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I see that Bin Laden has offered the U.S. a truce.
"Based on the substance of the polls, which indicate Americans do not want to fight Muslims on Muslim land, nor do they want Muslims to fight them on their land, we do not mind offering a long-term truce based on just conditions that we will stand by."
This is great news. It means he is hurting and we are wining. When your enemy offers you a truce, it’s not done out of charity. He wants a truce because we are hurting him and his organization badly. This means we need to keep the pressure on or double it if we can.
In the same message he also threatened more attacks on the U.S. He says,
The operations are under preparation and you will see them in your houses as soon as they are complete, God willing.
Here he’s trying to imply that our efforts have not prevented his attacks. I find this a little bit of “rope-a-dope.”
He also tries to make it sound like he’s wining in Iraq.
Reality shows that the war against the U.S. and its allies is not just restricted to Iraq as he claims, but Iraq has become a gravitational point and a recruiting ground for qualified (mujahideen).
In this statement he’s taking is talking points from the anti-war crowd.
I love it when he makes statements this. I’ve long believed that actions speak louder than words. To my mind he’s saying to the American people, “Boo! I’m gonna get you!” If he could REALLY mount an attack he would, instead the best he can do try to scare us.
Posted by The Vorlon at January 19, 2006 1:57 PMWhile I don't think we should be bowing to Bin Laden's offer, it may also be foolish to get too cocky about this kind of message.
It may be that the terrorists are getting desperate, but that doesn't necessarily make them less dangerous. And it may also be helpful to keep in mind that the 9/11 attacks were literally in the works for years prior to their execution; which suggests that just because nothing major has happened here in a few years doesn't mean nothing is about to.
God willing, nothing will happen, but it's always good to recall the conventional wisdom concerning "eternal vigilance."
Posted by: howard at January 19, 2006 2:49 PMI view the truce as an offer of weakness. I used to play quite a bit of correspondence chess. Sometimes the board would look about even, but I'd see a winning line for the opponent. Rather than just resign, you'd always try to figure that 'maybe he didn't see it'. Then, you'd offer a draw (truce). If he took it, you'd actually be the winner, as you knew that you had a lost game if it had continued. I understand Osama Been Hiding has also said this before.
Posted by: Reb Orrell at January 19, 2006 3:51 PMI think that a truce is a bad idea. How can you trust someone who does not value human life? Hopefully we have learned from Korea and Vietnam that truce talks only give the enemy time to regroup and attack again.
Posted by: Ned Swift at January 19, 2006 4:46 PMI don't mean to get over confident. I just take this as a very encouraging sign that Bin Laden is hurting and hurting badly. We still need to remain vigilent and hit them harder than ever.
Posted by: Ted at January 19, 2006 6:45 PM