Vice President Dick Cheney, asked by Fox News about the tape, said it now seemed likely that Mr. bin Laden, whom some had believed dead, was alive. But, the vice president said, Mr. bin Laden has clearly had trouble getting his message out and added, "We don't negotiate with terrorists."
"I think you have to destroy them," he said. "It's the only way to deal with them."
Mr. bin Laden offered the American people a vague truce, saying "both sides can enjoy security and stability under this truce so we can build Iraq and Afghanistan." Later in the statement he quotes from a book which calls for an end to what he termed "American interference in the nations of the world."
What do you guys think? What's the right thing to do? How do you interpret this new information?
8 comments:
Hi Mac, I think bin ladens 'truce' remarks are analagous to: Release the hounds! Don't mean to be negative, but, that's my gut feel. And I think it's been a long time coming-unfortunately.
Hmmm. I think the problem is, if we agree to a "truce" we're, you know, kind of letting him get away with murdering a whole bunch of people.
And acknowledging him as a legitimate leader, too, which isn't a good idea.
Great blog!
oh, dear.
I hope this doesn't sound too cynical or ignorant, but the Bin Laden 'flag' has been waved so often that I'm not sure that I care.
Because:
Who knows if this is a 'real' tape?
Who knows if he really exists?
Who knows if he isn't a fictional person made up by members of government to use for propaganda?
I don't know. I say this -
Because:
I believe everything the government tells me; don't you?
From a member of the 'Half of What You See - None of What You Hear' Club.
Oh, and the truce? No. I don't negotiate (often) My way or the highway, baby. (wink)
I'm crazy about you guys, did I mention?
December, I completely agree that the fact that thousands of Americans were murdered, and that's intensely problematic. However, I don't know as continuing to kill Iraquis, Afghanis, and Pakistanis--in the tens of thousands, at MINIMUM--is really doing anything to make the situation any better.
I also agree that recognizing Bin Laden as a legitimate leader is also problematic.
Unique--why, you skeptic, you. Heh.
I too wonder about the legitimacy of the tape. It certainly occurred to me that it would be a lovely thing for the Bush administration to be able to whip up a little militaristic fervor in folks, right about now.
Did you guys hear about the Google subpoena?
Although I don't believe that a truce is possible, I really dislike the "big stick" posturing of our government.
I don't mind talking in terms of offense and defense, but extermination should not be a rallying call.
I keep coming back to the question, what's the right thing to do? What would we tell out kids to do, if this was in a playground microcosm?
I know what *I'd* do - not advice to my kids - but me, personally.
I'd flip 'em the bird and say, 'You want a piece of me? Come get it.'
But hey, you know I'm like that.
I think if our government would keep their nose out of other countries' problems and concern itself with its own United States, we wouldn't need to answer this tough question. But then we all know that the government can't keep its nose out of anything. Isn't that why there is a subpoena for Google's records?
I have a bumper sticker which sums up my feelings about both these issues. It says: "Sure you can trust the government. Ask any Indian."
Sort of goes along with Cheney's small-minded quote.
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