We were talking about engineered distractions?

[mmcirvin]

A Josh Marshall reader reminds us that, if his past behavior is any indication, a new scary video from Osama bin Laden is likely to appear any time now to take the wind out of the Foley scandal and get Americans to keep voting for the Republicans who keep his global jihad running strong. A few years ago I mocked people who claim to have an Osama bin Laden Want-O-Scope, but it's clear from five years of this that he's not stupid and knows exactly what the effect will be if he pops up and gloats about his enemies' imminent electoral defeat. I don't have anything to say about this except to repeat my previous pleas not to fall for it when it happens.

Comments

[bottlroktt.livejournal.com]

definitely. and from the perspective of the democrats running for office, the sooner they make public how serious they are about intensifying the hunt for OBL and the rest of al qaeda, the less effect those tapes will have should they surface in the next 19 days.

[paracelsvs.livejournal.com]

Surely you mean a scary video from an Osama bin Laden robotic clone!

Unless you mean one where he appears and just goes "brrrraaaainnnssss", that would be pretty scary too.

[purgatorius.livejournal.com]

You mean the leaked French intelligence? I thought that was intended to "trick" the "mastermind" into revealing his true location with some sort of "ha! Foolish infidels. Not really dead! But really in Pakistan!" footage.

[paracelsvs.livejournal.com]

No, French leak was obviously bullshit, because how the hell could a CORPSE catch typhoid? It just doesn't make sense!

[sunburn.livejournal.com]

The real problem is that if Osama Bin Laden puts out a tape before the election, it will be a violation of the McCain-Feingold Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform and Free-Speech Limitation Act of 2002, and thanks to a few recent legal precedents, such a tape will be considered a de facto illegal contribution to the Republican Party. The Dems won't stand for it, and I'm sure the FBI will have OBL rounded up and fined in no time.

Can't have people mouthing off about what's good for America so close to a national election.

[purgatorius.livejournal.com]

It's just a shame the Democrats don't have one of those "easily recognizable national platform with clearly stated objectives" thingies.

[paracelsvs.livejournal.com]

I think Bush is getting a bit impatient waiting for it: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2412999,00.html

[sunburn.livejournal.com]

Heh! I caught a similar headline linking the rising violence with Ramadan and Elections, and I thought "O RLY? I didn't know that Iraq had elections coming up. Good for them."

Damn I'm a fool sometimes. I don't know what the cause for the surge of violence is, unless the majority of it is indeed being masterminded by a few people (and I had the idea that the majority was just mob warfare), I would dismiss this as a failure of perspective.