So why hasn't Osama attacked us again?

[Philosoraptor]

Is he so terrified of the George? Is he dead? Is he biding his sweet time? Are we safer cause of George?

Why?

[DoYouEverWonder]

1. When did Osama attack us

before?

[Loge23]

52. Good question.

Bin laden is one of the administration's most effective tools. They won't "catch" him until the just before the '08 election, when the cycle will have run it's course.
He is the ultimate red herring.

[liberal N proud]

2. Because Dead Eye Dick hasn't ordered an attack yet

[MemphisTiger]

39. Just send Buckshot Cheney over there hunting for quail

that should take care of it

[savemefromdumbya]

57. Bird flu will be released soon - indictments on the horizon

[W_HAMILTON]

3. You don't come up with one of the largest terrorist attack...

...in our nation's history in just a couple of years. Planning for 9/11 took years.

They could probably easily just have their sleeper cells do suicide bombings here and there, but my guess is they see that as small stuff. If they wanna bomb someone, they're content with doing that in Iraq and wreaking havoc for them and our troops. If they go from 9/11 to random suicide bombings here in the USA, that makes it seem as though they are weaker. So instead of using those Al-Qaeda that have successfully made it into the USA for that purpose, they wait.

It's not difficult to stop terrorist attacks that aren't even planned, the question is whether they will prevent the next 9/11-type attack on our country.

[Bridget Burke]

48. Those "protecting" us from the next 9/11 type attack....

Are those who allowed the last one.

[YOY]

4. Why attack when we are destroying ourselves by throwing

rediculous amounts of money at security measures that go beyond the pale and a military budget that could only be warranted by having a foe with equal military standing?

[KharmaTrain]

14. A Winner!!!

One thing boooosh and bin Laden both love...being autocratic dictators. bin Laden tried to bring about the destruction of American society (not the country itself...how stupid to think one guy can kill 300 million people...and I know some who think that way)...but to alter the financial and social order of the country. boooshie-boy, who also wanted the same thing...now I'm not going into tin foil hat land this morning...but why should bin Laden attack again, when all he wants to see happen booosh has been doing for him.

He wanted to cripple the U.S. economy...boooosh's tax cuts and spend crap did that more than bin Laden could have dreamed of. The rash of spying and repression among American citizens by this regime accomplished bin Laden's hope of creating a 24/7 terror society that was fighting against itself and not busy trying to force its will upon others. He also needed an American military presence in the Middle East to rally his own people to their own threat of American culture (American Idol) invading his lands...the former troops in Saudi Arabia gave him plenty of mileage, but nothing like the 150,000 sitting ducks now stuck in Iraq. If he wants to kill Americans, he doesn't have to buy plane tickets now...except to Baghdad. In essence he's killing us over there so he doesn't have to bother with the expense of killing us over here.

The biggest victory bin Laden has won is in the hearts and minds...he wanted to be a Saladin-type figure to unite the Islamic world to the threat from Christians and to shut out the flow of modern ideas those Christians bring. The boorish attitude of this regime and its overtly racist actions to the people of the middle east (now being aimed at Hispanic Americans) justified to many doubters what bin Laden has claimed and have turned Al Queda from a fringe group to a cause...just like Soidarity became within Poland in the mid and late 70's.

Why does bin Laden need to do a thing when booosh has helped him accomplish many of his goals...any attack would be a waste of time and resources against the U.S., since his overall game was not to be played in this country, but throughout the Middle East and today he's a far stronger and more respected figure than he was on 9/11.

[formercia]

28. Information Superhighway Roadkill Award of the Day.

:evilgrin:

They both have the same agenda. Interesting...

[YOY]

62. The whole thing smacks of the fall of Soviet Russia and the arms race

Except this is so one-sided and painfully idiotic. Just how much more cost effective were a pair of box cutters and some flight instructions to make a nation scream paranoia when it should be stalwartly saying 'Carry on.' One cannot help but to imagine there are other forces at play here other than our Government and Islamic fundamentalists.

If one dark prophecy has come true, it was Eisenhower's. He was right about the Military Industrial complex. It's so blatant that it's hardly a conspiracy theory anymore, but a screaming fact. Our military spending is not an arms race, but the ill concieved feeding of a parasitic titan that has grown too large and without solid reason for existance. I cannot see it boding well for the regular American citizen in the end.

And how much of what they develop can be used for civilian use? Granted the semi-conductor and the entire computer industry resulting thereof were results of military research adapted for consumer useage, but how do we use the latest in military or 'surveilance' technology for civilian purposes? Maybe I'm just shortsided, but I cannot fathom it...save perhaps a deper marketing tactical penetration in developing consumer trends based on illegal data collection: hardly an industry in and of itself...

Then again, maybe Al Quaida is developing a super submarine and transatmospheric fighter jets...

:rofl:

[bdamomma]

42. we are destroying ourselves

with this enormous deficit we have, and our debt to other countries.

[YOY]

63. This coupled by parasitic industries and outsourcing to decrease

middle class marketshare...

Just being a paranoid MBA here...

[wakeme2008]

5. Bush had not told him to

:grr:

[HamdenRice]

6. His long time business partners and handlers...

and I won't name who they are in order not to sound like a dreaded "conspiracy theorist", have not asked him to.

[shaniqua6392]

7. Because George has been too busy to meet with him

to decide when the next one should be.

[NotGivingUp]

45. you got that right!!!!!

[JHB]

8. Two reasons: 1) AQ attacks alwys took years of planning, and 2)...

...Why would he want to? Bush is busy making everything he said about America true, so why interfere with someone who's doing their job so well?

[oc2002]

30. when a country is tearing itself apart, no need to.

The GOP is doing a fine job all by itself of destroying the country.

[ShortnFiery]

9. I predict that ....

Snowball ... er ... I mean Osama will put out another video, the next time Dear Leader is in political hot water and/or his poll numbers stay below 35%. :P

[annabanana]

10. Because George is doing it for him....

Why go through all the time and expense when the full weight of the Administration is being brought to bear against the freedoms we used to fight for.

[Arkansas Granny]

31. As Bush likes to remind us Bin Laden hates us for our freedom.

Bush's strategy is to take away our freedoms so Bin Laden has no reason to hate us. Therefore, no more attacks. See, problem solved.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

11. The timing's wrong. Wait until George gives him the OK when the polls

reach 20% or so, just before november.

[kikiek]

12. He is attacking us daily. Because of him we have the worst president

ever for 2 terms. Our civil liberties are under attack and erroding. We are going bankrupt because we are stuck in Iraq after removing the dictator that he himself wanted removed. He is laughing in his cave somewhere because he doesn't have to attack us we are self destructing.

[bdamomma]

44. I really think Bin Laden is not sitting in some cave

the man has money, he is probably living very comfortably, watching what is unfolding the US, which is really unfolding.

[MiniMe]

13. It took him 8 years between WTC bombings the first time

Why should his timetable change any. He has to decide on new targets, plan a strategy, etc.

Osama is on his own timetable.

[Justice]

15. Who says he hasn't?

If Osama wants to bring down America - who says he isn't working toward that goal right now. There is more than one way to "bring down America" Financial ruin, social discourse?

Remember the recent poll that says people in other countries think less of Americans now - world opinion of Americans is negative. Wonder what Osama thought of that poll?

There was also the intercepted intel in the summer of 2001 when the caller said how disappointed they were that we didn't retaliate for the Cole bombing and the other caller said a huge attack was planned that would force us to retaliate. Maybe things are going exactly according to Osama's plan.

[welshTerrier2]

16. because one attack was all that was necessary

depending on exactly who was behind the 911 attacks, either:

1. Al Qaida wanted bush to over-react in the Middle East to help radicalize a new generation of anti-Americanism ... once bush invaded Iraq, the objectives were achieved or
2. once bush had his "revenge revenge revenge" justification, no further attacks needed to be staged and bush could sell the "i'm keeping America safe" nonsense ...

either way, a subsequent attack is not likely anytime soon ...

[DemonFighterLives]

25. Don't ya think that with dubby's poll numbers so low

He may need another influx of terror. A sort of "New Pearl Harbor"?

[bridgit]

17. bin laden & bfee stock portfolios are likely tied to the same buy-sell...

trigger, he won't attack until it benefits both their business models

[rooboy]

18. He bought stock in Diebold and a big bag of popcorn. n/t

[ixion]

19. why should he? GWB is giving him everything he wants

when you've got someone like chimpy on the inside tearing the living crap out of the country, why do anything else.

[Hubert Flottz]

20. Because, We know now when he orders a Pizza.

[Ezlivin]

21. Because he's afraid of whoever pulled off the ANTHRAX ATTACKS

And that's who we should all be afraid of.

No real criminal investigations over the use of military-grade anthrax sent to Democratic senators and anyone else opposed to the Patriot Act.

The real terrorists are holding press conferences right now....

[DemonFighterLives]

27. So true and spooky

:scared:

[longship]

22. Simple.

He doesn't have to. After 9/11, ChimpCo has done more damage to Murika than any attack would have.

If he's still alive, he's just sitting, smiling.
"Mission Accomplished"

[leftofthedial]

23. the bush-saudi cabal haven't decided it is necessary

after all, we are "fighting" them over there.

[Junkdrawer]

24. Summer of Terror n/t

[Recursion]

26. He has very clear stated war aims

Bin Ladin has been very clear about his war aims from the beginning:

1. Remove all non-muslim troops from Saudi Arabia (done)
2. Overthrow Saddam Houssein (done)
3. Start a war in Afghanistan (done -- this one frankly hasn't gone as well for him as he hoped)
4. Overthrow the Saudi royal family
5. Unite Israel and the Palestinian territories as a single country under muslim-majority rule

4 and 5 aren't particularly helped by attacking the US directly so he hasn't been doing it.

He thought a US war in Afghanistan would be a quagmire that inflamed muslim hatred against the US; it didn't work as well as he hoped but then we handed him exactly that with Iraq, so mission still accomplished.

Also note that goals 1 through 5 are not important in themselves; they are all means towards the end of:

6. End secular governance in the region and re-establish a caliphate that will be the sole real force in the middle east.

[carolinalady]

29. I actually think he is doing greater damage to George by not

attacking. He is just sitting on the sidelines watching Shrub alienate the rest of the world. I have recently heard several pundits say that another attack would be the only thing that could raise his approval rating. I don't think BinLaden wants that to happen. JMO.

[Minnesota Libra]

32. You know what the neocons/fundies would say........

...the WH Idiot has been defending our freedom and keeping us safe with everything he does. :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm:

The truth is quite different though. We haven't been attacked since 9/11 because Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rove, and others haven't decided they needed another attack to get everyone in line. Oh, but expect things to get pretty interesting as 08 approaches.

[Fire Walk With Me]

65. Yep. Bin Laden wasn't afraid of Bush on 9/11, he wouldn't be now.

[Fleshdancer]

33. He doesn't need to

Americans are too busy destroying this country from the inside. He wanted us afraid. His job is done, right?

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

34. Why bother? BushCo is doing everything he wants.

We've become the rogue nation of the world.

Our freedoms are curtailed.

We're bankrupting ourselves playing the "war on Terra".

Our country is divided.

Our military has proven itself to be a mirage of power unable to subdue a 3rd world nation.

We're mired down in the Middle East and Afghanistan.

All over the world, governments and people are in revolt against our empire.

All Osama has to do is sit back and have a good laugh as we flail around helplessly as we sink.

[underpants]

36. "(T)here is nothing bin Laden could have hoped for more ....

"(T)here is nothing bin Laden could have hoped for more than the American invasion and occupation of Iraq,"

according to Anonymous. "All Muslims would see each day on television that the United States was occupying a Muslim country, insisting that man-made laws replace God's revealed word, stealing Iraq's oil, and paving the way for the creation of a 'Greater Israel'."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/091204A.shtml

or to paraphrase Richard Clarke "Somewhere Bin Laden was sitting on a mountaintop saying 'Please please invade Iraq'"

[bdamomma]

46. and there was no love between bin laden and saddam

they hated each other.

[tecelote]

35. He hated us for our freedoms and now they are gone. He won.

Plus, his family has asked their friends in the Whitehouse to look the other way. I mean, we don't want Saudi Arabia or Dubai to be upset with us do we?

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

37. Osama who?

He's just not important, remember? :shrug:

"I don’t know where he is. Nor — you know, I just don’t spend that much time on him really, to be honest with you. I....I truly am not that concerned about him."
-GWB 2002

[PRETZEL]

38. because according to michael ledeen,

he's dead........................................................

(end sarcasm)

[bdamomma]

40. we have not been attacked because

george and bin laden have a deal going.

[gatorboy]

41. People seem to forget that there were 8 YEARS in between both WTC attacks.

It could be that we won't have another...Or it could be that they're biding their time. Maybe their point is to keep each new president busy...They do seem to enjoy attacking at the beginning of a new president's run.

[Philosoraptor]

43. So it was proven that Osama did that original Trade Center attack?

Not to start a conspiracy flame war, I know that's the official story, but these men have been caught lying on several occassions.

[gatorboy]

47. Regardless of whether it was Osama,

I think it's safe to say that whatever group is responsible, it's the same group that attacked both times. My feeling is that there will probably be another at the beginning of a new presidential term.

[PRETZEL]

49. I just finished reading the section in Steven Coll's book

"Ghost Wars" about Ramsi Youssef/Abdul Rahman/Osama bin Laden and if my memory serves me correctly there was just a periphal association. As I recall it, Youssef planned this on his own, recruited his own men and raised his own money for this. It happened that the men he recruited were followers of Rahman and Youssef himself held the same views of Rahman. It also was believed that Rahman believed in bin Laden although he had no direct connection to him.

Anyway, that's the way I remember.

[Bucky]

54. No, but he was sympathetic to al-Rashif, who was behind 1st attack.

Bin Laden was not affiliated with the 1993 attack. But it clearly inspired his choice of targets

[underpants]

51. 5 weeks vs. 8 months

Oh excuse me we are supposed to not hate 'Murka and say that W was ONLY in office for the (focus group tested) 233 days.

Feb. 26, 1993

vs.

Sept. 11, 2001

I have looked and never been able to find one instance of the Clinton people even implying that Poppa Bush's administration should take any blame or responsibility. Counter that with Ari flat out blaming Clinton for 9/11 while the Dems were singing "America the beautiful" and going right along as the Republicans ran out to get on the airwaves and play the blame game to the hilt.

I know you already know all this but this really pisses me off-just ranting really.

How may people involved in 9/11 have been arrested? Oh some have been killed okay that puts us WHERE in relation to them? What the hell happened to my country?

[Jim__]

50. Isn't he attacking our soldiers in Iraq right now?

Or is that only bin Laden when it fits the bush PC? When American interests were attacked overseas by bin Laden during the Clinton years, Clinton was blamed. Why do we "credit" bush when bin laden attacks American interests overseas in his admin?

[mmonk]

53. We are doing as he wishes.

Why would he need to attack us here again? We gave him his conflict and political points.

[Beelzebud]

55. CIA assets just follow orders.

He won't make a move until he's ordered to.

[spanone]

56. It's because the NSA is tapping our phones...

Didn't you hear the general tell congress that they could have caught these guys if they could have tapped us back then??? My question is, why couldn't they tap us back then, no laws have changed, they could have just as easily broken the law in 2000 just like they did in 2001.

[Philosoraptor]

58. Yeah, I'm sure the terrorists talked it all out on the phone first.

If only George had been at the helm, instead of that sexual predator, Clinton.

[leesa]

59. He's dead. But since the WH did 9-11, it doesn't matter.

Why do you believe the fairy tale the White House told you about 9-11?

[Philosoraptor]

60. Well, if the White House said it, it MUST be true right?

(sarc attack)

[alfredo]

61. 9-11 got the desired effect. Osama wanted us to respond by

fighting them there instead of here. He wanted the US tied down in a costly war on their turf.

[blm]

64. Because the Bin Ladens and the Bushes have been partners for years with

each other and the House of Saud and UAE - they will not make a move to hurt each other - they only HELP each other.... even if most people don't see it.