Osama bin Laden: more media whore than guerrilla warrior
In short, many argue: it's about territory, stupid! This view is held by thinkers on both sides of the left/right divide. So some of a leftish persuasion have come dangerously close to gushing over al-Qaeda and its offshoot groups, or at least seeking to explain their actions with reference to historic movements for land and freedom. Tariq Ali, for example, compares the al-Qaeda-inspired insurgents in Iraq - those car-bombing killers of children and religious worshippers - to the French resistance to the fascist Vichy regime, and said of the 9/11 attacks that 'the subjects of the [American] Empire had struck back', demonstrating the 'universal truth thatā?¦slaves and peasants do not always obey their masters.' (2) He wilfully overlooked the fact that the 'peasants' who organised 9/11 were in fact middle-class students with cushy lives.
On the right, al-Qaeda is referred to as an 'Islamo-fascist' movement seeking to create a 'Greater Islamic State' in which sharia law will be ruthlessly enforced and the people will dream of the good old days when they were dominated by comparatively civilised and mild-mannered Westerners. A recent piece on Open Democracy went so far as to describe al-Qaeda as 'classically imperialist', since it wishes to 'craft the next chapter of human history in its own image' (3). Come off it: al-Qaeda's leaders can't even craft an escape route from Waziristan, never mind human history. Such views wilfully overlook the fact that al-Qaeda is mostly made up of pissed-off posh kids who spend their days fantasising about jihad in chatrooms on the world wide web and occasionally muster up enough nerve to strap a homemade bomb to themselves and murder some civilians. History is not normally made by such individuals.
http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/0000000CADD4.htm
This pretty much sums it up!
Osama bin Laden: more media whore than guerrilla warrior
Whew. Now that everyone has their labels I guess we can get things started!
Osama bin Laden: more media whore than guerrilla warrior
They are indeed sick, misguided morons. No question whatsoever. Weird part is that they are kicking your ass. What does that say about you?
Osama bin Laden: more media whore than guerrilla warrior
Quote:
Originally Posted by andruejaysin
They are indeed sick, misguided morons. No question whatsoever. Weird part is that they are kicking your ass. What does that say about you?
I donā??t think that these lunatics are kicking our asses, but the fact so many of their officers and leaders are even alive after 9/11 says that we were too soft. We should have finished off the top taliban and al quada leadership, once and for all, with continuous bombings, and other firepower, in the hideout areas of Afghanistan immediately following 9/11. Better yet would have been to drop a few small nukes in the mountains where they hide on 9/12/01, and subsequently denied having any part in it. Even if bin laden got away, it would have made a very strong impression on his followers.
Osama bin Laden: more media whore than guerrilla warrior
Quote:
Originally Posted by andruejaysin
They are indeed sick, misguided morons. No question whatsoever. Weird part is that they are kicking your ass. What does that say about you?
Ya just can't face the fact that we are getting the upper hand. Does ANOTHER U.S.A. victory really bother you that much? Weren't you the one crying for the boys in club Gitmo? :D
