qaeda leader. Even if he is dead, his notoriety and the uncertainty of whether he is dead or alive create so much confusion. So the al Qaeda master-mind is still very relevant. The fact that he was able to wreak so much damage in New York on 9/11 speaks volumes. In order to achieve closure, it is necessary to ascertain whether he is dead or alive. Further Ben Laden is a rallying figure for extremists who are determined to destroy the very fabric of society.
What, even if it was Osama’s voice; Does it hold any any weight or relevance? Not the least; such kind of sinister voices must be ignored, and we must carry on with our resolute efforts to free our world from terrorism-wherever and in whatever form.
Bin Laden was very relevant when the Soviet Union was occupying Afghanistan. He was considered a hero and was supported by the West in this epic struggle for freedom. (Rambo 3 was even “dedicated to the gallant people of Afghanistan”). That is how the people of Afghanistan probably remember him. They are not obliged to listen to the Western propaganda that we are force-fed on a daily basis.
We are now led to believe that he is the mastermind behind almost every single terror attack in the world. (“What did you think about the latest suicide bomber? oh he was just pants”)
The terrorists need Bin Laden to legitimise their attacks and as a rallying point for their recruitment.
The West’s war-for-profit machine need Bin Laden to legitimise their wars and depraved acts of torture while increasing control over the people through propaganda and fear.
He is immortal until either side find something better to use.
I feel the osama-phobia is not relevant to the world today and America in totality.what i can say is the only time they cowardly strike,they dont succed in fulfiling there evil desires.I also think Osama died long time in Iraq and the fellow friends are still on creating a picture of Himself.
Oh yes all tapes are the creation of the wicked CIA/FBI/MI5/Mossad.
The fact that Al Qaeda has never said that the tapes did not come from them must not be allowed to spoil our theory!
Who cares!!??
He is only relevant because media outlets drag him out from his dust filled cave and waive him in from of the news to frighten people.
Bin-Laden does not care about the Palestinians or anything other than his own personal perversions, his perversion of Islam and his fantasy of a worldwide Caliphate.
We have wasted too much time already talking about him. Bin-Laden is as much of a Muslim as is Porky Pig. If we are serious about solving Islamic terror we need to empower those that will stand up against the Islamic terrorists that murder their own and at the same time educate those Muslims who have been held prisoner by Islam in a 7th century illiterate barbaric lifestyle.
Osama is live or not but his seeds are at many places in the world. He has been made relevant by USA, UK and other NATO countries for their own interests.
Yes, I can’t help but feel that by giving him this level of notoriety and cultural significance we are inspiring the next generation of terrorists seeking to make their impact on the world.
Osama is relevant yes,america still value him as prime target because of his physical attack on HOME SOIL,however since then there has been soo many key individuals that has risen through terrorists networks,everything has now become blurred alot of people are high on the agender,it’s like top ten videos fall out of the list but still popular.
Sheik Osama certainly is one of the several hundreds of relevant enigmas infecting peoples’ imaginations.
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Is Osama bin Laden still relevant? This jerk is not even alive!
I cannot believe that BBC, CNN, E-News (South Africa), Sky News and Al Jazeera (of course) all at the same time credit audio recordings to bin Laden.
Next ‘bin Laden’ will modernize his image with twitter and E-Mail Addresses – obl@toraboramountain.com!
Stop giving oxygen to twisted and pathetic bin Laden audio tape recording ‘artists’.
PS / Please ask Al Jazeera if the ‘bin Laden’ AUDIO TAPE they received has ‘Made In America’ on it!
Dead or alive is quite unimportant,as long as the rest of the world is kept guessing.He will remain the guiding light of terror for many years to come.And he is relevant only to those who follow.As far as the rest of the world is concerned it might as well be Donald Duck.The organisation is the enemy,which is more than one person.So yes Bin-Laden is irrelevant.
I think the people you should ask are the families of everyone who was killed on 9/11.
But from where I stand, to say that he isn’t relevant is to tell every potential terrorist that it’s safe to murder thousands of Americans at once – if you can just hide out long enough we’ll quit caring.
It would be more credible if Bin Laden were to claim responsibility for attacks that have yet to happen. He could do that by posting an RSA encoded message on a website. After the attack he has to post the key to decode that message.
RE “” ‘Is Osama bin Laden still relevant?’ “”
————————————————
——— Binny is as relevant as a sharp stick in the eye is relevant.
The US doesn’t have to take the sharp stick to the eye, yet does so gleefully in order to maintain the illusion that they are committed to the war on terrorism.
Historically, it will be seen that Binny won all the early rounds in this century long battle for the hearts and minds of the Islamic people. The western economy has been exposed as a sham and a fraud and fragile western democracies are showing cracks in their thin veneers as they teeter upon the point of topple.
The only hope the US has rests in their unproven president Obama. We shall see what he’s made of, but already he’s of sterner stuff than that of the past two travesties that were the previous 2 administrations, so there is hope.
Hope that “they” dont do to Obama what they did to JFK.One question we must always ask is cicero’s question “qui bono?” “who benefits?”
He is relevant to those who use his name to further an agenda. That’s about it!
Bin Laden was first described to me by documentarist Alan Franckovitch after the first attack on the world trade center in 1993. He said a former CIA guy had started a “Rockefeller Foundation for demolition engineers who could figure out how to bring the whole thing down.” A ten million dollar prize was offered, and his British Intelligence sources had confirmed. We made a star of Bin Ladin while Alan’s brilliant film on the Lockerbie bombing was litigated of circulation in the US and the UK. The US spent years harassing the documentarist who knew the most about terror networks and building up Bin Laden the icon.
Alan Franckovitch never saw the new century, instead dying in his mid-fifties in Customs in a Texas airport. His ashes are sprinked over Lockerbie. And Bin Laden lived on to do his deeds without his most informed critic.
Was he ever anything after Afghanistan, other than a political tool? I can think of some relevant American faces that would look good next to his, and they only left office about a year ago.
Wether the tapes were genuine or not, Osama bin Laden is relevant to the extent he is always cooking up more acts of terrorism. The sooner he is caught or killed the better for all of us. He is the kind of person who relisshes success in causing any kind of destruction of property or the killing of people as he has caused to be done before, he still eats his food with his fingers and is in fact a meglomaniac.
If you believe that if you remove a head, the Hydra will die, sure he is important. If you believe this guy heading a decentralized group with little infrastructure and a grass roots base can not be easily replaced, sure. Personally, I feel he is no more important than the press makes him out to be. Like his counterpart, Bush Jr. it was the moment that made the man. Things just happened to come together for many little reasons.
If we focus on the man, we will see the same failure we have seen in the US in the last 30 years of the ‘War on Drugs”. The head means nothing when it is immediately replaced.
No, not all that important. If not Osama, someone else, or many others, would take his place. Matter of fact, others have probably ALREADY taken his place.
Osama is a symbol, very helpful for those who have a “sound bite” perspective of the world. If you mention the name, they remember you’re talking about the form of terrorism that is limked to the Twin Towers.
It’s easier to limit oneself to a shallow understanding of the issues of the day. Osama for terrorism, CO2 for global warming, and not to forget, “capitalism is obsolete” as an explanation for the econimic crisis.
There. I’m all up to date. Now let me get back to my vapid texting.
I fully support the anti-terrorist police everywhere, but I cannot go along with Elias’ analysis. “Wether the tapes were genuine or not, Osama bin Laden is relevant to the extent he is always cooking up more acts of terrorism. ”
Assuming that OBL was behind the carnage of 9/11, what has he planned since?
I could have done more damage to the West with a balloon on a stick in the last 8 years than these pathetic terrorists, with their failed shoe bombs, and exploding underpants, being beaten up by off duty baggage handlers. Yes, they have regretfully been horrifically successful sometimes, but always in one off campaigns in tiny group in lots of different countries. Surely, a centrally controlled effort would have seen co-ordinated attacks by larger groups using more imagination? I think we are dealing with one off, country by country, uncoordinated individual attacks, and the security forces are barking up the wrong trees with this ‘All the hallmarks’ chant.. It’s about time they left AlQ’s destruction to the army, and faced the real problem – which seems to be more likely to be domestic in every case. I don’t wish to be blown up for an erroneous motive.
YES!
I’ll fight the urge to post boring Bin Laden jokes here.
Instead, I’ll throw in a curve that the MSM won’t touch. Under current intl. law, it can be argued that Obama is engaging in terrorism to fight terrorism. Many leaders go thru the motions of, yes, we’re all for intl. law, human rights, and the rest of it.
If that’s true, then what’s the best way to continue this double standard? Outsource it so there’s “plausibe deniability.” It’s well known that the CIA, MI5 and MI6 all outsource various covert jobs. What’s that accomplishing?
Which means this will continue under tools like “national security” and using fear of “terrorism” to keep the population under control. Like Tony Benn once said, what’s the best way to keep your population obedient? Keep them poor and ignorant of the truth.
It’s been over 9 years now since 9/11. And how come NONE of the major Western countries intelligence services have been able to capture Bin Laden?
How much do these countries spend on their services? Yes, we know. It’s “classified”. But despite that, have you ever heard of anyone in any service worldwide being sacked for failing to find him? I haven’t.
Why is Bin laden relevant? Becuase he’s the poster boy for fighting “terrorism”.
Assume for a second that he’s dead. But, as long as you continue to put out “various tapes”, you continue the myth.
Also, what woul happen if there was proof that he died years ago. Would anyone be angry at the govt. that they’ve lied and that people died because of that? Or, would they just say go away to Brown and Obama and go back to watching the X-Factor? Because, we all know that SImon Cowell is the one with the real power.
For God sake, let the world live in peace, I mean terrorism free world. Anywany, the concept of terrorism is very wide. I wish it should stop, its okay please.
Yes ‘MARTIN’ I concur. To my mind it’s the bankers and politicians together that intend to run things in this world. To take a line from Blade Runner, the film, ‘If you are not one of those, you are little people!’.
Starting with the European union being an undemocratic dome deal, there is the Bush signed American union with the US, Canada and Mexico as you described, followed by the Asian union to include India and China and probably Australia whether they like it or not.
There will be global banking. With global banking comes global control of people which is the aim of both; one for immense profits it will bring and the other insisting on state control. Both will bring ‘total control’.
The Bilderberg Groups (Google it), allegedly discuss this kind of thing regularly; consisting of world leaders and potential world leaders like Blair meeting once a year under cover of darkness – he attended before being elected, and then there’s the US big family bankers wanting control. Do not forget that even the Fed is privately owned!
The conclusion is world control of people through martial law and money. He who controls the money supply controls the law!
The most powerful people in the world, the Bilderbergers, (named after the original hotel they met), gather yearly without any press coverage at all, in secret, paid for by the host country’s taxes.
The only thing that will stop this Orwellian nightmare of control is if people say ‘NO’ to them and to the lies of ‘The War in Oceania’, hence their need for terrorist cover boy Osama BinLadin.
Of course Osman Bin Laden is still relevant if not for anything else at least as an excuse for Western governments to soup up security and make peoples life more difficult.
Of course Bin Laden is still a threat and there is a need to know his whereabouts. The world needs urgently a smart and effective intelligence body. It is not only a concern of USA but of the whole world because nations of the world are strongly interelated.
Osama is still relevant. He is in my basement next to the WMDs from Iraq and the detonators from the twin towers. If the US govt didn’t have terrorists to point America’s anger at then Washington would burn. So the CIA, White House, etc will continue to play the “war on terror” card until this country is sick of it. Then they will just find someone else. Korea,Iran maybe both. This nation is becoming a place where you either have to be a slave to the banking elites, a criminal, or serve the federal govt. The only threat to this nation is from our own government. Democracy only works when the population has the facts. How can we have the facts when Fox, CNN, MSNBC, NBC, CBS, and HLN spend their time talking about celebritiy breakups instead of the actual news?