Is Bush keeping Osama alive for political purposes? (Iraq, Afghanistan, weapons)

[wehotex]

Why hasn't the Bush administration caught this man yet? Osama always makes appearances around election time with a purpose to remind Americans that there are terrorists, lest we get into a comfort zone and isolate ourselves from the terrorists. Could the Administration be keeping him around as propaganda to steer and scare the sheeple into voting republican?

[citigirl]

Who knows but with the Democrats in total denial that there are any terrorist, maybe it's a good idea.

[mhouse2001]

Claiming the Democrats are denying there's terrorists is completely off-base. I don't support either party, but, c'mon, get real. I saw Boxer this morning saying things that were surprisingly Bush-like on terrorism, rather disheartening. I don't support the idea that fighting terrorism means we have to commit more of it. That some Democrats oppose this insanity provides a least a little hope.

But if the government can track your cellphone call and locate your whereabouts at any given moment, zero in on your home computer and review your internet browsing, spot your car license from a satellite, get your bank accounts and see where you shop, etc.. Why on Earth does anyone believe that Osama is anything other than a fabrication? They can certainly find the Al Qaeda computer servers, can't they? I think Al Qaeda would be nearby, don't you?

There's several websites comparing the latest video to previous ones and they're pretty convincing in concluding that it's not him. No Muslim would dye his hair. His eyebrows are in the wrong place and his nose is definitely bigger. It's not Osama, in my opinion. He's the boogey man propped up to scare us into submission. I have the video from the news shortly after 9/11 where he is said to have expressed surprise at the attacks on 9/11. How did that FACT reported on several major media sources disappear into thin air...so much so that when this latest video came out last week, the NBC anchorman introduced him as "the 9/11 mastermind"? How short Americans' attention spans are!

With all that snooping ability, our multi-trillion dollar government can't find ONE guy? Isn't there a Brooklyn Bridge somewhere for sale?

[TexasNick]

The government can't even find Steve Fossett...a man worth more than Bin Laden, in the deserts of Nevada, a region hundreds of times smaller than Pakistan or Afghanistan.

[Visvaldis]

Originally Posted by wehotex

Why hasn't the Bush administration caught this man yet? Osama always makes appearances around election time with a purpose to remind Americans that there are terrorists, lest we get into a comfort zone and isolate ourselves from the terrorists. Could the Administration be keeping him around as propaganda to steer and scare the sheeple into voting republican?

How convenient that Osama pops up as the elections draw closer. I'll bet we'll be hearing more about terrorism in the second half of next year.
Osama has much more value being on the loose than if he was captured. His tapes and videos do wonders to inject more paranoia, and give more credibility to the Right. Who knows what horrific events we'll see in the media as the elections nears. One can only guess, unless one can read the mind of Cheney.

[TexasNick]

Originally Posted by Visvaldis

How convenient that Osama pops up as the elections draw closer. I'll bet we'll be hearing more about terrorism in the second half of next year.
Osama has much more value being on the loose than if he was captured. His tapes and videos do wonders to inject more paranoia, and give more credibility to the Right. Who knows what horrific events we'll see in the media as the elections nears. One can only guess, unless one can read the mind of Cheney.

[Berkshires413]

Originally Posted by TexasNick

Of course you have no idea what he is talking about.

[TheHarvester]

I don't see why this is such a big conspiracy to so many people.

Osama managed to escape the invasion of Afghanistan and most likely is hiding in Pakistan. We cannot invade Pakistan because that's one of the world's largest nations, they have nuclear weapons, and they have a huge Islamist population that would love to get rid of Musharref and replace him with a religious fanatic who would be more inclined to go to war against the USA.

Given the above equation, isn't it reasonable to assume that Osama has found safe haven in the best place he could have possibly chosen, simply because he is smart and planned ahead? Dude is smart. Like him or not, he's smart. He knew where to go. He knew about the consequences of 9/11. And we can't just go smoke him out of Pakistan without upsetting the global balance of power.

Aside from all the above, why is Bin Laden so important? He's merely a symbol. If he were killed or arrested, he'd become a martyr for the cause. It's not like he's orchestrating every bad thing that happens on the planet, he's just a guy who had some good leadership and strategic thinking skills. Take him out and it will only be a hollow symbolic "victory" for the USA. He's not as important as we make him. In fact, the attention we give to him is his primary source of importance. We're just feeding the troll by paying attention to his sorry aaasssss.

[Visvaldis]

Osama is useful in that he provides a face for terrorism. If Osama was caught it would severely deflate the neo-cons war on terror. That could provoke the American people to express a stronger voice about leaving Iraq, and maybe even repeal the Patriot Act. Things like that would surely be considered as a disaster for the current administration.

[TheHarvester]

Originally Posted by Visvaldis

Osama is useful in that he provides a face for terrorism. If Osama was caught it would severely deflate the neo-cons war on terror. That could provoke the American people to express a stronger voice about leaving Iraq, and maybe even repeal the Patriot Act. Things like that would surely be considered as a disaster for the current administration.

All good points. But even if none of that were true, there is ample reason to believe that Osama could have escaped into that nether world on the western fringes of Pakistan. And there's really not much anyone can do about that without risking disaster. He's not worth that risk.

But having said all that, I don't deny the validity of your comments. Even mass media get a boost out of having Osama around. He's good for fear-mongering, ratings, suppressing the American people, rallying around whatever war our gov't decides to engage in --- he's an all-purpose bogeyman!