Is Osama bin Laden the boogeyman of the 21st century?
543267
Its the American way. We need someone to blame for everything. Its easier to point the blame at one person rather than find fault with the structure of society or anything that can't exactly be punished. Is this fair or right? No. Will it continue? I'm afraid so...
534491
No, I am afraid I do not. Reading body language correctly is an art, but unfortunately it is an art that does not translate well to other cultures. Unless you are completely immersed in Middle Eastern culture, and have had lots of experience studying both men and women from the Middle East, many of your conclusions will, I am afraid, not be valid. I, too, have seen many interviews with him, and I have looked very carefully at his body language. I think your conclusions would be very sound if you were dealing with a man from the United States or Canada, and also possibly from Western Europe, but not for a Saudi living in hiding out in the middle of nowhere, trying to wage war on the Western World.\n\nBody language is an important part of communication, but varies widely with different cultures. One of the great problems that Western intelligence services have encountered in dealing with terrorism in the Middle East is that we don't have enough people who are trained in both the languages and in the cultural customs. Languages can be learned in a classroom, and, to an extent, so can cultural customs. Learning to understand indirect communication, such as body language and gestures, really requires immersion in a living laboratory.\n\nFor what it's worth, I think that Bin Laden is retiring, rather than timid. I take that impression from my own extensive experience with Middle Easterners, from what I have read about him, and from watching interviews with him. I do not believe he is easily scared; I believe that he sincerely believes he is in the right, and that the righteousness of his cause will help him prevail against his great enemy. I also believe that he is incredibly intelligent, and that, frankly, is the part that scares me the most. I think people underestimate him, and underestimating your enemy can have deadly consequences.
666754
He's the bogeyman the Bush Administration uses to keep dim-witted Americans rallying to the anti-Muslim cause. If they capture him they'll lose their best asset (and they ain't got many other assets to rely on)!\n\nOsama may exist as a man (and a bit of nutter) but can anybody out there be sure he's the evil genius the neo-cons make him out to be? Maybe America invented the persona of this monster to justify their total incompetence before, during and after 911. That goes for Al Quaida too. What is it and where is it? Quite possibly it started as a fiction in the mind of some Pentagon propagandist to justify a vicious retaliation against the Muslim World, but then it span out of control as Islamist fundamentalists realised they could adopt this media-friendly name and turn it into the monster now so feared by the US and the West.
362715
As much as we'd like to go along with the conspiracy theory/Jack Bauer/black helicopter stuff, the answer is NO. For starters, there's no reason to hide Osama...finding and capturing him would be the best PR boost for Bush's administration since the capture of Saddam Hussein...who was also rumored to be in protective custody, etc, before he was found. Don't fall for the conspiracy theory stuff. If he was in custody he would be paraded around like a huge trophy for all to see. Guaranteed.
781496
I believe they are behind much of it, yes. Usama Bin Laden made the statement years ago that the US does not have the stomach for this fight. If certain domestic factions have their way, he will be proven right.
532922
Nonsense, Osama bin Laden's intelligence and elloquence has been beefed up by many in the media. Other less biased sources such as the veteran BBC correspondant John Simpson have described him as childish by nature and slightly unstable mentally. There is also no reason to suspect that he is acting on behalf of the US government, his practice is consistant with the general Islamic resurgance in the Arab world.
1092878
Osama bin Laden, aka "Tim Osman", had been a paid CIA asset for years.  What kind of message would we send to our current CIA assets if we busted or killed this guy?  No, let him live out his retirement in peace and continue to serve as the big name bogieman that they can whip out whenever they need to raise the "terror alert" level.\n\nhttp://www.orlingrabbe.com/binladin_timosman.htm\n\nhttp://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Tim+Osman
29348
Probably Osama and his goons.......
916776
I think people gave way too much attention to Osama (which is most likely what he wanted). To answer the question though, I think both are the terrorists, Osama being the obvious one and Bush being the "cleverly hidden" one. I, for one, can't stand Bush or what he has done for this country. I feel since he has been the president he has accomplished little but taken away a lot from us, including family members, rights, and money. He has also made a lot of huge mistakes, ranging from his slow response to hurriance Katrina to his poor judgment on the war in Iraq.
912831
Of course its bullsh!t...the United States government is responsible for 9/11. This video is crap, I don't even think its remotely accurate seeing as how Osama Bin Ladin is a fictitious character. First he's a threat, then Zarqawi is a threat and we forget about Bin Ladin only to come back to fearing him once the war is being critisized by more than just radicals.
887315
Has anyone seen the movie Farenheight 911 by Michael Moore?/\nWhile all our planes were grounded ......Somehow George Bush managed to get all of Osama Bin Ladens  Relatives safely out of the USA without them even being questioned...Hmmmmmmm!!!! \nMakes you think dosent it ?\n*Coughs*..And it had nothing to do with the fact that his dad Goerge Senior was big  "Oil Buddies " With The leader of that country that was visiting at the time ..Coughs* \nYeah ....funny that eh ? millions of people was stranded at airports the whole world over because of 9/11 ...and yet all of Osama's relatives was whisked outta the good ole USA within a couple of days of it happening .....Hmmmmm !!!  I rest my case
663832
Of course OSAMA BIN LADEN. It is not even a question. Bush my be acting like that for political reasons. However, Osama acts like that because he has a blind ugly heart. He does not even have a mind to think. I am not defending Bush but Bush, when he attacked Iraq, was claiming he will free Iraqis from Saddam but Osama, when he is attacking innocents everyday, never gives a reasonable reason.
769276
CATCH OSAMA AND BE DONE WITH IT !!!\n\nBECAUSE HE'S NOTHING BUT A TROUBLE MAKER !!!
51940
First, I think Osama has been dead for a long time.  (Notice that right before the 2004 elections, we "heard" from Osama.  Now when the illegal wiretaps come to light, Osama again.  He is the CIA's new Boogeyman.)  Now ask yourself this question: if it was Clinton lying about WMD, torturing his enemies in secret prisons, spying without warrants, would he have been impeached?
519318
Nobody except Bin Laden and his closest followers know where Bin Laden is hiding. The google earth is not a good enough statelite to view single peoples on earth and go close enough to get a good view of their faces.
553960
George Bush invented Bin Laden. He's the enemy Americans are conditioned to hate. George Orwell understood this State-operated brainwashing - read '1984'.\n\nOsama exists, he's a nutcase extremist, but he's just a man. The Bush Administration created the legend and the very concept of Al Qaeda to focus the gullible American public on the Bush terror-war. This is not a war to wipe out Islamic terrorists. Its a war designed to secure the oil fields of the Middle East before they fall to unfriendly Islamic Governments. But to pull off this expensive, brutal stunt, Bush needed the American people on side - so he invented the bogeyman. Its worked quite well so far.\n\nThus it is unlikely he'll be captured any time soon!
1073599
The reason somebody like Osama Bin Laden hasn't been caught is because he has plenty of supporters and followers in the Mid-East is because they think he is terrific along with their fanatical cause. It has nothing to do with being liberal or conservative.