Bin Ladin's message threatened "red" states

[TitanTiger 20,518]

MONSTER'S DEADLY WARNING TO 'RED' STATES

By NILES LATHEM

November 1, 2004 --  WASHINGTON - Osama bin Laden warned in his October Surprise video that he will be closely monitoring the state-by-state election returns in tomorrow's presidential race — and will spare any state that votes against President Bush from being attacked, according to a new analysis of his statement.

The respected Middle East Media Research Institute, which monitors and translates Arabic media and Internet sites, said initial translations of a key portion of bin Laden's video rant to the American people Friday night missed an ostentatious bid by the Saudi-born terror master to divide American voters and tilt the election towards Democratic challenger John Kerry.

MEMRI said radical Islamist commentators monitored over the Internet this past weekend also interpreted the key passage of bin Laden's diatribe to mean that any U.S. state that votes to elect Bush on Tuesday will be considered an "enemy" and any state that votes for Kerry has "chosen to make peace with us."

The statement in question is when bin Laden said on the tape: "Your security is up to you, and any state that does not toy with our security automatically guarantees its own security."

That sentence followed a lengthy passage in the video in which bin Laden launches personal attacks on the president.

Yigal Carmon, president of MEMRI, said bin Laden used the Arabic term "ay-wilaya" to refer to a "state" in that sentence.

That term "specifically refers to an American state, like Tennessee," Carmon said, adding that if bin Laden were referring to a "country" he would have used the Arabic word "dawla."

MEMRI also translated an analysis of bin Laden's statement from the Islamist Web site al-Qal'a, well known for posting al-Qaeda messages, which agreed that bin Laden's use of the word "ay-wilaya" was meant as a "warning to every U.S state separately."

"It means that any U.S. state that will choose to vote for the white thug Bush as president, it means that it chose to fight us and we will consider it an enemy to us, and any state that will vote against Bush, it means that it chose to make peace with us and we will not characterize it as an enemy," the Web site said, according to MEMRI's translation.

http://www.nypost.com/news/nationalnews/33124.htm

Not sure how accurate this translation is. My Arabic is a tad rusty. Anyone else heard this?

[Tigermike 3,057]

Thanks for the info Titan. I would say that whatever veiled threats the terrorist murders wish to send, there are plenty of Americans who would refuse to cower to them. Not all of us are appeasers.

Here is a review of a very interesting book I just finished reading.

The Scots-Irish: how America's "invisible" ethnic group profoundly influenced our nation's history, culture, and politics From former Naval Secretary James Webb   

 

The Scots-Irish are all around you, though you probably don't know it. Numbering more than 27 million Americans, they don't go for group-identity politics; many are even unaware of (or simply don't care about) their ethnic label. As a result, their profound impact on America both past and present remains little known. Now, Vietnam veteran and former Naval Secretary James Webb (a Scots-Irish American himself) presents the first comprehensive history of the Scots-Irish in America, chronicling the full journey of this remarkable cultural group -- and the profound, but unrecognized, role it has played in the shaping of America.

Beginning with the history of Scotland and the Scots-Irish patron saint William Wallace ("Braveheart"), Born Fighting reveals that the Scots-Irish were 40 percent of the Revolutionary War army; they have given America numerous great military leaders, including Stonewall Jackson, Ulysses S. Grant, Audie Murphy, and George S. Patton; they included the pioneers Daniel Boone, Lewis and Clark, Davy Crockett, and Sam Houston; they gave us the writers Edgar Allan Poe and Mark Twain; they redefined American politics, creating the populist movement and giving the country a dozen presidents, including Andrew Jackson, Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Ronald Reagan. And it explores how the Scots-Irish culture of isolation, hard luck, stubbornness, and mistrust of the nation's elite formed and still dominates blue collar America, the military services, the Bible Belt, and country music.

Born Fighting also reveals:

How the seeds of American-style democracy were sown by the Scots during the Protestant Reformation, when they merged populism with Calvinist fundamentalism through democratic elections in the Scottish Kirk

How, beginning with the presidency of Andrew Jackson, Scots-Irish notions of "bottom up" populism came to define much of American politics. (At least a dozen presidents have roots in this culture)

How the Scots-Irish culture's long history of soldiering, with its unique concept of "Celtic kinship," defined American-style military leadership and traditions

How the hyper-individualistic Scots-Irish culture weighed heavily in the formation of America's strongly independent blue collar mentality

How Scots-Irish culture dominates the evangelical Christian movement, country music, NASCAR racing, much of the military, and a good part of the American political process

"BRILLIANT . . . ENGROSSING" -- TOM WOLFE"Born Fighting is a bombshell -- or else the most brilliant battle flare ever launched by a book. James Webb reveals the all-but-invisible ethnic group that has created the core beliefs of democracy American-style: our rights come from God, not the Government; all of us are born equal, and "born aristocrats" don't exist; and tread on either of those two truths, and we'll fight you down to the last unbroken hyoid bone. The Scots-Irish, for such is their name, have fought all our wars for us, including Vietnam. James Webb was there, and he can count. He has written not only an engrossing story but also an important work of sociological history in the tradition of the great James Graham Leyburn." -- TOM WOLFE

"James Webb, a legendary fighting man, tells a remarkable story -- how the Scots-Irish and their fighting faith in America shaped the great nation we are today. His profound insights deepen our understanding not only of this unique people, but also of America's past and present. " -- SEN. JOHN MCCAIN

"James Webb writes like Scots-Irish warriors take to the battlefield -- with power and purpose, with courage and clarity. Born Fighting delights and inspires; in reading it I learned more about my nation, my family, and myself. James Webb is a Warrior-Poet, and he has written an extraordinary book." -- RANDALL WALLACE (screenwriter of Braveheart)

http://www.thbookservice.com/BookPage.asp?prod_cd=c6547

[TitanTiger 20,518]

We Scotch-Irish are an ornery bunch:

[CCTAU 3,350]

All bin laden is doing is making sure that we nice, non-profiling southern boys keep our eyes open for any suspicious Middle East types. In this way, you can tell he cares nothing whatsoever about Islam or other Arabs, only his own little delusion of granduer.

MOD NOTE: Let's not use offensive slang terms for certain ethnic groups. As mild as this one was, it's still unnecessary.