LOL. How much money do you have?

Have you had your morning coffee yet?

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

Don't you mean you hope he will?

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customerjon @gmail.com is where information happens.

My guess is that the only thing Dubya will negotiate with OBL is the size of the Hellfire missile that will get shoved up OBL's ass.

Think about it...we basically just violated the nominal territorial sovereignty of another country (and an ally of ours, I guess) on the off chance that OBL's #2 guy was eating dinner in a house there. I don't think Bush is too inclined to belly up to the bar with anybody from that group, either now or in the future.

T.

Get real, you know Bush will eventually sell us out to get his approval ratings higher than 35%.

If that is true we would be out of Iraq? I also dont like Bush but let's be smart about the stones we throw.

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customerjon @gmail.com is where information happens.

I don't know how you can observe the guy for five years and be so completely clueless.

The only thing Bush will negotiate for is UBL's coordinates.

We can never negotiate with terrorists. Bush, and no other President will ever do that. OBL is thinking he is playing on the publics growing dissatisfaction with the war but he is mis-reading the situation. Those of us opposed to Iraq want to INCREASE our efforts against him and al-Qaeda because we don't link Iraq and the War on Terror.

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You sir, are my new hero! - Trifan 11/13/2008

Casey, you are a wise man - blueraider_mike 11/13/2008

Casey, This is an astute observation. - Slowbern 11/17/2008

If he does then he fooled everyone... Negotiate with who ?Can't see it happen, hope not ! OBL might be in a corner, but also he is a smart negotiater. That will just give OBL the legitimacy he is ultimatly seeking, before further pursuing his agenda.

Tell me now who you like in the Superbowl so I can put some money on the other team.

Really, how can you be so clueless about a guy you are so obsessed with?

Pistols at dawn?

We can never negotiate with terrorists.

The list of former terrorists and enemies that the US has negotiated with is long. Contra rebels, Iran, etc etc etc. Never say never.

Besides, why shouldn't the US negotiate. Maybe he wants to surrender?

Oh thank god! This last post proves your just yanking our chain.

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customerjon @gmail.com is where information happens.

The list of former terrorists and enemies that the US has negotiated with is long.

There is a difference between what we say publicly and what we do privately, no doubt. But, as for OBL, no way anyone ever negotiates with him. Not Bush, not Clinton (either one), not Kerry, not even Kennedy (well, maybe Kennedy) but you get my point.

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You sir, are my new hero! - Trifan 11/13/2008

Casey, you are a wise man - blueraider_mike 11/13/2008

Casey, This is an astute observation. - Slowbern 11/17/2008

Kennedy only if Bin Laden throws in a fifth of Jack Daniels and some sweet Afghani hashish ;)

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Tibbs, Osama has us by the nuts in a no win situation. He publicy states that he is willing to negotiate a truce, which immediately makes him look good in the Arab world. He knows we won't negotiate and we publicly state it, which immediately makes us look bad in the Arab world. If the Arab world pressures us, then we'll eventually have to negotiate at some level, which then again makes us look weak and him strong.

The guy is a PR genius. And only we could be such fools as to fall for his traps. He probably sits around and thinks of just totally unimaginable thinks he can do and our most extreme response and then he goes out and does it and we respond accordingly.

And we wonder why he is considered a hero in the Arab world.

You don't seriously believe what you just wrote do you?

I mean, it is a funny way of looking at the situation if you are joking around.

Here's the thing that he doesn't get about this situation: You don't negotiate with barbarians, and in this circumstance that's exactly what we've got to consider AQ. When you give barbarians what they want, they'll take what you have, thank you politely....and then boil you in oil anyway.

This is so blindingly obvious as it pertains to AQ, and some of these other organizations, that I can't believe we're even having this debate.



T.

An update:

Bush Rejects Truce Offer On Purported Bin Laden Tape
The Indy Channel | 01-19-2006 | AP




CAIRO, Egypt -- U.S. counterterror officials said Thursday they have seen no specific or credible intelligence to indicate an upcoming al-Qaida attack on the country, despite a new audio tape claiming preparations for such a mission.

The United States will not let up in the war on terror despite the threats on the tape, purportedly made by Osama bin Laden, said White House press secretary Scott McClellan.

"We do not negotiate with terrorists," McClellan said. "We put them out of business."

While warning against downplaying the taped threat, officials at intelligence and law enforcement agencies said there has been no recent increase in "chatter" that can indicate that such an attack is imminent. The officials discussed the tape on condition of anonymity because intelligence analysis is usually sensitive and because the tape was still being examined.

A Department of Homeland Security official said the agency has no immediate plans to raise the national terror alert, noting that intelligence agencies are still "working to authenticate the tape."

The national threat level is currently at "yellow alert," the middle of five stages, signifying an elevated risk of terror attacks. It has mostly been at yellow since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, but has been raised to the orange "high alert" level seven times since then.

Intelligence officials said authenticating the tape, released by the television network Al-Jazeera Thursday morning, could take between several hours and several days - and perhaps through the weekend.

"If there is any actionable intelligence, we will act on it," McClellan said.

A U.S. counterterror official said analysts had no reason to doubt an assessment by Al-Jazeera that the tape was recorded in the Islamic month that corresponds with December.

President Bush was told about the audiotape shortly after an appearance on the economy in Sterling, Va., McClellan said.

Intelligence authorities were examining why bin Laden - if in fact the voice on the tape is verified as his - would be speaking out after more than a year of letting his top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, serve as al-Qaida's public face in statements and other communications.

One official speculated that it might be an attempt to show supporters that bin Laden is still around.

I can't believe there would be a debate about this either. But if the Left considers OBL to be a 'genius' I know I feel a bit better about them branding GWB an idiot.

Not for nothing, and I'm not advocating accepting any kind of truce from OBL, but there's a bit of writing from some well qualified sources that says it doesn't really make that much a difference if you negotiate with terrorists. Historically, it doesn't necessarily lead them to just keep on taking more and more as is the doomsday scenario that is always thrown out there.

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Slowguy

(insert pithy phrase here...)

Didn't he already have those a few years ago?

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Father Kevin

http://www.churchofcycling.org

Like I said, first step is to reject the negotiation offer. Second step (starting in the background) is to begin some sort of negotiations.

Didn't he already have those a few years ago?



No that was Clinton who not only had the coordinates but was offered OBL on a silver platter.

U.S. counterterror officials said Thursday they have seen no specific or credible intelligence to indicate an upcoming al-Qaida attack on the country

Whew. Now I feel better.

I wonder if they realize there was no specific intelligence leading up to 9/11?

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__________________________________________________

You sir, are my new hero! - Trifan 11/13/2008

Casey, you are a wise man - blueraider_mike 11/13/2008

Casey, This is an astute observation. - Slowbern 11/17/2008

I like what this guy has to say on the matter:

January 19, 2006 OSAMA AND HIS STRADIVARIUS CATEGORY: War On Terror He may be an evil, thuggish brute but no one could ever accuse Osama Bin Laden of being dumb.

Actually, it really doesn’t take that much for an enemy of the United States with internet access to figure out how best to divide America; echo one side’s talking points.

And Osama has the liberals down cold. This is from his statement offering us a “truce” of some kind, the quid pro quo not as yet clear:

“We do not mind offering you a long-term truce with fair conditions that we adhere to,” he said. “We are a nation that God has forbidden to lie and cheat. So both sides can enjoy security and stability under this truce so we can build Iraq and Afghanistan, which have been destroyed in this war. There is no shame in this solution, which prevents the wasting of billions of dollars that have gone to those with influence and merchants of war in America.”

Kos couldn’t have said it better.

Translation: Bush’s tax cuts and eeeeevil Haliburton are at fault. The only question will be is the left smart enough to recognize the fact that Osama knows them so well that he plays them like a violin whenever he releases one of these tapes.

How long before we here some mindless lefty out there prattling on about negotiating with Bin Laden? After all, the thug sounds reasonable, doesn’t he? And he sure has a point about “those with influence” getting rich under McChimpybushitler. Gosh, maybe we could end this war by sitting down with al Qaeda in a great big circle, holding hands, and singing Kumbaya...or maybe Imagine.

Seriously, I would not be surprised if in the next 24 hours we don’t hear some loony lefty actually proposing that we believe the galoot and try and negotiate with him. My money is on some Hollywood type like Babs Streisand or maybe George Clooney.

As for the rest of the tape, I see that Glenn Reynolds thinks that Osama offering us a truce is a sign that we’re winning. I suppose that would be one interpretation but I think that it’s more likely that Osama is toying with us, trying to pull our strings in anticipation of doing something really nasty. Perhaps not an attack here but more likely in the Middle East. And I think he’s whistling past the graveyard by saying our security measures haven’t thwarted him. It’s been 4 1/2 years and by all accounts, we have stopped a couple of his plans from coming to fruition. That must gall him something awful. Also, by bragging that our security measures haven’t stopped him, he elbows his way into the current debate on the NSA intercept program. By saying its not working, maybe he wants to get the left to help him in dismantling the program. They certainly seem willing enough in that regard.

It takes a special kind of stupidity not to realize that you are being used by the enemies of your country. Deny it if they can, the facts are clear; Osama knows how to play our left for his own advantage. It remains to be seen whether or not they will recognize that and not play along with him.

I'll never understand why anyone blames the left for Osama. Osama would have been castrated by the Arab world if not for the right and Bush invading Iraq. The world supported our efforts in Afghanistan but then hated us for Iraq. Bush and the right have made Osama a hero.

The left wants to win the war on terror. Let's see the right make it happen. Bush has had 4 years and unlimited funds and resources to make it happen.

The left doesn't want a divided country. But Bush has not done anything to bring us together. He and the right are responsible for diving us.

The fact that OBL is still talking kind of proves the right has not been too successful. Maybe after 2008, we can actually start the war on terror.

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__________________________________________________

You sir, are my new hero! - Trifan 11/13/2008

Casey, you are a wise man - blueraider_mike 11/13/2008

Casey, This is an astute observation. - Slowbern 11/17/2008

Osama would have been castrated by the Arab world if not for the right and Bush invading Iraq.

Seriously. Get some coffee or something.

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

Believe it or not, I think he was serious.

No facts offered, as usual.

Facts? You want facts? You can't handle the facts

The fact is that Osama's popularity is a direct result of our invasion of Iraq. An invasion that the entire world sees for what it was based on - lies.

The fact is that Osama's popularity is a direct result of our invasion of Iraq.

Most people may have guessed that I am not a fan of the war in Iraq but I don't think that is why OBL is popular in the Arab world.

OBL is a smart dude and knows how to get sympathy from his followers, those who have been told that the West, and specifically the U.S, have as their mission, the eradication of Islam and the introduction of the American way of life. It is an odd balance in the Middle East, a secret desire for many American things but the public need to discredit all of the same things.

Al-Qaeda tries to recruit young, poor, fundamentalists and teach them how the infidels are out to destroy them. His latest tactic of offering an olive branch is brilliant because now he can be seen as the one reaching out for peace and once again, the West seen as the aggressors. Throw in some long-simmering hatred of Israel and the U.S continued support of them, and you have a dangerous mixture of people willing to die for him.

Finally, the fact that he has eluded capture, and continued attacks makes him even more appealing. He has convinced the young that the Americans could not catch him so they attacked Iraq (unfortunately there is a lot of truth here) and he is making himself to be a larger than life figure.

OBL was and remains popular with his daring attacks on 9/11 and his ability to avoid capture and death. That is precisely the reason we should have focussed on him before getting distracted in Iraq. Now, we have 2 major problems on our hand. Iraq did not create OBL, his attacks and our inablity to find him, are doing the job.

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__________________________________________________

You sir, are my new hero! - Trifan 11/13/2008

Casey, you are a wise man - blueraider_mike 11/13/2008

Casey, This is an astute observation. - Slowbern 11/17/2008

So how do you explain the popularity before the Iraq invasion?

Sorry, forgot this was a fact free zone.

why was he popular before the invasion? because he had carried out some attacks against the US, because he had opened schools for kids, because he had the support of the taliban, because he was kicked out of Saudi Arabia, because he had money, etc. He is just more popular now - a fredom fighter and martyr.

Yeah, so far we've only been fighting the war on an irrelevant country. Too bad we haven't bothered putting our forces to more meaningful use.

As for negotiating with OBL, it's sad that this should be cast as a left/right debate. No serious person, of any political stripe, should even see this as an open question.

Let's invite him to the negotiating table, then blow it up.

Not seeing muc left/right debate, or any debate at all.

Everyone seems to want his coordinates as a sign of good faith.

I'll happily push the button with you

Right up front I'll say that Cheney can definitely be a weiner, but I like what he says about this war against the bad guys:

Cheney:

It seems more than obvious to say that our nation is still at risk of attack. Yet, as we get farther away from September 11, some in Washington are yielding to the temptation to downplay the threat, to back away from the business at hand. That mindset may be comforting, but it is dangerous. We're all grateful that this country has gone for more than four years without another 9/11. Obviously, no one can guarantee that we won't be hit again. But our nation has been protected by more than luck.

It is no accident that we haven't been hit in more than four years.

We've been protected by sensible policy decisions, decisive action at home and abroad, and around-the-clock efforts on the part of people in the armed services, law enforcement, intelligence, and homeland security.

The enemy that struck on 9/11 is weakened and fractured, yet, still lethal, still determined to hit us again.

Either we are serious about fighting this War on Terror or we are not. And our enemies of America need to know we are serious, and this administration will not let down our guard.



T.

Even with his weiner reputation, I can't think of another figure in the administration that would be more fuin to have a beer with.

I think Cheney quit drinking after his fourth or fifth DUI, so that beer will have to wait a while

In general, as specified repeatedly by several U.S. administrations, it is not the policy of the U.S. Government to enter into negotiations with entities that employ terrorism as a means to further their doctrine.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

send Chuck Norris in, from what I have read on this forum, it would not take him long to get OBL.

Was it really 4 or 5? I thought he has 1 or 2. Anyway, wasn't his last DUI in the '60s? I wasn't alive in the 60's, but if the worst infraction with the law I had coming out of the 60's was a DUI I'd be kinda dissapointed with myself. :)

Anyway, wasn't his last DUI in the '60s? I wasn't alive in the 60's, but if the worst infraction with the law I had coming out of the 60's was a DUI I'd be kinda dissapointed with myself.

You are definitely a Bush/Cheney groupie.

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__________________________________________________

You sir, are my new hero! - Trifan 11/13/2008

Casey, you are a wise man - blueraider_mike 11/13/2008

Casey, This is an astute observation. - Slowbern 11/17/2008