NYT: Bush Takes Rare Step of Debating bin Laden

[DeepModem Mom]

Bush Takes Rare Step of Debating bin Laden
By DAVID E. SANGER

Published: December 30, 2004


CRAWFORD, Tex., Dec. 29 - President Bush took the unusual step on Wednesday of responding to one of Osama bin Laden's taunting tape recordings, declaring that Mr. bin Laden's recent call for Iraqis to boycott the elections in January "make the stakes of this pretty clear to me."

"His vision of the world is where people don't participate in democracy," Mr. Bush said of Mr. bin Laden, Al Qaeda's leader, who has eluded capture for more than three years. "His vision of the world is one in which there is no freedom of expression, freedom of religion and/or freedom of conscience. And that vision stands in stark contrast to the vision of, by far, the vast majority of Iraqis."

Mr. Bush's comments were unusual because, after having declared soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that he wanted Mr. bin Laden "dead or alive," the president has usually avoided mentioning him.

His aides have said it would be a strategic error to respond to every one of Mr. bin Laden's tape-recorded threats, or to seem to elevate his status by putting him in a long-distance debate with the president....


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/30/politics/30osama.html

[rfranklin]

1. He has given bin Laden equal status as a world leader....

by replying to him. Of course it's actually a friendly rivalry. They often go out to have a beer together. Osama says George is a regular kind of guy, not like that French-i-fied, spandex windsurfing, metrosexual John Kerry.

[jdj]

15. kills me

"it would be easier if this were a dictatorship...if I was the dictator..."

now what's this about people not participating in democracy?

[thanatonautos]

2. Hmm ... what's going on with * these days? Osama-compulsive disorder?

Bush on Osama ... once upon a time.

Q (March 13, 2002): Mr. President, in your speeches now you rarely talk or mention Osama bin Laden. Why is that? . . .

Bush: So I don't know where he is. You know, I just don't spend that much time on him , Kelly, to be honest with you. . . .

Q: But don't you believe that the threat that bin Laden posed won't truly be eliminated until he is found either dead or alive?

Bush: Well, as I say, we haven't heard much from him. And I wouldn't necessarily say he's at the center of any command structure. And, again, I don't know where he is. I -- I'll repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him. I know he is on the run. I was concerned about him, when he had taken over a country. I was concerned about the fact that he was basically running Afghanistan and calling the shots for the Taliban.

[meti57b]

3. bush's comment is descriptive of himself and his administration'

"His vision of the world is where people don't participate in democracy," Mr. Bush said of Mr. bin Laden, Al Qaeda's leader, who has eluded capture for more than three years. "His vision of the world is one in which there is no freedom of expression, freedom of religion and/or freedom of conscience. And that vision stands in stark contrast to the vision of, by far, the vast majority of Iraqis."

bush administration vision of our nation is ..."where people don't participate in democracy," and " ....in which there is no freedom of expression, freedom of religion and/or freedom of conscience".

That vision definitely does stand in "stark contrast" to the "vision of, by far, the vast majority of" Americans.

[Malva Zebrina]

4. there are some who say BL still works for the CIA

that may be a very large tin foil hat, but these pop ups always do seem to have some purpose--like keeping up the fear of terrorists, and blaming "terrorists" in Iraq for killing our troops and the appearance just before election day and now, ain't our president just grand to "debate" BL and have another bit of publicity to show he is a real tough guy.

Perhaps there is a reason Bush kept him in the viewfinder and did not git em dead or alive.

[mcscajun]

8. He may not be on the payroll, but DAMN he's useful.

This time, Bush spoke out about an OBL tape; why?

Four reasons:

a) it's post-election, so it's safe to talk about him now.
b) he gets to 'look strong' and strut some more.
c) it's a nice little distraction from his flubs on the Tsunami disaster.

But the most important reason?
d) Finally, a debate he can "win". Sorta...maybe. Depends who you talk to...oh well, never mind. :shrug:

[Supersedeas]

12. Even so, notice how the spin meisters control the rules of the debate

Thanks in large part to our MSM.

Psst, no follow-ups...this is the one question rule and our guys vet and ask all the questions.

[NNN0LHI]

5. I thought Chimpy said he wasn't going to debate with himself? n/t

[booksenkatz]

6. Did he wear his magic back box to this debate, too? nt

[Cooley Hurd]

7. Osama probably saw the Bush/Kerry debates...

...and feels he has nothing to fear.;)

[Oddly Stevenson]

9. Reading that second paragraph.....

....it occurred to me that * and bin Laden's views of the world are quite similar.

[TexasChick]

10. IMHO, I believe they are best buds. Like two peas in a pod. I could be

wrong though. But I think the bin Forgottens and the Bushits have a long history together.

[Javaman]

11. Let's see, he won't debate himself, but he will debate a video tape...

Once again, colossal jackass.

[buddysmellgood]

13. Interesting how this "tape" comes out and make Dubya's case that Iraq

is the war on terror. Who verifies the tape? I think the administration put out its own Osama tapes. What's Osama going to do, deny it? Who would know?

[leesa]

14. OBL very likely died in December of 2001. There was an obituary

published and he had been very ill requiring dialysis.

This is pure booga booga and retro-justification for his unprovoked invasion of a disarmed country.

[obnoxiousdrunk]

19. Amen to that.

Dead Osama Gives Mythical al-Zarqawi a Promotion
Posted Dec 30, 2004 06:25 AM PST
Category: COVER-UP/DECEPTIONS
In short, the resistance against Bush’s illegal and immoral—and murderous:100,000 dead Iraqis and counting—occupation of Iraq is an al-Qaeda affair. Anybody who calls for “ending the state of injustice” in Iraq will be considered a terrorist and sock puppet for Osama. This will make it easier for Bush to pull off more Fallujahs and similar “operations” because Osama and Abu are evil and everybody knows you don’t compromise–or deal humanely—with evil on the scale perpetuated by al-Qaeda. You also get a hall pass when it comes to respecting international law.

[ramapo]

16. Nonsense Speak

Bin Laden could care less about democracy. He cares about getting the U.S. occupation forces off of holy land and having the U.S cease support of dictators and brutes that rule a large portion of the Muslim world.

America has little clue as to how threatening our foreign policy is to Muslims. Turn the table on the United States and just imagine how we would react.

[Deja Q]

17. I thought * wouldn't ever respond, because OBL is evil and incapable of

an intelligent debate. :crazy:

(which may be true, but *'s last 4 years have shown he's incapable of an intelligent debate, much less anything intelligent whatsoever.)

[NewYorkerfromMass]

18. Bush flip flop number 281

Bush is an asshole. He promised to get bin Laden and he failed.
NYC hates his guts even more.