▪️It’s depressing that this is the state of things, but it’s what happens when moral relativism meets anti-America/West sentiment, both of which are prevalent today. It shouldn’t have to be said, but here’s a breakdown of why Bin Laden’s letter should not give anyone pause let alone praise:
▪️Bin Laden’s repeated uses of “us” and “our lands” is complete collectivism. By “us” he means Muslims, and “our lands” refers to the entire Middle East (and beyond) being a totalitarian Islamic state. His gripe with America is not simply that it uses violence, but that it “prevent[s] our people from establishing the Islamic Shariah.”
▪️This context is dropped by those who claim Bin Laden was simply using terrorism to respond to American aggression. If only America would leave them alone they’d be peaceful. No. Their entire worldview is to establish a totalitarian Islamic state, and views anything impeding that goal to be its enemy. It just so happens that Israel and the US are its greatest impediments.
▪️As with the Palestinians, when they speak of liberation they don’t mean protecting their citizen’s individual rights to property and liberty. They mean it in a collectivist sense, where “our lands” will be “liberated” and ruled by a militant theocracy. Thus, they are not fighting for freedom but brutal oppression.
▪️Which is apparent when you look at any governments they control. Places the Taliban, ISIS, Hamas, etc. had control were/are hellscapes. The notion that if they were simply left alone they would be bastions of peace or freedom is totally absurd.
▪️This makes their already tenuous claim that targeting civilians is justified even more evil. They are targeting civilians IN ORDER TO BRING ABOUT TYRANNY. This is where the moral relativism in trying to equivocate terrorism to Israel/US actions becomes so abhorrent.
▪️It’s similar to the Bolsheviks in Russia. When they came to power they spoke of liberating the workers from the evils of capitalism/western oppression, which greatly appealed to the anti-capitalist left, and why there was such support for the Soviets among intellectuals for decades. When in reality, “liberation” only meant tearing down any semblance of Western values and leaving hell on earth in its place.
▪️Those finding sudden agreement with Bin Laden’s letter should really read it carefully. At the end he says those who fail to meet ALL of his conditions will be at war with the Islamic nation. Only 3 of his 7 demands involve US military/diplomatic involvement. Most of the demands involve embracing Islam and Islamic Law. Short of that, you are their enemy.
▪️This doesn’t mean interventionist escapades like the Iraq War are wise or justified. It means that pretending Islamic terrorism is some sort of reasonable or expected response to American/Israeli aggression is woefully naive. It’s a well thought out ideology that has a specific goal, ignore it at your peril.
Here’s the text of the letter:
https://www.samaa.tv/208734571-osama-bin-laden-letter-to-america-resurfaces-after-21-years-read-here
It’s funny to see the left use the same conspiratorial rhetoric as the right did a year ago regarding the jobs numbers being downwardly revised. So many on the right, who knew nothing of how the jobs numbers are calculated or why they revise them, were convinced the downward revisions were a conspiracy to help Biden win.
If people want to have a debate about the birth death model or the survey methods, ok, but that’s not what’s happening here. Most people are under the delusion that the BLS report is the govt reporting every job created and lost, and are thus easily swayed it’s rigged when it suits their political ends.
This is almost laughingly misleading, as it leaves out everything before the letter.
▪️After being repeatedly lampooned by the Smothers Brothers over Vietnam, Johnson finally had enough. One night at 3 am he called the head of CBS William Paley, demanding that he “get those bastards off my back.”
▪️Paley then asked the heads of CBS entertainment to get them to back off of LBJ. However, instead of backing off the Smothers Brothers doubled down, booking a folk musician performing “Waist Deep,” an anti-war song about a soldier being stuck in the mud while “the big fool says to push on,” clearly a dig at LBJ.
▪️At the last minute, CBS cut the song from the pre-taped show to the outrage of the Smothers. They continued to push the boundaries off and on for the rest of his presidency, with CBS sometimes cutting segments that they thought went too far. Basically, it was a soft form of censorship.
▪️It wasn’t until Johnson made his surprise announcement not to run in 1968 ...
