December 21, 2004
AND THAT'S BEFORE THE ROOF CAVED IN:
Bashir, Osama 'in cave meeting' (Sian Powell, December 22, 2004, The Australian)
EXTREMIST cleric Abu Bakar Bashir told a key Jemaah Islamiah operative that he had visited Osama bin Laden in his cave hideout in Afghanistan, a Jakarta court heard yesterday.In the first evidence of a direct link between the two men, the key prosecution witness, Nasir Abbas, told the court he had been with Bashir at a passing-out ceremony at a JI training camp in the southern Philippines, an event that is a central plank in the prosecution's case against Bashir. Abbas said he complained to Bashir about living conditions in the camp, where Bashir was visiting for 2-3 days to witness the graduation of 17 operatives at a camp in Mindanao.
Bashir was not sympathetic. "He told me that on his trip to Afghanistan he met with Osama bin Laden," Abbas said, and then quoted Bashir saying: "We should be thankful because they live in a cave with minimal facilities and we are more comfortable."
No wonder recruiting has gone to Hades. Posted by Orrin Judd at December 21, 2004 5:10 PM
Do you seriously believe that Osama has a working dialysis machine in a cave somewhere in East Trashcanistan?
In a macabre culture that prizes martyrdom in the cause of murdering others, rather than creating something positive, this kind of 'self-sacrifice' is popular. My guess is that if this Abou Ben Boo-Boo character met Osama, it was at Taillevent or some other 3-star restaurant in Paris and that they got around to discussing martyrdom after they finished off the cheese tray but before they had the Sauterne.
Posted by: Bart at December 22, 2004 6:42 AMNo. He's dead.
Posted by: oj at December 22, 2004 8:12 AM