Al Jazeera is al Qaeda and Bin Laden is a loser

Fausta commented on my previous post and pointed me to one of her posts where she explains the philosophy of al Jazeera. However, as interesting and plausible as the article is, I feel there is more. In the relationship between the broadcaster and Bin Laden there must be some kind of symbiosis, perhaps based on blackmail/protection, whereby al Jazeera, in exchange for immunity for itself, Qatar or even the UAE, follows Bin Laden orders to the letter. After all, could Bin Laden risk that a TV station distorts or edits his messages or even only transmit arbitrarily parts of them that alter their meaning?

Al-Jazeera said was recorded in January. The network initially reported it believed the tape was made in December, but later corrected itself on the air. Editors at the station said they could not comment on how they knew when it was made.

Bin Laden could be dead and al Jazeera could have kept the tape until it felt the moment was right (e.g.: to show that al Qaeda's no.1 is alive and well after the Bajur air strike).

In his latest performance Bin Laden debases himself to the lowest possible level (a la Michael Moore or Murtha):

These crimes include the raping of women and taking them hostage instead of their husbands. There is no power but in God. The torturing of men has reached the point of using chemical acids and electric drills in their joints. If they become desperate with them, they put the drill on their heads until death. If you like, read the humanitarian reports on the atrocities and crimes in the prisons of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo.

He must have taken stock, by now, of the irreversible changes occurring across the Middle East, and he knows his dream of becoming the Caliph has been shattered forever. What has he got left? Calling a hudna.

A pathetic performance, even considering his audience, as Roger notes:

Of course, what Binny is really doing, as he almost always is, is preaching to the Islamic choir. The boy may be somewhere in the mountains of Waziristan but his heart is in Riyadh, battling out family squabbles. Most of us don't grow up, but particularly, and most murderously, Bin Laden.

All in all, a comforting message that confirms the fantastic progress achieved in Afghanistan, Iraq and the WOT.

Al Qaeda, Bin Laden, Al Jazeera