Al Qaeda: Plans for an October Surprise?
Is Osama bin Laden going to weigh in on the midterm elections? A senior counterterrorism official, anonymous, like other officials NEWSWEEK spoke to, because the subject is sensitive, says that based on previous patterns—such as the release of a rare bin Laden tape just before the 2004 presidential vote—a message before Election Day wouldn’t be surprising. Private expert Evan Kohlmann, who consults for the Feds on terror probes, says Al Qaeda has lately released tapes at a rate of two or three per month. This month, he says, they are “short by one or two,” so he thinks a pre-election message is a “very good likelihood.” Another U.S. official says intel experts believe Al Qaeda wants to be “relevant” to the U.S. political process. But a third counterterror official says “we don’t have any indication” Osama & Co. are about to surface. Spokesmen for the FBI and Homeland Security Department said they were unaware of specific intel foreshadowing an attack on U.S. soil before the elections. Overseas, the threat is more ominous: reports of a possible attack on Saudi oil installations (which could raise U.S. gas prices). The perpetrators would probably be Saudi Qaeda affiliates; methods could include truck or boat bombs. U.S. agencies are not certain of the threat’s credibility, an official said.
to scare all the american infidels into voting republican?
Bush is OBL’s best recruiter.
To be honest, I really don’t care at all about all this terrorism rhetoric and propaganda., because it only serves to feed the terror and keep
Americans too scared to care about their civil rights and liberties that are being stripped away.
I don’t really even care whether the republicans or the democrats get control of the country after next week, because they are both out to screw us in similar fashions.
Reduce taxes and the size of the government accordingly so that they don’t have enough money to wiretap me or worry about who is breaking the latest copyright law. Then they would only have the power to worry about meaningful things, like putting the citizen first and the corporation second. I think that would make for a proper government.
I just hope gas doesn’t shoot back up to 3 bucks a gallon anytime soon. That is what really affects my day-to-day life.
I expect some “big catch” next week or similar progress.
However, the *Really BIG Catch* will be announced in October of 2008. That is when Osama will be hauled out of the White House dungeon.
hhmmm……Osama releasing a tape right before the mid term elections……to sway the elections, in what direction i wonder….we could say he no longer wants the GOP in power……lets put 2 and 2 together here. If Osama wants Dems in control of this country that would lead me to believe that it is bad for him to have the Republicans in charge……..So what’s bad for him i would say is good for us…..why is it that none of the left or media can make this connection?
If Osama wants Dems in control of this country that would lead me to believe that it is bad for him to have the Republicans in charge……..So what’s bad for him i would say is good for us
One of the things I always wonder about… these guys (Al Qaeda, etc.) aren’t idiots. (no, I won’t make the next logical jump) WHY does everyone think they are? All nineteen of the9/11 hijackers were here with visas, so they didn’t have to stay ‘underground’, they only made ONE ‘stupid mistake’ in the (now, I find this questionable) going to a flight school and saying they didn’t need to learn to land a plane.
J/P=?
#5 “…If Osama wants Dems in control of this country …”
My guess is Osama wants the GOP in control. Figure the couple thousand dollar airline ticket investment resulted in 3,000 dead American civilians.
The GOP contributed another 3,000 dead soldiers, $500,000,000,000 (and counting) tax dollars flushed down the toilet, everyone in the universe hates americans and we’re stuck in Iraq with no way out.
For Osama, could it be any better under Democratic control? Doubtful.
#7
I hate to say it, but you make a good point……
“Follow the money,” said Deep Throat. By all reports I’ve seen, terrorist organizations have never seen such large revenue flows (and recruitment levels) as they have since the Bush neocon ideologues and “mission from God” appointees started raising hate-the-US levels across the Muslim world.
If political agenda-setters like Osama need followers, I’d expect them to do whatever they can to keep alternative views out of the US government. The current set of terrorism recruiters in power in the US have been nothing but good for them. They’d want things to continue exactly as they are, I expect..
One more for the bad guys…
Nah, OBL is too demoralized – he is a Tigers fan.
OBL is too late–I voted today.
Hopefully the winners will get religion back out of government, per Amendment 1 of the Bill of Rights
#8. Yes. OBL could not have hoped for a better antagonist than GWB. Someone less blinded by his own certainty and ideology would certainly have been better at rallying the world against him and would not have handed the Islamists the propaganda victories that came with the Iraq invasion, Gitmo, waterboarding, etc.
One blitz through Afghanistan, followed by Special Forces (all those now tied down in Iraq) stalking him through the hills of the Afghan/Pakistan border. Concern about WMD pushes the US to reform the oil-for-food program and retighten the lid on Sadaam’s box. Billions (the bilions now pissed away in Iraq where they are, among other things, buying weapons that are likely going to the insurgents and death squads) pouring into Afghanistan for reconstruction, training of a national army, and poppy-replacement agricultural programs. Other billions going into hardening the homeland against further attack. Better days.
But no, GWB and his neocon cronies instead have us mired down in a fool’s errand that handed the islamists 140k American targets within easy reach, and with most of the world thinking we are the bad guys.
OBL has got to be laughing and laughing and laughing ….
You guys are nuts if you don’t think Al Qaeda wouldn’t be cheering a Democrat victory. That’s exactly what they want. Osama even said on tape that they’ll make peace with any state that votes for Kerry, and used Fahrenheit 9/11 for source material. But he probably isn’t cheering for anyone right now, since he’s dead and all.
#14
The only cheer I can imagine coming from OBL and his brainwashed followers is for anything they can view as a victory, small or large.
They don’t want a Democrat victory because it’s no victory in it for them.
They hate:
democracy, freedom of thought, freedom to choose no religion, (or any religion other than islam), equality between sexes, basic human rights, a secular justice system, science…
The list goes on and on. But in brief; They hate anything but them selves.
Anything that can be viewed as a minor defeat of our democracy will be cheered.
Two things are satisfying for them:
1: Death of all infidels, i.e. all of us, democrats included.
2: Their own death. Especially if they die as martyrs with numerous virgins as reward.
It’s a bunch of sick lunatics, and OBL dead or not doesn’t really make much difference.
To sum it up (and to check if I’m considered a spammer 😉 ) :
OBL & Co enjoy any clash between Democrats and Republicans. So the more stir between the parties, the happier the cavemen are.
Finally, the above listed “Two things are satisfying for them:” can be summed up in one point:
Death
>don’t want a Democrat victory because it’s no victory in it for them.
Except that the enemy’s leader has been defeated. And in its place a party that will grant them victory.
I think we already have our October surprise. It came from John Kerry.