Bin Laden Thugs Out

Another year, another bin Laden tape, another set of people wondering why this guy is still at large eight years after 9-11. Here's a translation, showing that the Al Qaeda leader is relying far more heavily on anti-Israel rhetoric, the Muslim extremist go-to, than ever before. This was not the case in prior bin Laden messages, and reflects not a little desperation on his part, suggesting that his other targets for demonization - America, godless Western culture, etc. - do not have the same traction. If Barack Obama manages to wage peace in the Middle East, bin Laden will see his rhetorical supply lines cut off almost completely. It's also interesting that he cannot take on Obama directly, but argues that he is captive to "pressure groups," probably because Obama is too popular in the Muslim world to attack to that degree.

Have we yet seen a conservative argue that bin Laden's takes on Jimmy Carter's statements about apartheid in Palestine, Mearshimer and Walt's The Israel Lobby, antiwar generals, and corporate and neoconservative control of the White House means that he's a closet liberal and presenting a Michael Moore position paper? Are they still taking a pathological extremist's word's literally?

Meanwhile, the best response to this has been Spencer Ackerman's auto-tuning. Because mockery makes sense, in this case. Death of bin Ladotune, moment of silence.