Bin Laden’s Reverse Psychology Missed by Prez and Pundits
Cross-posted from The Paragraph.
Osama bin Laden, the terrorist leader wanted for murder of U.S. citizens overseas and suspected of running the September 11, 2001, airliner attacks that killed 3000 people, issued a new video addressed to Americans, just days before Congress returns to again consider the course of the Iraq occupation90x91. In the video he knocked Democrats for continuing to fund the occupation, and taunted President Bush for failing in Iraq. He also knocked Bush for leading a corporatist crony system, and for rejecting the Kyoto treaty and worsening global warming. And he praised socialist thinker Noam Chomsky as one who advised against invading Iraq. Bush commented on the video: “I found it interest[ing] that on the tape Iraq was mentioned, which is a reminder that Iraq is part of the war against extremists. If al-Qaeda bothers to mention Iraq, it’s because they want to achieve their objectives in Iraq, which is to drive us out.”x95 Republican pundits Sean Hannity and David Brooks found something else interesting in the video. Hannity said: “He seems to adopt the exact same language being used by the hard left in this country … He talks about global warming. He demonizes capitalisms (sic) and corporations …”x93 Brooks said: ”... it’s like he’s been sitting around reading lefty blogs, and he’s one of these childish people posting rants at the bottom the page, you know, Noam Chomsky and all this stuff.”x94 But the angle these Republicans missed is that bin Laden might be using reverse psychology— he knocks the Iraq occupation and backs some Democratic-championed issues because he wants to continue the Iraq occupation and undercut Democrats who might stop it95. The Iraq invasion and occupation has been a boon to bin Laden—letting him escape at Tora Bora, inspiring jihadist recruits, and bringing funds to al-Qaeda’s leadership in Pakistan. CIA officials concluded that bin Laden used reverse psychology in his prior video address to Americans, four days before the 2004 presidential election96x97. In it he knocked Bush and threatened states that would vote for Bush. After that video, polls showed the race swing from a dead heat to a five point Bush lead. At a CIA strategy meeting one analyst said, “Bin Laden certainly did a nice favor today for the President” Another said, “Certainly he would want Bush to keep doing what he’s doing for a few more years.”
Sources
90 ‘FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive: Usama bin Laden’
USAMA BIN LADEN IS WANTED IN CONNECTION WITH THE AUGUST 7, 1998, BOMBINGS OF THE UNITED STATES EMBASSIES IN DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA, AND NAIROBI, KENYA. THESE ATTACKS KILLED OVER 200 PEOPLE. IN ADDITION, BIN LADEN IS A SUSPECT IN OTHER TERRORIST ATTACKS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.
91 ‘Transcript of bin Laden Video Address’ 2007-09-06, pdf image
95 ‘Bush-Bin Laden Symbiosis Reborn’ By Robert Parry, Consortiumnews.com, September 8, 2007
In a new video, al-Qaeda leader bin Laden again taunts Bush, the United States – and then the Democrats for not forcing an American withdrawal from Iraq, which should help guarantee that the Democrats won’t dare press for a withdrawal from Iraq.
At a summit of Pacific Rim leaders in Sydney, Australia, President Bush then did his part, highlighting bin Laden’s Iraq comments:
“I found it interested that on the tape Iraq was mentioned, which is a reminder that Iraq is part of the war against extremists. If al-Qaeda bothers to mention Iraq, it’s because they want to achieve their objectives in Iraq, which is to drive us out.”
Except that U.S. intelligence has long concluded that al-Qaeda really wants the opposite: to bog the United States down in a hopeless, bloody war in Iraq that has been a boon for recruiting young jihadists, raising money and protecting al-Qaeda’s leadership holed up in base camps inside Pakistan.
96 ‘Bush Agrees Bin-Laden Helped in ‘04’ By Robert Parry July 14, 2006
97 ‘Bin Laden’s ‘Nice Favor’ for Bush Helped al-Qaeda’ – The Paragraph, June 24th, 2007
* * *
By Quinn Hungeski – Posted at G.N.N. & TheParagraph.com
