You know, when you consider that Bin Laden was "our man" in Afghanistan during the war with the Soviets, that there was a report that he met with a CIA agent in Dubai in July 2001 (the source was apparently the French intelligence service, and I will not presume to judge its veracity), and that he managed to avoid capture or assassination during the Afghan campaign, it wouldn't surprise me at all if he and people in our government were scratching each other's back, at least in some ways. It would not be the first time that one of our Evil Enemies was on our payroll.

I appreciate the correction from Wolfgang--and when you come to think of it, the idea that Osama may have some ties to the CIA makes it even more reasonable that the tape really did come from him and not the U.S. Government. I say that because I disagree with Wolfgang on one important point. He wondered how anybody listening to or reading the transcript of this tape could think that it makes war more probable.   That's probably because, being the kindhearted and respectful person that he is (I mean that sincerely), he seriously overestimates the intelligence and analytical skills of the American populace. Most Americans have been conditioned to think in "sound bites" -- brief phrases which, when repeated by politicians and news anchors and the words that crawl across the bottom of the screen on CNN, make them think they "understand" the issues "in a nutshell." Given that orientation, the entire text of the "Bin Laden" tape boils down to one sentence: If it's real, then "the charge that Saddam is in league with Osama would be proven." (I'm quoting one of the posts above.) It doesn't matter that a simple reading of the text belies that notion. That is what the President has told the American people they should think about this: Iraq = al Qaeda = terrorism. Period. End of discussion. That is supposed to nullify all those silly liberal objections--and, he hopes, those annoying French and German and Russian objections--to the war. And that is why, in my opinion, this tape does make the war more likely--or at least, it was intended to do so. And why it was probably in both Bin Laden's and Bush's interest that it was released.

OK, I'll go back to my ukulele now.

Aloha,
Mark