The symbol sent out a new video today and he looks a lot younger and healthier than Thompson. Actually, he looked more alive than any of the Republican presidential candidates.

Can we take this statement to mean that Thompson would prefer to ignore Bin Lauden (just like Bush has) and instead declare a global war on the middle class?

what a clown.

Amazing, Republicans claim they're better for defending our country and at the same time call that mass-murderer a "symbol" rather than an evil man who should have been caught already and brought to justice.
How can Iraq be the central front in our "war" on terror when Bin Laden isn't there?

JKAR:

Osama bin Laden is BUSH'S childhood and adult friend and Fred Thompson is correct about the symbol part as Osama bin Laden will NEVER be caught by the DLC-BUSH administration as his name was just being used as a symbol to scare the 70% MAJORITY COMMON POPULATION of the United States and the world into thinking there was a legitimate attack that the United States could do nothing about, so that war with Afghanistan and Iraq would be a "piece of cake", and it was. It was all lies. Thousands of people died, but it was all lies.

The WORLD TRADE CENTER'S 3 buildings were destroyed by demolition which was an INSIDE JOB by our own government, and the planes were flown by REMOTE CONTROL. Osama bin Laden's movies and his name have been used to keep fear instilled and are still being used to promote fear to get people to vote REPUBLICAN. Osama bin Laden's movies and his threats usually show up close to election time to remind people of terror, that terror is real and reinforce their fear, so that the DLC and BUSH REPUBLICANS can continue making money off their terror wars.

The only terror there is to fear is the DLC and the BUSH administration RIGHT WING COALITION.

bin Laden? Hell, Mr. Bush has not been concerned about him for at least three years!! He said so himself... "I truly am not that concerned about him..."

I think he's probably right. Bin Laden appears to have faded into the backdrop as Zawahiri has taken over more of the day-to-day running of the network, such as it is.

What was most interesting, I thought, was Bin Laden's wide range of issues and his citing of Noam Chomsky, talking about mortgages and global warming, etc. Former RAND terrorism expert and current Georgetown University Professor Bruce Hoffman and US Institute of Peace Fellow Mohammed Hafez both argued on The NewsHour that Bin Laden is trying to build up a base of support among anti-establisment, anti-globalist youth, particularly in Europe. Interestingly, while participants in the banlieu riots or the demonstrations against the Muhammed cartoons were 'ethnic' Muslims from South Asia or the Middle East, many of the al-Qaeda linked or inspired terrorists are converts (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/terrorism/july-dec07/binladen_09-07.html).

LessThanExpert:

You sound like a cat trying desperately to cover up his dung. Just because something is on NPR doesn't mean it is not RIGHT WING PROPAGANDA.

There is NO ARAB, other than BUSH'S pet ARAB, that only appears at election time just so DLC & REPUBLICANS can fool the public into believing there is an ARAB terror to fear, so the 70% COMMON POPULATION will vote for REPUBLICANS who are suppose to be saving them from terror. Faux-terror of Osama is not the problem, it is the DLC/RIGHT WING EXTREME in our own country that the 70% MAJORITY COMMON POPULATION NEED TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT.

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What's with this Fred dude/ First he ducks debates and now he talks totally STUPID/

MarthA - Who are you? What LessThanExpert said is what the majority of Middle Eastern experts have agreed upon, since of course you are all into the majority. Let me ask you something: Are you a Middle East expert? Do you speak Arabic? Do you even have a Middle Eastern friend? I can answer yes to all. Can you? And yet again, you take a perfectly sane argument and twist it to fit your propaganda. Taking a page from your playbook: you continue the Name calling and Generalities while expounding the almost robotic "well, we have to be concerned about the 70% common majority" line. You are a robot of the DNC. It's like a mantra to you. A knee jerk. These Middle East experts know what they are talking about and for the most part are correct. Osama is on dialysis. He's got a major kidney problem. He is the figurehead of the network much like the Queen of England is a figurehead; deeply respected, but no real power anymore. The day to day operations are most likely in the hands of other cadre. Wake up and get your head out of the propaganda playbook.

RushBabies:

You are correct, Osama bin Laden is on dialysis.

You are correct, Osama bin Laden has a major kidney disease.

You are correct, Osama bin Laden has NO real power.

RUSHBABIES,YOU HAVE ALOT OF NERVE TALKING ABOUT PROAGANDA WHEN THATS ALL THE NEOCONS HAVE DONE FROM THE BEGINNING (WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION,IF THE TERRORISTS ARE IN IRAQ THEY ARNT HERE,9/11 AND IRAQ ARE CONNECTED)THATS PROPAGANDA,OR DO YOU REALY BELIEVE THAT COLLECTION OF FALSEHOODS? BLINDERS AGAIN!

I am so tired of these people deciding that they want to be president for no other reason than the fact that they just want to. If he doesn't realize that Bin Laden is a real person and not a symbol....then he needs to stick to acting!

Peaceman - You've got it confused. What you listed are called lies. And there is a shade of difference - depending on who is writing. I've done my integrity check today. The truth is always the best antidote. While alot of what we read about Osama should be taken with a grain of salt, there has to be some kind of truth to it all. When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. There are credible and well researched sources that back up the claim that it is possible Osama is not running the whole show like we think and that it is very possible that one of his top lieutenants is running the network while the leader is ill. Castro does it. Osama's image on a video tape on the anniversary of 9/11. There is symbolism there. The man that planned the slaughter of thousands of Americans and brought down the World Trade Towers. Darn right there is symbolism there. It's a terrorist scare tactic used to keep Americans perpetually in fear of the man six years after 9/11.

Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of Osama ISBN 0-7432-0502-2

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/01/28/eveningnews/main325887.shtml

MarthaA - I failed to read th earlier posts. Thats my fault. If it were an inside job, like you claim, then how do you explain the bodyparts of flight attendants still bound with flexi cuffs attached to doors and the deaths of the people trapped inside the burning buildings? An INSIDE JOB by OUR GOVERNMENT?? That's dilluted! Now I know who really has blinders on! What in the world?!? You dare to dishonor the victims and their families as well as the FDNY personnel who lost their lives with this drivel? Nothing but unworthy, disrespectful drivel. What eveidance to have to back up this disgusting accusation?

RushBabies:

The planes were piloted by remote control. There were people on the planes that died and 3,000 people in the buildings http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/inside.html. How do YOU explain finding body parts of flight attendants still bound with flexi-cuffs after a demolition fire that was so hot it melted large steel beams and exploded cement into fine powder? If not an "inside job" how did a phantom get access to these buildings to set the demolition explosions? How come the radar protection system was turned off? The Saudis who trained and were suppose to have operated these planes were not qualified and accomplished enough at flying to even make the maneuvers required to fly the planes with the turns and angles necessary to fly the planes into the World Trade Center Buildings. How come World Trade Center Building 7 was demolished without a plane flying into it at all? Also, it has been reported that the Saudis that were suppose to have died piloting these planes are still alive.

I wish it was a delusion, but it is not. The 9/11/01 attack on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center was an "inside job." If you are really interested you should investigate. Start with Professor David Ray Griffin http://www.wanttoknow.info/050504davidraygriffin and Professor Steven E. Jones http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/november2005/121105twintowers.htm

http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/inside.html

http://www.letsroll911.org/phpwebsite/
http://www.martiallaw911.info/insidejob1.htm
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/june2005/270605insidejob.htm
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/21/terror/main3190960.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_3190960