Walid Phares gives an outstanding analysis of Bin Laden's latest.

"This is not just another audiotape or videotape of a renegade in some cave. Regardless of who is the speaker and his whereabouts, the 30 minutes long read statement is a declaration, probably as important as the February 1998 declaration of war against America, the Crusaders and their allies. ...  A call for mega—terrorism and a fiery delivery of a bloody war in all directions. Not one single civilization and religion got away from Usama's grapes of wrath: Muslim moderates, Shiites, Christian Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox; Jews, Hindus, Buddhists and Atheists as well. Europeans, Chinese, Indians, Semites, Africans and others were all deciphered as Kuffars, infidels."...

"Imagine yourself as an Arab viewer: The speech was repeated endlessly throughout the day. Bin Laden didn't have his 20 minutes of shine, but 24 hours at least. The Bin Laden audiotape wasn't played one or two times but until every word was sinking deep in the minds of the attentive viewers. However the most powerful part of the speech wasn't restricted to its content: Al Jazeera lined up the best of its "experts on Islamist groups" to react instantly to the audiotape and throughout the day, and add "more details and substance.""

The US—European media have kept Iraqi terrorists on the front pages, and therefore alive, while they were murdering thousands of civilian Shiites — and more recently, Sunnis. Al Jazeerah and its ilk are doing the same for the worldwide Jihad against the "Christian" West, Jewish Israel, Hindu and Buddhist India and South—East Asia, Danish cartoonists, the hapless Black Christians and animists of the Sudan, Muslim moderates, and yes, even France. "Bin Laden, Inc." preaches desert Jihad from the 8th century: Everybody in the world must convert to fundamentalist Islam or be killed. Any resistance is aggression. ""The apostates and atheists who offend our Prophet cannot be forgiven. They must be killed."

On the battlefield Bin Laden's gang has been losing ground. But Hitler lost ground when he was put in jail for inciting violence in Weimar Germany. He wrote "Mein Kampf" as a response — and turned his setback into more propaganda and recruitment. Mao Zedong turned his setbacks into heroic propaganda as well, using Western "journalists" to spread his message. Bin Laden, or whoever is pretending to be him, is trying the same thing. Al Jazeerah and other propaganda channels are hoping to turn Bin Laden's battlefield defeat into propaganda victory.

James Lewis    4 23 06