Critical review of Osama's 2nd video

James Robbins:

Another 9/11 anniversary, another al Qaeda commemorative special. This one featured Abu Mus’ab Walid al-Sheri, one of the “Nineteen Champions of Holy Tuesday,” the seventh we’ve seen so far. He was introduced by Osama bin Laden in a 14-minute monologue heavy on history and theology. He hit the usual themes — the Muslim rulers are corrupt, the Mullahs are sellouts, Jews and Nazarenes are taking over. While last week’s al Qaeda video was addressed to the American people and sounded like it was pieced together from political blogs, this tape was made for the jihadists and showed Osama in top form. He quotes the Koran, he invokes historical figures, he dips into poetry and song; it is Osama being Osama. He should stick to what made him a star and leave global warming to the experts.

For his part, Abu Musab issued a warning: “We shall come at you from your front and back, your right and left.” But have they? We have seen threat after threat from al Qaeda and similar groups over the last six years, the repeated promise to their followers of “good news to come, God willing.” But apparently God has not been willing. They seek to inspire fear, but have only generated contempt and a sense of resolve.

Osama’s narration runs over a still from the recent video, so the audio may have been taped earlier, perhaps much earlier. The suicide video of course predates 9/11. It may have been intended to be part of information operations to support the terror campaign that was planned to follow. Many things were supposed to have happened six years ago. There were supposed to be two more waves of aircraft-based attacks across the US over the following weeks. The Muslim masses were supposed to turn out in the streets in support of Osama’s offensive. Legions of young men were supposed to flock to al Qaeda’s banner, to head for Afghanistan to join the growing army of the Caliphate, or to take independent action in the same cause. The apostate rulers were supposed to seek bargains with Osama or suffer attacks in their kingdoms and dictatorships. Osama had expected a very bright future to emerge.

But here we are six years later and there have been no more dramatic attacks on the US homeland, and all the other parts of the plan failed to materialize. The war on terror is no longer central to daily life, if it ever was after the fall of 2001. The anniversary of the attack came and went. Morning arrived grey and drizzly in New York, not like the bright and brilliant day of the attack. I went to Penn Station to catch a train to Washington. The most visible reminder of the attack was a message board set to read: “We Will Never Forget 9-11-01.” There were extra police and Guard personnel but not in great numbers. There were a few people wearing pins, but only a few. No flags, no posters. Life was going on, as it must and should.

...

Osama's latest rants remind of a Beatles song:

Day after day, alone on the hill,
The man with the foolish grin is keeping perfectly still.
But nobody wants to know him,
They can see that he's just a fool.
And he never gives an answer .....

But the fool on the hill,
Sees the sun going down.
And the eyes in his head,
See the world spinning around.

...

He is a crazy fool with a few crazy followers, but he has his head so far in the clouds that he cannot see how badly he is losing the war he declared against us. He expected mass conversions to his weired religious beliefs, but instead, he and his followers have caused much less respect for Islam as a whole. If Islam is to gain respect it must reject the fools on the hill. The sun is setting on his ideology.