There’s a fascinating new interview with OBL on the web. I found a few things apposite. First off, he’s completely incoherent. His responses to the questions about the Islamic legitimacy of killing innocent civilians are all over the place. First it is illegitimate; then it isn’t. In the end, it seems it’s ok to kill civilians if they live in a democracy and you disagree with the policies of their government. Because they vote for these policies, they’re fair game. This is a pretty convenient pretext for someone who believes in Islamic theocracy as the only rightful form of government (and only Afghanistan fits the bill). Then there’s OBL’s appeal to Berkeley: “I ask the American people to force their government to give up anti-Muslim policies. The American people had risen against their government’s war in Vietnam. They must do the same today. The American people should stop the massacre of Muslims by their government.” That’s you he’s asking for help from, Congresswoman Lee. Then there’s this interesting exchange:
“HM: Some Western media claim that you are trying to acquire chemical and nuclear weapons. How much truth is there in such reports?
OBL: I heard the speech of American President Bush yesterday (Oct 7). He was scaring the European countries that Osama wanted to attack with weapons of mass destruction. I wish to declare that if America used chemical or nuclear weapons against us, then we may retort with chemical and nuclear weapons. We have the weapons as deterrent.
HM: Where did you get these weapons from ?
OBL: Go to the next question.”
Now why would this question be the only one he won’t answer?
The Dish 