Saturday, October 30, 2004

The Belmont Club has a very interesting take on bin Laden's latest message:

Belmont Club: "It is important to notice what he has stopped saying in this speech. He has stopped talking about the restoration of the Global Caliphate. There is no more mention of the return of Andalusia. There is no more anticipation that Islam will sweep the world. He is no longer boasting that Americans run at the slightest wounds; that they are more cowardly than the Russians. He is not talking about future operations to swathe the world in fire but dwelling on past glories. He is basically saying if you leave us alone we will leave you alone. Though it is couched in his customary orbicular phraseology he is basically asking for time out."


EDIT: I'm still not convinced he is alive. We will see when a more definitive translation of the full video is available.

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