| Misinterpreting Osama's Message | 2002-12-16 16:36 3 comments |
 by Flemming FunchIn this article on AlterNet, Diane Perlman points out correctly that nobody seemed to pay any attention to what Osama bin Laden actually said in his last few 'official' messages. "While media experts were preoccupied with analyzing Osama bin Laden's voice, they failed to comprehend, or even read, his actual words. Speculation about hidden meanings and secret clues totally ignored the obvious intended message, which is so clear that it doesn't even need decoding.[...]Read the whole article. Of course none of that legitimizes what Bin Laden is doing, but she's right. He says he'll pay back the aggressions, but that he, for example, wouldn't use nuclear weapons first. He is talking about reciprocity. Paying back. Retaliating. Evening the score. But that is not of much comfort, as an immature U.S. government continously supports and carries out plenty of aggressive and oppressive campaigns overseas that he and other terrorists might find ample reason to retaliate against. The escalation could quickly be stopped if the U.S. stopped trying to always get the last word in terms of retaliation, and if it stopped the dangerous planning for preemptive strikes. And, even better, if the U.S. would actually listen, and discover what it is people have been so mad about in the first place. |