( At the end of the post there are two videos: the first video is of a newscast from Al Jazeera English and the second is the actual full 26 minute speech which is rather hard to find and isn’t being distributed by the major video networks. Also, you can read the full text translation, download the the original PDF scan of the NBC transcript or view a up version here)

The odd thing is that most of his complaints are reasonable: for example he blames global warming on large corporations:

The life of all mankind is in danger because of the global warming resulting to a large degree from the emissions of the factories the major corporations…and despite this brazen attack on the people [referring to global warming], the leaders of the West — especially Bush, Blair, Sarkozy and Brown — still talk about freedom and human rights with a flagrant disregard for the intellects of humans?

The sad thing is if he had started this way 6 years ago rather than killing thousands, people would have been more likely to listen, but since he decided to start with violence like a psychopath rather than act civilized, this message is far too little too late and just screams propaganda.

What major News organizations are saying

From CNN:

“We continue to see a very determined enemy who wants to plot, plan and kill Americans and act against American interests,” White House homeland security adviser Fran Townsend told CNN.

“But I’d encourage Americans to keep in mind whenever we see these sorts of statements, they’re propaganda. And they’re the enemy’s propaganda. They’re meant to manipulate the American people and to frighten them,” she said.

From BBC News:

Gone is the straggly, unkempt beard that was heavily flecked with grey.

Instead, his beard appears dark, thick and trimmed, although analysts have suggested that rather than being dyed, it may be actually false, and that to help avoid detection he is clean-shaven these days.

The al-Qaeda leader’s face still looks tired and lined, as befits a fugitive who may well have to sleep in different locations almost every night, but it is not quite as gaunt or exhausted looking as it was three years ago.

Unlike some of the more psychopathic adherents of al-Qaeda, Bin Laden has often tried to sway the opinions of the Western public in the hopes of driving a wedge between them and their leaders, and between European countries and his most hated enemy, the US government.

From ABC

The Homeland Security Department was continuing to analyze the video to see if it includes any coded messages, department spokesman Russ Knocke said. But the department has found no credible information of an imminent threat to the homeland.

Also from ABC

Osama bin Laden’s latest message is a hodgepodge of anti-capitalist vitriol, impassioned Islamic evangelism and what can best be described as a twisted attempt at reconciliation: Join us, or we’ll kill you.

Whether the video will resonate on the Arab or Muslim street is not at all clear. In Iraq, where disillusionment with the United States runs high, most people voiced disgust with bin Laden’s latest message.

Al Jazeera English

The Speach

Cleaned up transcript images

(Click to see full images.)

Being serious now. Although many people will argue that the USA is fighting terrorism and has hamstrung the terrorist groups by destroying training camps and killing or arresting its members, the United States is not fighting terrorism or terrorists. The USA is just fighting the terrorist’s money supply. Every time the USA destroys a weapons cache or shuts down a fake charity they make it a little harder for terrorists to kill and destroy, but it does not remove the root causes of terrorism nor does it stop their ideas from spreading like smallpox. There is one very important thing to remember, it is far easier to buy bleach and fertilizer than it is to find someone who is willing to use it on civilians. The United States can imprison terrorists, force them into hiding, or kill them, but the ideas and injustices that spawn terrorism continues to spread. All killing them does is turn them into martyrs which just encourages others to hate the USA even more and creating cycles within cycles of violence. So while the USA is making it a little harder for terrorists to terrorize, it is not stopping the terrorists nor their ideas.

A real war on terrorism can not be fought with guns and bombs. It must be fought entirely in the marketplace of ideas. To borrow a well-worn slogan, the USA must win the hearts and minds of those whom terrorists rely on for support. If the USA can convince the poor and downtrodden, who make up the majority of terrorist fodder, that the USA is not the “great evil” and is not the master of their repression, then there will be no need for a War on Terrorism by any name.

However, this leads us back to the original question. Is the USA winning the War on Terrorism as the majority of people define it? Yes and No. If we neglect the difficulties in Iraq and Afghanistan as parts of other wars than it is a resounding Yes. Since the so called War on Terror was declared there have been no major terrorist attacks on an USA holding, the majority of the Al-Qa’ida leadership has been captured or killed, and many terrorist groups are losing support.

But this is only half the battle. While there have been many improvements the real causes of terrorism have never been scrutinized — let alone remedied. For example, many people don’t understand how Saudi Arabians can hate us when we pour so much oil money into their country; however, what they don’t realize is that the Saudi government is a totalitarian regime which brutally oppresses its people. So while the American government has for generations backed the oppressive and backward Saudi government, the hate the Saudi people have for the USA has continued to grow. The American habit of propping up governments that are friendly to the US has caused the USA more problems than anything else in the middle east.

So how would we win a real war on terrorism? Simple the USA needs to stop helping governments and groups paint us as a great evil, they need to stop propping up totalitarian regimes because they benefit the USA, and the USA needs to stop trying to be the world’s disciplinarian punishing the people in countries where the government opposes the USA and instead, if anything, be the world’s kindly Uncle who rewards people for the good they do rather than punishing them for the bad.

The climate of Israel is one of the major geographical causes behind the strife. As you can see on the map in many Palestine areas the land is infertile and unable to support large numbers of people. As a result many of the inhabitants of the Palestinian areas are unable to produce enough food or find work to support themselves and their families; because of this the less fortunate residents must turn to the various aid groups in the region who provide work, food, and entertainment to meet their basic needs. Unfortunately these groups are the same that organize both protests against Israel and the frequent bombings of civilians that plague the area. While most of the people that join these groups know there is a large difference between protesting and murder, as with any group there are those who are desperate enough to kill themselves and others to ensure their families financial well-being.

The lack of resources is further compounded by Israel’s policy of choking the Palestinian areas by continually building new settlements along and inside the borders of the green line and expanding existing towns far faster than is necessary. Because of this and the tight border that the country of Jordan keeps with the Palestinian areas the Palestinian town are unable to grow along with their populations forcing large numbers of people to live in close proximity with each other. Furthermore, emigration from these areas is also discouraged by surrounding countries creating a scenario where many people are forced to stay within a small area in which riots and violence can easy erupt, mirroring the recent situation in France.

In turn these problems all relate to the economic geography of the area. Economically most Palestinians living inside of the green line are poor compared to the Palestinians and Israelis living or working outside of the green line. For people living in Israel the GNP or Gross National Product on a per capita basis is $20,551.20, however the GNP is only $558.14 in the Gaza strip and $754.40 in the west bank. Furthermore while people living outside the green line are able to find work in white collar jobs or as business owners and other successful occupations, people living inside the line are forced to work at menial jobs at best. This evidences the severely impoverished state the Palestinians are forced to live in.

Political geography also has a hand in the turmoil of the region, being Palestinian is less a national identity and more of a regional identity; (this is analogous to being called Asian versus Chinese.) As you can see on the map, there are many different traditions that are all incorporated into the Palestinian identity without even including the non-Islamic cultures that have existed there for thousands of years. This has been caused by millennia of successive occupations by every world empire from the Romans to the Persians. The constant influx of new leaders, ideas and peoples throughout these occupations made it difficult for the inhabitants over the years to coalesce into a single entity rather than many different small groups whose only tie is the area they live in. Because of the separation of the region after World War 2 by the British and the French the groups that lived there were forced to pick sides as countries were formed without any concern for the stability of the region. Previously peaceful groups were then polarized by economic, regional and religious differences that have ever since been boiling over.

Before the separation in the region into British controlled and French controlled areas the majority of cities each functioned as its own small city-state. Cities in many areas would be primarily Christian, Muslim or Jewish but people would freely trade and travel between the cities. Unfortunately with the creation of the state of Israel as a home for the European Jews cities were then polarized for and against the new state and in turn stressing political relations between individual cities and in turn groups. Furthermore in the Israeli area the new Jewish immigrants were given preferential treatment over Palestinians who had lived there for generations. Also over time the Christian minority (which is about one fifteenth that of the number of Muslims) was also given preferential treatment over the Palestinians because of Israel’s desire to keep close ties with the United States and Europe. This has all coalesced into a scenario where Palestinians see themselves as an impoverished minority in their own homeland.

Geography itself has also been used over the last 50 years by both the Palestinians and Israelis as a tool to prevent the different groups from realizing that they are all equal with each other. For example many maps published in Palestine avoid direct references to anything having to do with Israel, sometimes even to the point of leaving major Israeli cities off the map. But countries other than Israel are clearly marked. Geography textbooks are also used by the Palestinians to support distension among the school children towards the state of Israel, a recent 7th grade textbook refers to Israel as the 1948 lands. However the Palestinians are not the only one who uses geography class to polarize the students, for much of their education students in Israeli schools use textbooks that focus primarily on Israeli history and the geography of the Israeli controlled areas. Furthermore Jerusalem itself is portrayed as a dark and dirty city in the days before the nation of Israel was created. In students this creates a highly emotional connection with the land by seeing Israel as theirs and theirs alone, and furthermore they are indoctrinated into the idea that without the Israelis in control the area would revert to a primitive state.

While the geography of the region plays only a minor role in the turmoil it does provide the catalyst that encourages droves of people to think that maybe they would be better off without Israel. However how much of this is Israel’s fault is left up to the individual, because while many of Israel’s actions help to promote the idea that they are an evil force, much of the animosity goes back generations to the beginning of Israel. Of course current Israelis leaders can not be held responsible for the actions of the British or French but on the same token they cannot be held blameless for their continual antagonism. Just as Palestinian leaders are responsible for the actions of the many terrorist groups in their territory.