The Bin Laden Tape

There has been no discussion of the Bin Laden tape here yet because, frankly, I'm not sure what the hell to make of it yet. My first concern is that the tape is a trigger for something to occur on Monday or Tuesday. I find that especially concerning because my co-workers will be traveling Monday and Tuesday to high profile venues, and I will be traveling to one on Wednesday. Beyond that though, the rhetoric and tone of this video is different from previous tapes. It sounds like a tamer MoveOn.org, anti-Bush type ad. It doesn't have the fire and brimstone talk that I'm used to. I'm not sure if this is a video of a man whose organization is taking a beating, and whose tone is therefore muted but encouraging for his followers and recruits, or if he honestly thinks that he can affect the outcome of this election with his mere words.

Acutally, it wouldn't surprise me if he does think he can influence this election with mere words. To head an international terror network which has inflicted serious damage on the United States, one must have a great ego. On top of that, given his religous mindset, he must think he is a chosen one of Allah. If so, this guy might actually believe that he has the power to make John Kerry President with nothing but his words. I actually hope this is the case, because things could get very chaotic if this is a trigger for an attack. Kerry is no Thomas Dewey, and I fully expect him to use an attack to his political advantage if one were to occur. As heated as politics have become (Al Gore really did a disservice to this country's political process in 2000), that could make the next several months very, very ugly.