posted on December 18, 2001 12:03:05 PM new
OSAMA THE INVINCIBLE
By William F. Buckley Jr.
We do well to remind ourselves of the potential leverage Osama bin Laden (news - web sites) has on the
public imagination. You begin with what we simply know to be true and can only grit our teeth over:
Osama is a hero in great parts of the world. If a popularity contest were taken today in the Philippines,
Osama would come in somewhere between George Harrison and John Lennon. That is the straight fico
vote: Up yours, America.
Comes then the class of people who are not Muslim jihadists but feel a sense of detachment about Sept.
11, perhaps a touch of maybe America had it coming. They watch the days go by with a trace of
exhilaration over what's going on. I mean, here is one bearded fanatic -- you can talk yourself into
thinking of him as a John the Baptist -- who is being pounded day after day by the greatest air force of
the greatest power in the world. He has tucked himself into a little cavity in a mountain and the
15,000-pound daisy-cutters drop here and there, and on top and on the bottom, and he remains inside
there somewhere, reciting the Koran, drinking tea, and consoling his intimate guard with the rightness of
their cause and the certainty of their deliverance, if not in this world, then in the next.
And then, the American dragon, Paul Wolfowitz, says to the press that the American people have to be
prepared for the fact that we may be hunting this man and his followers "in Afghanistan (news - web
sites) months from now." Months from now? You would think that in less time than that, the Department
of Defense (news - web sites) of the greatest-ever superpower could transform Afghanistan from
mountainous to tropical. If Osama is alive months from now, he will have gone a long way to claiming
eternal life for himself.
Add to the mythogenic scene -- one Arab prophet surviving against the military-industrial complex -- the
exploitation of the skeptics in the matter of direct responsibility for Sept. 11. We are not talking about
Alan Dershowitz, who having established that O.J. Simpson is not a killer can, with hands tied behind his
back, prove that Osama is innocent. No, there are the others. Around my shop, we call them Grassy
Knollers -- they are certain that one or more men were there helping out Lee Harvey Oswald that day in
Dallas, hiding behind the grassy knoll. Such as these are not fanatics, but they are easily aroused by any
little conjectural foreplay. And we had that abundantly early in the week, with the administration's
mishandling of the Osama tape.
The authorities released the word: We have on tape Osama discussing the events of Sept. 11 --
discussing them with such specificity as to link him directly do the deed.
How, directly?
Well, he said that it was terrific news that the twin towers collapsed all the way, whereas there was
reason to hope only that they'd collapse from the top, to the point of impact.
But he didn't say that he organized the strike, did he? He just described his pleasure that it had gone so
well.
What we got from the Defense Department was that the tape would be released sometime during the
week. The delay was grist for the doubters. Why didn't DOD release the tape right away? What are
they hiding? Who is doing the translating? Is anything being edited in? Edited out?
It is difficult to understand why the administration didn't just hang on to the tape and release it after it was
dubbed or translated. The excuse that premature release would permit Osama to transmit subversive
commands to his legions is implausible. What commands is he in a position to issue? Word to bomb
Detroit? Anthrax the Super Bowl? The notion that Osama would use a filmed interview to send out
recondite commands is cryptographic fantasy. All that we succeeded in doing by delaying the issuance of
the tape is to fortify those who are nurturing doubts about Osama's direct responsibility for Sept. 11.
And now the British defense secretary announces that if he ends up in their hands, they will not turn him
over to the United States unless we promise not to impose the death sentence, which is politically
incorrect. So we have to worry about the danger of Osama falling into British hands.
But the legend grows that he won't fall into anybody's hands, save Allah's.
posted on December 18, 2001 01:31:26 PM new
What a bunch of malarky. Buckley must not read current news.
[i]But he didn't say that he organized the strike, did he? He just described his pleasure that it had gone so
well.[/i]
Well, yes, he did. If he didn't say he "organized" the strike, he admitted to being in on the plans. To wit, that because of his educational background (engineering and the family construction business) he had anticipated that only the floors above the airplanes' hit would collapse. He made specific reference to his foreknowledge of a weeks time of the Sept. 11th events. Playing the semantics game, any tin foil beanie wearer could debate whether Osama was the PLANNER. But it's crystal clear, by his own admittance, that at the very least, he was in on the conspiracy.
[i]And now the British defense secretary announces that if he ends up in their hands, they will not turn him
over to the United States unless we promise not to impose the death sentence, which is politically
incorrect. So we have to worry about the danger of Osama falling into British hands.[/i]
This little tidbit of misinformation was clarified well over a week ago. Britain most definitely will turn over Bin Laden to the U.S. should British forces capture him. The only way it might be a problem is if Bin Laden is captured on British soil, a most remote possibility. He's hardly likely to fly into London on British Airways and turn himself in or ask for asylum. Bah.
KatyD
[ edited by KatyD on Dec 18, 2001 01:33 PM ]
posted on December 18, 2001 08:17:48 PM new"at the very least, he was in on the conspiracy"
AHA! So you admit that there was a conspiracy!? We knew it all along--the Bushes, the Saudis, and the Isreali intelligence planned it and hired Osama to supply the lackey fall guys. Flight manuals in Arabic on carseats in Boston an hour after the tragedy indeed! How freaking obvious can you be??
I worry about Buckley. He was incisive during the Reagan campaign, but he's old and doddering now. Doesn't seem to be fully in control of his faculties, does he? Sort of like Ashcroft that way.
posted on December 18, 2001 08:40:45 PM new
I can't find the link at this moment.
But, I do remember reading from a very authoritative source that osama was seen languishing by a swank pool in Cuba. He and brother Neil were discussing their next move, I think.
posted on December 18, 2001 08:51:49 PM new
No, I'm listing books tonight in fact. Working more than ever but I list a few books and then check in here, repeat about ten times LOL.
posted on December 18, 2001 08:57:52 PM new
Yes, I'm scanning books tonight... seems to be peaks and valleys sales-wise. Just as I start to think things are turning back around I hit another rough week. I'm holding my breath for a free listing day this week... might turn blue though.
