THE CIA FINALLY GETS ONE RIGHT:

Bin Laden Fights to Stay Relevant (ROBERT BAER, 9/07/07, TIME)

One conclusion to draw from the new Osama bin Laden video tape is that the mastermind of 9/11 apparently is worrying about his relevance these days.

And judging by the transcript, he has good reason to worry about it. Among other things, bin Laden maunders about corporations causing global warming and the Democrats failing to get the U.S. out of Iraq. Speculation is already rife that he is wearing a fake beard, since his grey of a few years ago has mysteriously disappeared. It seems he's either lost his mind, or is the victim of a covert action campaign.

The new tape aside, it's hard to imagine that bin Laden is happy about what he's wrought in the last six years since 9/11.

As if the guy they have playing him didn't look ridiculous enough, having him read the NY Times editorial page was real genius.

MORE:
Leading militant in split with Islamists : Rethink leads Briton to break with group Blair wanted to ban after 7 July (Peter Beaumont, September 9, 2007, Observer)

The departure of Nawaz, whose reasons for quitting have been posted on Hizb ut-Tahrir's British website, has already inspired a furious debate within the group. Although he left two months ago, he has only now made his decision public, and will be interviewed later this week on BBC2's Newsnight programme.

According to Nawaz, who joined the movement when he was 16, he reconsidered his membership during his imprisonment. Insisting he had not abandoned his opposition to the conduct of Arab leaderships or his opposition to the Iraq war, he added that he could no longer agree with its thinking.

Nawaz's defection is a major blow to the movement. Despite being only 29, he was recognised globally for his work in founding new groups abroad.

Equally important is likely to be his reason for leaving Hizb ut-Tahrir, a closely argued rejection based on a revisiting of the key legal argument that has been deployed by Islamists - including al-Qaeda - that Arab governments operating under non-Islamic (kufr) law should be removed.

Posted by Orrin Judd at September 8, 2007 5:08 PM