I don't believe him

Osama bin Laden has fooled the right. His speech was on the surface anti-Bush, and the simpletons at the National Review lapped it up.

What does bin Laden want? He wants, above all else, to rid the Arab world of monarchies and secular governments. He wants a pan-Arab, Muslim theocracy. To get there, he gets us to do the heavy lifting. We invade, destabilize the region, then they chip away like they did in Afghanistan until they win. He likes having Bush around because it accelerates the process.

He also knows that his image, to Americans, stirs up the kind of hatred that makes us want to kick some ass. In other words, elect Bush. His echoing of the American left is an attempt to elicit the same reaction.

Could he possibly have any reason for wanting Bush out? Things are going so well for him. Granted, he did lose Afghanistan, but that would have happened after 9/11 if a monkey was president. He has Iraq in chaos, with secular Saddam out of the picture. He's got thousands of young men learning the art of war, as he did in Afghanistan. He's got the free world divided, a stark change from the post-9/11 unity and cooperation in the war against terrorists. He also seems to be eating well and getting good medical care. He sure doesn't look like a desperate fugitive.

Anyone who takes what this guy says at face value is a damn fool.