White House Calls Bin Laden "Impotent"

(CBS/AP)  Seemingly taunting Osama bin Laden, President George W. Bush's homeland security adviser said the fugitive al Qaeda leader is "virtually impotent" beyond his ability to hide away and spread anti-American propaganda.

The provocative characterization Sunday came just days after bin Laden attracted international attention with the release of a video in which he ridicules Mr. Bush about the Iraq war and reminds the world that he has not been captured.

Ahead of the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist strikes, White House aide Frances Fragos Townsend made a clear attempt to diminish the influence - or the perception - of the man who masterminded those attacks.

"This is about the best he can do," Townsend, the White House Homeland Security Advisor, said of bin Laden. "This is a man on a run, from a cave, who's virtually impotent other than these tapes."

In appearances on two Sunday talk shows, she used the "virtually impotent" reference both times, suggesting the language was chosen with careful purpose.

"We know that al Qaeda is still determined to attack, and we take it seriously," Townsend said. "But this tape appears to be nothing more than threats. It's propaganda on their part."

Townsend was considerably more direct than even Mr. Bush in rebuking bin Laden. The U.S. president responded to bin Laden's tape last week by saying it was a reminder that the world is dangerous and that Iraq is part of the war against extremists. He never identified bin Laden by name.

The consensus of the top U.S. intelligence analysts is that bin Laden's terrorist network is anything but impotent.

Terrorism experts say the network is regrouping in the lawless Pakistan-Afghanistan border region. The latest National Intelligence Estimate says al Qaeda is growing in strength, intensifying its efforts to put operatives in the United States and plotting against U.S. targets that will cause massive casualties. The United States is in a "heightened threat environment" and al Qaeda is the most serious threat, the analysts found.

The tape was the first time bin Laden had appeared in a new video since 2004. In the recording, bin Laden tells Americans they should convert to Islam if they want the war in Iraq to end. He makes no overt threats and does not directly call for attacks.

What he is trying to say is that he is under no pressure from the Americans. The Americans are failing in their effort to kill him, and in their effort to destroy al Qaeda."

"While he may be physically contained, his influence is not bounded by any physical barriers," said Thomas Sanderson, an authority on terrorism at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"Obviously, in a sense, it does not matter that we've got him trapped in a cave. He has sent forth enough messages to incite violence worldwide against us," he said in an interview Sunday.

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[kansas1946]

Oh, you know, this is just another "Bushism." You know the guy can''t speak English.
He meant to say, "important" not "impotent."

[king77shaw]

there is no democRAT party - there is just one party, the Republican party, that has a Democrat faction - the same ultra-elite global banking interests that brought you 9/11 and choose your presidential candidates call all the shots - the illegal Federal Reserve is the REAL government - Bush, cheney, Pulosi, Reid are just bad actors in the grand facade - that''''s why nothing is getting done... watch the following movies and WAKE UP AMERICA - turn off you nightly propaganda for just two nights and educate yourself or at least entertain the possibility of an alternate paradigm - CHALLENGE YOURSELF - BE BOLD - WATCH THE FOLLOWING!!!!

America: Freedom to Fascism:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1656880303867390173&q=freedom+to fascism&total=922&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0


Zeitgeist:

http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/

[prinzowhales]

Ironic that a employee of Queen George would characterize bin Laden as "impotent"...he''s not the one who has male prostitutes stay over at the White House on overnighters who advertize that they always ''play the teapot, never the cup'' if you get my drift.

Queen George even claims that we are fighting al Qaida...this has cost the United States over half a trillion dollars, thousands of deaths and tied up the US military for years...Considering the fact that he has only limited resources...that sounds pretty potent ju-ju from where I sit...particularly considering the fact that the Asian and Saudi press has reported him dead for over five years and whose tedious tapes have contained only a lot of old footage, few if any exhortations for his alleged jihadists or attempts to use his ''star power'' as a recruitment tool..."Bin Laden Wants You!"...

Bin Laden is the Emmanuel Goldstein of the Stupid Peoples'' War. One simply cannot kill the dead...unless one lives in George Bush''s War Pig Toon Town...Troops Home Now! And bring some ''Dip'' for these stinking Toons...

[mudrose-2009]

Posted by parro

Polly wanna, whah, whah, whah, blah, blah, blah. UBL is waiting for your to convert. Be a good little Dimnowit and crossover.

[flreason]

mudrose: Get real!

Clinton could not have sold anything to China without the Congress being complicit. Considering that he was dealing with a Republican majority Congress for his entire Presidency, it''s safe to assume that any sale or tranfer of intelligence would have gotten a lot more of their attention than Monica''s dress. The sale of the U.S. to China has been going on for decades, but it has accelerated exponentially under Bush because of the record national debt his administration has initiated in their zeal to cut taxes for businesses and high income contributors. There''s plenty of blame to spread, so don''t single out Clinton in your obsessive need to demonize all Democrats and idolize all Republicans.

[killtheliars]

it seems to me that Bin Landen has alot more followers then GW does. Bin Laden still has the respect and support of the radicals in the Middle East, Eurpoe, and Central Asia.
GW has the support of his wife and his cabinet. nobody lese in the country believes a word he says.
The world would be a better place with out either of them

[bogusbones]

Why provoke these people? When are we ever going to learn? Their manhood is a supreme part of their psychological being and when challenged they have a strong tendency to "set things right." Maybe we should blame the buffoons in the Administration for the next wave of killings. If we were so powerful and almighty, bin Laden would be either captured or deceased. Never stir a hornets nest you idiots.

[realpatriot1]

mudrose,

I know that you would prefer to talk about Clinton and China but let''s get back to the subject of the article.

How is it that we had Bin Laden in our sites at Tora Bora(according to the CIA agents on the scene), we have aerial recon that can track a license plate from space, the Pakastani troops on the other side of the border are our "#1 allies in the war on terror", and he still got away with his large contingent?

How does that work for you?

[jn122736]

Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda have never been anything more than characters in a superman movie. The title could be anything; 911, Mushroom cloud, Invading Iraq, or fighting terrorists. (Insert name here).

Osama plays the roll of Lex Luthor.

Only the brilliant mind of Lex Luthor could plan and carrying out 911 with nothing more that a few box knives while the majestic, all-powerful, superman (Bush) was sitting on his kryptonite and doing nothing to stop the attacks during the long length of time it took to complete.

Superman (Bush) immediately recognized Lex Luthor as the culprit and dashed off to Afghanistan to bring him in to face justice and the American way.

The brilliant Luthor secretly placed a tiny bit of kryptonite inside superman%u2019s earphone, just enough to addle him, causing him to immediately switch his attack to Saddam/Iraq, where he showed his super powers by swiftly defeating Saddam and landing on an aircraft carrier, wearing his cape, and a banner flashing, %u201Cmission accomplished%u201D.

BTW, The earphone is the reason superman makes so many blunders when making speeches or addressing audiences. Can you imagine how confusing it can be trying to make a speech and listen to voices in your ear at the same time, especially if you believe it is God speaking to you?
It might even cause one to take the wrong direction exiting stage.

[realpatriot1]

mudrose,

Neither party is in a position to criticise the other for allowing Chinese access to our sensitive intelligence because both have been lax.

You blame Clinton, for example, for loosening up security at nuclear weapons labs. Recent events have shown that they''re just as loose today.

Neither party has stood in the way of Defense contractors selling to overseas markets, including to the Chinese and neither party has done anything to police trade shows where Chinese spys give our military equipment the complete once over.

I respectfully disagree with the dubious conclusion that China posed no military threat before 1993. Have you forgotten all of Neil Bush''s Chinese business deals and Reagan''s defense contractor buddies China deals?

Both parties have been part of the problem; the real question is which is going to do something about it and that''s still an unanswered question.