I'm serious about this. Bin Laden's narcissism, there on the Internet for all to see, gave his enemies a great opening. Now, I'm no expert on Islam, but I am confident that that faith, like all of the world's great religions (and the near-great, too) condemn vanity. So, if Bush had some smarts, or even a fraction of Reagan's sense of theater, he would have consulted a respected imam, got a couple of references to relevant passages of the Qu'ran, and responded to bin Laden's maunderings with one of the most powerful weapons of all: Ridicule. By focusing on the fact that this self-appointed apostle of Islamic fundamentalism feels the need to color his hair, Bush would have struck at the very foundation of his enemy's authority.
It was too much to hope for.
1 comment:
In the age of computer generated stuff, I don't believe that we can be certain that what was shown and heard was actually OBL. The technology available today is capable of simulating appearance and voice, creating a virtual person, complete with knowledge of facts and history sufficient to make a convincing case that OBL is alive, well and still the spiritual leader of Islam.
The only thing missing from this tale of resurrection is his sacrificial death. But that is a tale peculiar to Christianity. To my knowledge it is not found in the mythology of Judaism and Islam.
We have here the "Gullibility Factor". It's as old as the ages. Popes, Kings and PT Barnum understood and used it's power.
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