CNN

Terry of El Paso writes: "Who will propose outlawing the most dangerous drugs in our society (alcohol and tobacco)? Who will propose lower speed limits and safer cars? Who will dare propose stronger gun laws? Who will defy the food and restaurant lobbies by proposing an aggressive anti-overeating campaign that targets the many blubber-laden Americans who will die from diseases that could be prevented by good diet and vigorous exercise?"

Since we are a free country, Terry, and since people are free to choose and free to make their own mistakes without the help of the health police, busybodies, and the Nanny State, I hope no one will.

If we aren't free to choose, we might as well be living in a country based on Islamic law.

The only reaction that should be stirring is about how fake this new video is. clearly not him and yet our government will certainly "confirm" that it is. the neo-cons continue to break out these videos at the right times. and, yes, they have faked it before with old footage.

I wish that CNN would post an article about the Democrats stand on this issue. – frappaolo107

They do... See Richardson's run away article 3 above. This IS the dems security stradgey.

I wish that CNN would post an article about the Democrats stand on this issue. They didn't elaborate on how McCain plans to take down Al Quaeda or Bin Laden for that matter. This issue isn't just a Republican issue, CNN should address the problem from the Democrats side as well.

Pl from the UN can you please tell us why you think Clinton is the best candidate to "harmonize" with the rest of the world?

If you want to beat Al Qaeda, then you have to COMPLETELY withdraw American troops from the Middle East. Then you make them obsolete. That's the only reason they hate us. Because we go into their countries and do what we want without caring.

Remember the great quote "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself"? Todays GOP version "fear everything, vote Republican!"

JOHN – you ARE America's worst nightmare; you should have retired years ago. MITT – spend your money on a worthwhile pursuit; if you really believe in your campaign, why don't you give rather than loan money to it? FRED – stick to acting rather than strategy, you'll do a far better job. I thought you were great in "Hunt for Red October." RUDY – you have nothing going for you other than having been mayor on 9/11.

Democrats... you are no different; every one of you are just more of the same. I vote every in every election and am still waiting to see a candidate who places the needs of Americans FIRST?

Shawnie: Nice try to get Mitt some points. He should get credit for addressing the terrorist issue and not just the Iraq fiasco like the others.

Romney, however, has not gone into any detail, of which I have seen or read, about specifically getting bin Laden himself. Of all the candidates, Senator Obama was the only one to address the Bin Laden issue, until yesterday when everyone tried to jump on the bandwagon.

That won't get Obama my vote, but it seems odd that the Republicans are playing serious catch up on this issue.

Shawnie – Grants Pass, OR writes:

"...Americans are too informed and educated to buy into you consistently bizarre claims."

Nice try. How about some facts instead of self-aggrandizing slogans. "...too..."? You should have continued the list of the "...too..."s ad infinatum since you manifest them. Then perhaps you might have been balanced.

But thanks for the "consistently". I appreciate it.

FAKE,FAKE,FAKE...DOES BUSH THINK WE ARE STUPID? NO MORE CRY WOLF.

I've got no idea where Fred Thompson is coming from at all.

"He certainly had WMDs."
"He was on the cusp of defeating the UN, the free world, and the United States."

WHAT?

Fred Thompson is stupid, a liar, or both.

wecouldbefamous.blogspot.com

Could some Thompson supporter please hook me up with some sort of explanation. Was he drunk? Maybe he didn't understand the question? There has got to be something.

As someone who will cast his Presidential vote with gusto against any of the Republican candidates, please bring Fred Thompson on!

The fear season, a typical Republican tactic to win elections, has begun and will continue throughout early November 2008!

Why haven't you included the Democratic response? They have views that are equally, if not more important than the Republicans', especially because Democrats don't parrot or simply parse faulty
Administration thinking. I'd love to hear something other than bellicose Republican message points. PLEASE be balanced in your reporting, as I believe you usually are. Thank you.

It's really great how CNN chose to publish only Republican reactions to the Bin Laden tape, as though they have a monopoly on national security. These are the same guys that have allowed the Taliban to get back together, caused terrorist recruitment to jump, hurt the US military's ability to respond to threats elsewhere, sacrificed countless American and Iraqi lives, and wasted billions of dollars in taxpayers' money.

But don't worry, everybody. Daddy Bush is here to help. Forget that he slashed national security and anti-terrorism budgets before 9/11. Forget that he suddenly abandoned the hunt for bin Laden to "liberate Iraq," forget that even today we have created a culture where we jump at the mere whisper of bin Laden. The Republicans are still going to protect you.

The level of debate in this country is just sickening. Politicians are partly to blame; the media has even more of an impact. CNN, you can do better.

Am I missing something? Why only report republican reactions to the Bin Laden tape in this posting? Do they own the terrorism issue? I think not. Then again, it's their president who dropped the ball with Bin Laden, so maybe we should expect them to have an opinion on this.

The West just does not understand Islamic principles that are at the foundation of Muslim choices and organized social structures.
- pl. at the UN for a while. :

Your right pl, we just don't understand the principles that make you strap bombs to yourselves to kill women and children. But we do understand your support for Hillary. Her near sighted cut and run ME stradegy would be best for your oppressive social structures huh..

"Saddam Hussein was on the cusp as having defeated the United Nations and the free world and the United States. He had certainly had weapons of mass destruction and had the capability of reviving his nuclear program." – Is this actually serious? I wonder why they never ask for Ron Paul's opinion.

"Saddam Hussein was on the cusp as having defeated the United Nations and the free world and the United States. He had certainly had weapons of mass destruction and had the capability of reviving his nuclear program"

Holy crap, did Thompson miss a memo or something? Even Dumbya has stop saying that.

well, first of all that video is still under the eyes of specialist that it is authentic or not .
then the video clearly shows an attempt to threaten the country ,perhaps the whole world before the 9-11 massacre is remembered again..
If the video is indeed authenticated ..there would be a big question on the iraq war as the main motive f it was to wipe out osama bin laden..
the billions of dollars could have been possibly used for a better purpose..

We must capture Bin Laden, yes. But we are not God, and not capturing doesn't equal incompetence. It is not an easy task.

Whether we capture or kill him or out will be no excuse to neglect other problems.

ThirstyJon
freedomthirst.com

Pretty good post by Bill.

Democrat Obama has been the only candidate to step up to the plate and actually state the obvious...which is going into Pakistan with or without their permission to hunt Bin Laden down.

I agree that Bush is grossly irresponsible for all but ignoring him and launching a completely unrelated war in Iraq to depose Saddam.

McCain may talk tough, but his criticism of Obama makes me believe that he would do no better than Bush and would not be aggressive enough with Pakistan.

I think Mitt Romney's comments could equally apply to the GW Bush regime over the last 8 years. Good riddance.

Once again, when the chips are down for the Republicans, the great PR master Bin Laden comes out of the mysterious caves with his media company and gives them something to talk about and scare us with, but ya know what? More and more of us are waking up to the fact that this is exactly that...a PR move to help out the chicken hawks when times are tough.

Bin Laden is the best friend the Neo Cons pretending to be republicans have during election year.

Oh and isnt it wierd how bin laden hasnt aged a day in 6 years? Meanwhile Mr Bush and Mr Blair are lookin quite old and worn out....

I should have stated, above, my reasons for the pick.

Historical note: 3 periods of history are relevant.
- During the 12th and 13th centuries there were 3 Crusades by the West to take back Palestine. The last Crusade under pope Innocent II never really happened and no further attempts were done;
- Coloneazation by England during the 19th century. The Near East experienced it only as England superimposed its own administration to local ones. No attempt was made to fully take over.
- After independence in the 1940s a period of rapid exploration for oil and infrastructure-building, all done by western firms, at the expense of the host countries, paid through oil revenues followed. Some resentment begun to buildup.
- The advent of telecommunications accompanied by a physical presence of Westerners, transformed the resentment into sheer hatred for Western culture and Smithsonian economics. Opposition and hatred became more pervasive, organized, sophisticated and funded; hence resistance cells such as Al-Qaeda, Hamas and others.

That is the state of affairs now. I can see only one candidate who has the capacity to harmonize relations. And that is the one I named in my earlier posting.

Is Thompson even paying attention to what he says? "Saddam Hussein was on the cusp as having defeated the United Nations and the free world and the United States" – none of that is remotely true. Hussein's Iraq was so weakened by his successive failures against Iran and Kuwait, followed by a decade of crippling sanctions, that he was no threat to anyone outside of Iraq.
Grandpa Thompson really doesn't seem to engage his brain before opening his mouth, does he?

thompson must have gotten confused and thought he was playing george bush on a made for tv movie. mccain well he sounds insane now im not sure what happened to him i think george bush must have driven him to the brink of insanity through the 2000 race until now.

Bill,
Romney didn't claim Bin Laden is just a symbol. Nice try. Of all the candidates, Romney campaigns the most about radical Islamic threats.

PL from UN,

Americans are too informed and educated to buy into you consistently bizarre claims.

Islamic terrorists are, by our standards, worthless human beings. They only make the world worse for non-Muslims, for decent Muslims, for their own children, and for future generations. Our politicians compete with each other to appear "tough on terrorism" just as they tried to look "tough on Communism" 25 years ago. Their rhetoric makes us feel that terrorism is our primary problem in the world. I admit that terrorists have killed between 5000 and 10000 Americans during this century (approximately 3000 on 9-11, 4000 in Iraq, 350 in Afghanistan, and numerous civilian casualties). This is obviously undesirable and something must be done to prevent future deaths at the hand of Muslim terrorists.

However, during a year in America:
40,000 die in auto accidents;
550,000 die from legal drugs (alcohol, tobacco, prescription drugs, nonprescription medication);
110,000 die in traffic or in gun acciidents;
50,000 die from homicide or suicide; and 17,000 die from illegal drug use.

Terrorism is a great way to whip up the emotions of the voting public and to ring up contributions. However, the gutless leadership in both parties will not raise these more serious issues because the voters will not stand for it.

Who will propose outlawing the most dangerous drugs in our society (alcohol and tobacco)? Who will propose lower speed limits and safer cars? Who will dare propose stronger gun laws? Who will defy the food and restaurant lobbies by proposing an aggressive anti-overeating campaign that targets the many blubber-laden Americans who will die from diseases that could be prevented by good diet and vigorous exercise?

Our politicians are pandering to us and humoring us, fellow suckers. They only want those cool jobs with the big pay, big benefits, immense social status, endless applause, and no minimum standards of performance.

The issue of terrorism is an important one, but it is not even close to the top of the list.

Fred Thompson is retarded. He is a waste of our time...Kick him out now.

I am not American. I cannot vote. I am not Muslim.

It is a facet of the western world that runs deep. The West just does not understand Islamic principles that are at the foundation of Muslim choices and organized social structures. The path that should be followed is peace through consensus building. Compromise.

Among all the candidates–from the left or from the right makes no difference to me–the one that is by far the better equipped one is Ms Rodham Clinton.

"Saddam Hussein was on the cusp as having defeated the United Nations and the free world and the United States. He had certainly had weapons of mass destruction and had the capability of reviving his nuclear program"

Fred sounds just like Bush and Cheney when they got us into the mess that is now Iraq. Get off the personal hatred of on man be it Saddam or Bin Ladin and lets get back to worrying about the real problems in America before there is nothing left to defend.

What is so pathetic about Bush and the GOP is that they think Americans are stupid about 9/11."We are here in Iraq because 9/11" says Bush and all his kings men(the GOP Presidential Candidates). The Neo-Cons keep saying people who don't support the Iraq War forgot about 9/11.
No, you stupid people! You forgot about 9/11, and this video by Bin Laden proves to the world that G W Bush and the Conservatives have no clue how to fight the war on terror. Bin Laden,from Saudi Arabia, got 19 Hijackers to slam three Airplanes out of four in buildings in New York City, and Virginia. Out of the 19 hijackers, not one of them were Iraqi, in fact most were from Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia? You mean the country that Bush is going to arm and fund?You mean the country that most of the foreign insurgents in Iraq that are fight us come from? Yes, that is the one.
Mr. President 90% of America was behind you after 9/11. We trusted that you had the wisdom to guide America to safety. We listened to your words, we trusted you. But in the end you tried to con us, made America look stupid in front of our allies, and the world.
All you Neo-Cons blame Clinton For not getting Bin Laden, well how is that War on Terror going now for you? I see that Bin Laden is still alive after 6 years of pursuit . Maybe if Bush would have concentrated on getting Bin Laden, instead of invading a country that DID NOTHING TO AMERICA ON 9/11, this video that came out would have never had happen.
The sad thing is, Bush knows where Bin Laden is right now, but he is afraid to go get him. Bush is afraid of Pakistan? Thats right, Pakistan(who is hosting most of the Taliban who are attacking US forces in Afghanistan) has WMD's Bush does not want to go after countries that actually have WMD
Most Americans don't need a history lesson on 9/11. It is the Republicans who need a history lesson about 9/11. The fact is that Iraq War has nothing to do with Bin Laden, Bush made it a excuse for him to go after Saddam Hussein for trying to kill his Daddy(which Clinton stopped) Most of Americans are against the War in Iraq because it was a wrong serious move made by G W Bush that cost innocent lives. Those brave American troops who s lives were cut down because they were commanded by a lunatic. Americans deserve better than what we got from Bush. America gave him our trust, Iraq was his reward to America, and Bin Laden is still Alive . Nice Job Mr. President

Any one of these guys would be a nightmare for OUR country!

Holy crap, Thompson and Romney can't be that ignorant. Bin Laden is responsible for murdering 3,000 people in the U.S. and now he's just a symbol!

I am a Republican and I firmly believe that Bush is criminally stupid for relegating Bin Laden to secondary status. So far only Obama, Giuliani and McCain seem to have a clue of the right way to proceed.

To restore any kind of credibility and respect for the U.S. in the world, we MUST capture Bin Laden alive and put him on trial. Killing him would just make him a martyr.

We need to show the world that we are focused and relentless if we are to repair the damage the Iraq sideshow has done to what is left of our country's honor. Look at the Russians, it only took them a little over a year to get the leader of the plot that killed all those school children.

It has been almost six years since 9/11. Bush and his supporters have got zip to show for it. It is time we got some people in charge who can do the job he can't.

So OBL really believes that Allah's law is "an eye for an eye, tooth for tooth, the killer be killed?" That certainly fits the Old Testament all right. And I, for one, have no objection to Allah's applying that law to one who is not above the law, which would be, of course, OBL. He is also correct in stating that the events of 9/11 altered American history, but then so did Adolph Hitler, Tojo's attack at Pearl Harbor, the ovens of Europe's Jew haters, etc. We took care of business there; we'll take care of business again. I'm hardly impressed by Gary Cooper's hiding out in a closet at High Noon. All the bullies and braggarts and rapists and killers say the same thing don't they? Give me what I want or I'll kill you! I have a better idea, OBL, you accept Jesus Christ as your personal savior and the whole world will profit for all time to come.

Thompson says there are WMDs in Iraq?Iraq defeated the UN and the US in what? Thompson sounds like a real looney.Are there still enough loonies like that to get elected?

UBL is looking rough! Here's a funny question I saw today at http://www.pollicious.com for "Why did Osama bin Laden change his look?" a)Fashion Week b)To get the ladies c)Appear more American

In related news, when pressed for comment on the Bin Laden video, Democratic presidential contender John Edwards said, "Oh, are people trying to kill us?"

Well, Romney and Thompson just showed their complete ignorance of world affairs.

What is worse; being governed by those who would want to force a return to an eighth century civilization; or as we are now, controlled by playmates that don’t care about the state of civilization at all?

What would a Chuck Norris character do? First attempt to Capture Bin Laden and grant him a trial; killing him only if he produces a gun in hand with intent.

Bin Laden is a symbol, but how that symbol will be treated reflects back upon us.

I notice that your story somehow omits the criticism of Democrats by Mr. Bin Laden.

His rant sounded very much like the many speeches heard from the likes of Pelosi, Reed, Durbin, Clinton etc.

And you call yourself a news organization?

Haa...

Off of McCain’s remark:

I thought that Al Qaeda’s greatest nightmare was being placed under the tyranny of those who wield the ultimate power: The Supermodel.

J McCain – all wind – no substance! Blowing in the breeze john – go home and relax, your done!

All these kick ass Republicans spouting off scare me worse than Ozzie Osborne biting off a bat's head. I'm sure Bin Laden's shaking in his cave too after hearing those threats. He's probably ready to convert to Christianity compared to barbaric Islam after such measured responses.

Osama is endorsing the democrats too...

Republicans have a tendency to grossly over-exaggerate the terrorist threat in some ways and just completely misconstrue it in others. First they say that al-Qaeda is a threat to our entire way of life and existence, but then they still say that it's not as important to take out bin Laden as it is to "win" the war in Iraq.

They seem paranoid and foolish. We beat George III, survived the Civil War, defeated Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, and we outlasted the Soviet Empire. I think we can handle Osama bin Laden. The real threat to our nation is the corruption arising from within.

Thank you CNN for reminding me that the media will do everything it can to uphold the myth that only the republicans can spew hyperbole about terrorists. It is nice to see that Thompson is only slightly more coherent than Bush, he's gotta be a front-runner now. I'm sure he'll lead us to victory and take out bin Laden "a symbolism" and insights about how Saddam "was on the cusp as having" completely defeated every good person on the planet really makes me thrilled that he's probably going to be the Republican nominee.

McCain "used to be" a highly respected person, notice I didn't say Republican, that many Americans of both parties would have voted for. But, that is past history. He has changed into this arrogant, beligerant, meglomaniacal, self-centered person that only his wife and immediate family will vote for.
He has his time and chance years ago but he blew it.
Now it is time for him to way away before he looks more of a fool than he already does.