Did this just come in the nick of time?

[Velvet]

When that Bin Ladin video came out I checked the translations and transcriptions online, and was curious that the sites would say that they transcribed 18 of the 23 minutes or whatever it was. Well, they just released the rest of the translation. Here's some excerpts:

"We are continuing this policy in bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy. Allah willing, and nothing is too great for Allah," bin Laden said in the transcript.

He also said al Qaeda has found it "easy for us to provoke and bait this administration."

"All that we have to do is to send two mujahedeen to the furthest point east to raise a piece of cloth on which is written al Qaeda, in order to make generals race there to cause America to suffer human, economic and political losses without their achieving anything of note other than some benefits for their private corporations," bin Laden said.

As part of the "bleed-until-bankruptcy plan," bin Laden cited a British estimate that it cost al Qaeda about $500,000 to carry out the attacks of September 11, 2001, an amount that he said paled in comparison with the costs incurred by the United States.

"Every dollar of al Qaeda defeated a million dollars, by the permission of Allah, besides the loss of a huge number of jobs," he said. "As for the economic deficit, it has reached record astronomical numbers estimated to total more than a trillion dollars.

"It is true that this shows that al Qaeda has gained, but on the other hand it shows that the Bush administration has also gained, something that anyone who looks at the size of the contracts acquired by the shady Bush administration-linked mega-corporations, like Halliburton and its kind, will be convinced.

"And it all shows that the real loser is you," he said. "It is the American people and their economy."

As for President Bush's Iraq policy, Bin Laden said, "the darkness of black gold blurred his vision and insight, and he gave priority to private interests over the public interests of America."

"So the war went ahead, the death toll rose, the American economy bled, and Bush became embroiled in the swamps of Iraq that threaten his future," bin Laden said.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/11/01/binladen.tape/index.html

[shainhouse]

Todd,

I also find it odd that they decided to release this video right before the Election. I had a feeling the Republicans would do such a thing because it is playing on people truest fears right when they are forced to make a decision. Fear is what continues to propel their government, consumption and economy, so why not right before the vote? By continuing to push forward and encourage ignorance towards the issues, the Republicans may in fact win. and that scares me.

[Velvet]

Nope, I don't see it that way. It wasn't the US that released it, and there's no way you'll convince me they control the Al-Jazeera network or whatever it's called. And no matter how you look at it, that Halliburton line slams Bush pretty hard.

[Hux]

Polling showed the Bin Laden video actually hurt Bush's numbers specifically his normally strong numbers on the "war on terror" and "protecting Americans" - not what most people expected. I think it was becuase here was public enemy #1, not all dirty hiding in some hole, but clean, healthy, and looking like he was quite comfortable in some nice surroundings (in Saudi Arabia maybe? )

The other thing I noticed was that this was the first Bin Laden video in which he didn't have a gun by his side, perhaps signalling a pause of violence? the other videos in which there was a gun by his side were followed up within days by attacks. Interesting.