Obama Administration: OBL Finds President Obama and His Outreach to Muslim World ‘Very Threatening’

“This president and his outreach are very threatening to bin Laden and al Qaeda,” said a senior administration official. “It’s terribly bad news to bin Laden and al Qaeda. They’re beginning to lose the propaganda war.”
Another official listed policies that the President opposes — torture, Guantanamo Bay — and said “a lot of their tried and true recruiting tricks have been taken off the table.”
Oh… my… goodness. Is this a joke? This administration official cannot be serious. Working in the field of terrorism and information for the last 6 years, this is most arrogant, emptied headed comment I have ever seen.
First off, the President and his outreach is about as threatening as a nasty letter to the U.N. Bin Laden has been isolated in the corners of Muslim society since 911, that didn’t somehow get worse. Second, AQ was obliterated in Iraq and did more to damage their network than any “outreach” could have done. Third, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Jordan have demonstrated their comittment to countering terrorism and AQ for years now. The President going around shaking hands and talking isn’t going to do squat.
The propaganda war that AQ rages on the internet with videos is directed at THE WEST. Their recruiting happens in mosques and madrassas in communities that don’t even have TV’s! Thier propaganda war is largely waged by word of mouth and religious leaders. Their recruiting techniques NEVER employed GITMO, that is a FALACY. Their recruiting handbooks have been apprehended from captured AQ members. No where in there is GITMO a recruiting tool, they use and twist the QARAN! They use GITMO to target OUR ALLIES information networks cause they care about it, muslims give 2 cents as their own governments cut off hands if they steal bread.
The arrogance and idiocy that comes out of this administration official should be pressed. Ask an expert, not an administration official living in lah lah land.

Sorry KR,
But I believe it. Osama bin Laden is VERY scared about the prospects of losing the ABILITY, irregardless of HOW they recruit, of actually recruiting members. This is going to be very interesting.

“But I believe it. Osama bin Laden is VERY scared about the prospects of losing the ABILITY, irregardless of HOW they recruit, of actually recruiting members.”
Ok you don’t seem to understand so I’ll explain. AQ has always used their cause as a religious cause, a call to arms by God to punish those who have strayed. This has been the basis for their recruitment since day one. They appeal to those frustrated “western meddling”. As a counterpoint to the above, OBL has on many occasions ridiculed Muslim governments for having ANY relationship with the west, proclaiming that the west is corrupting muslim governments and that the calephate must be reborn. This view, of corruption of the west within muslim governments, resonates well with who is he recruiting. The King of Saud, Jordan, and Iraq are all seen as puppet governments of the west. This outside influence on their governments is a lynch pin of OBL and AQ’s foundation against us. AQ doesn’t only attack the US, or the west, they attack foreign governments demonstrated in Jordan where there was an attempt on the Kings life by AQ.
So his reaching out actually reinforces OBL from that standpoint. While it will certainly appeal to the governments of those countries, AQ’s fundamental attack is reinforced, possibly even emboldened. Its a bit of a catch 22 for the US and the governments there. T
The hard liners who are the risk takers, the ones who join the ranks of AQ, share this view of western corruption, I would wager would only increase from outreach. It could effectively be argued that this outreach could be counter-productive if the goal is terror and recruiting.
For instance, the Saud government has taken extrodinary steps in the past 4 years against AQ and other terror groups in Saud. But they have done this without much public highlights precisely because it could be seen as US initiatives within Saud, and giving credibility to the claims of these groups, swelling their recruitment base.
Point being, for an administration official to make such simpe outlandish claims like the above, against a hugely complex situation, is arrogant beyond words. It even borders irresponsible.

“McCain says he’ll follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell, but he won’t even follow him to the cave where he lives.”
Senator Barack Obama (Sept. 2008)
BHO – It’s now your move…
@ KR – Thank you for your informed commentary. I agree – “for an administration official to make such simple outlandish claims like the above, against a hugely complex situation, is arrogant beyond words. It even borders irresponsible.”
But do we expect anything different from this “hopenchange” adminstration?

Didnt Mccain say during the Campaign He knew how to Get Bin Laden? He knows how to Find him. Well Senator Mccain I say you tell our Miltary and President Now with this new threat what are you waiting for Sen Mccain?

“An immensely popular world figure who is following through on his word to try and mend relations, or a brutally violent religious fanatic living in a hole in the ground in the mountains somewhere? ”
That religious fanatic living in a hole in the ground in the mountains somewhere is a muslim. That immensely popular world figure is a proclaimed Christian. It ends there with them. In muslim culture, your devotion is to God, family, and fellow muslims first, even if you hate him.
“They’re already starting to warm up to Obama and by releasing these video tapes it looks like the bad guys just flinched. They ARE nervous and have good reason to be.”
They always release videos with major events. This isn’t some new novel tactic by OBL, giving some indication to a fantasy belief he is scared. You are looking through our own intrensic western lenses of what we believe to be of value and progress, this isn’t the same in their culture or their belief system.
But don’t get me wrong, better relationships with the governments over there is a good thing. Getting them to continue to conduct counter terror operations inside their country should be his priority for these meetings because that equals real impact. Somehow extrapolating a speech as causing fear in OBL or impacting recruitment is obsurd. Closer ties with the West, as pointed out below, reinforces his position against us. Obama represents the United States, a powerful Christian nation. Christians in Muslim countries are heavily descriminated against. That is what they see, not some pop star, thats what the west sees, they see a Christian shaking hands with their muslim leaders. How this will somehow scare OBL is ludicrous.
The last thing any muslim is going to say is, “hey, because of Obama I’m against these terror guys”. BS, muslims will not turn on muslims because they admire some popular Christian. Its lunacy.

“If you read the comments attached to the article with the Drudge link you get the definite impression that most right-wingers in this country think that Obama is a Muslim, so maybe they do too!”
Why do you think he sees benefit in playing up that relationship with Islam in his past? Because at least someone outside this dolt of an administration official knows that words from a Christian in the muslim world has about as much pull as a Prius hooked up to a tractor truck trailor.
And we get to the crutch of the problem. No representative of the west (even Obama) is going to carry influence over muslim populations. Its why ending terrorism in muslim culture relys on muslims, not us. The biggest mistake, that tarnishes AQ more than anything else is not the words of western leaders, its the blood of muslims that are on the hands of AQ. That is what has turned the muslim public opinion against AQ over the years.
Its been muslims speaking out against AQ killing muslims.
Now read that carefully. They don’t care if they blow the hell out of us, only muslims. That has not changed and will not change.
I don’t really have anything more to add to this. If people choose to believe in their dream world then so be it. I guess it will equal votes in the future, believing in some fairy tale.

“Didnt Mccain say during the Campaign He knew how to Get Bin Laden? He knows how to Find him. Well Senator Mccain I say you tell our Miltary and President Now with this new threat what are you waiting for Sen Mccain?”
It’s Barack’s show now. He won.

“You don’t think Obama is hunting OBL? Really? Because that’s the main reason we are stepping things up in Pakistan…”
Yeah? I’d be interested in your position on waterboarding…

If a nice speech in Cairo is the thing that finally makes the “Muslim World” believe we are reaching out to them, I will be greatly dismayed.
We’ve had more soldiers die and expended more military treasure defending and protecting muslim people than for any other purpose. From Bush 41 to Clinton to Bush 43, we’ve sacrificed for Muslims.
We’ve given enormous amounts of aid to Muslim countries, from Egypt to Palestine to Pakistan, and onward.
We helped Iran deal with the aftermath of the Bam earthquake, we helped Indonesia deal with the aftermath of the tsunami. For all of the controversy, we rid Iraq of a murderous despot and we stuck around long enough to get AlQaeda out of there after they rushed in to kill more Muslims.
We are currently trying to get the Taliban out of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
We’ve given enormous amounts of aid to muslims in Africa.
So none of that is enough, but a speech is going to be the amazing proof of goodwill?
I hope our own President doesn’t buy that. I hope he realizes what we’ve done, and points it out- once again- to the “muslim world”.

“…They’re losing the propaganda war…” and “…alot of their tried and true recruiting tricks have been taken off the table…” – and just just what kind of measurement tools and techniques does the administration use to gauge these claims?

Hellllooooo – Talk is cheap and so far, Obama has only talked about bridging this divide between America and the Muslim world. I don’t see where Obama has done anything differently than his predecessor.
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Um, he landed not too long ago…he’s been in office not even 6 months, give him a couple of days, ok? Heck we gave Bush 8 years and the relationship between the Muslim world and us is pretty much shattered. Give him a day and lets see what happens! Geesh!

Yeah, Obama scares the hell out of me also!

If we have a good product to offer then we should make the effort to package it correctly.
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But I agree packaging it correctly is good. My feeling it it won’t be done correctly. We shall see.

What do you expect the administration to say? Hello?The administration is made up of Obama’s lackeys.

And now the (mind reading) show from Washington. The administration needs to get past the Bush years and look at the damage this part of the world has caused us in lives and money over the last 30 years. Get a new line other than Bush.

If that standard was good enough for the left to apply to Bush, it’s good enough for President Overrated to apply to himself.
Posted by: Nest Egg
if at the end of his 2nd term, Obama hasn’t ‘gotten’ Bin Laden, you might then have a comparison…
lets also see if he decides to invade another country by mistake like Bush.
lets also see if he lets an american city rot after a hurricane…..