News & Opinion on Terrorism & Strategic Communication — September 8, 2007

It’s the Osama Show! Video with subtitles (Laura Mansfield via CT Blog, 9/7). Full transcript (SITE Institute, 9/7).

The Significance of bin Laden’s Dye Job. “Characteristically, no one is picking up on the significance of the dye job. The Shafi’i school of Islamic jurisprudence forbids men and women to dye their hair black ‘except when the intention is jihad…as a show of strength to unbelievers.” (Jihad Watch, 9/7).

bin Laden as Disney Cartoon Villain. “Seven decades of Disney type propaganda about the evil other has been exploited by the media in the Disney model. The best example is the ‘cartoon character’ Osama Bin Laden.” (Huffington Post, 9/7).

Presidential Candidates Posture On Bin Laden & AQ. Here and here. (Associated Press, 9/7)

Also…

Foiled Terrorist Attack Splits Germans. “Just days after German security forces thwarted a “massive” terror attack, the country’s state interior ministers met to discuss the current terrorist threat. However, divisions remained on a number of issues.” (DW-World, 9/7).

Rove Should Get Hughes’s Job. “If Rove approached international public opinion, especially public opinion in contested physical and mental states (i.e. Middle East and disenfranchised Muslims in the EU), Osama, Sadr, and all the others would be either running scared or panhandling.” (Mountain Runner, 8/29).

Western Media Stories Morph into Enemy Propaganda. “What the western media writes — will make their [sic] way to Iraq, where these stories and pronouncements can be used for any number of purposes, not the least of which, unfortunately, is to bolster the resolve of the enemy and weaken the resolve of Iraqis” (Protein Wisdom, 9/7)

Game Plan for Selling Latest Iraq Strategy. “The White House rollout strategy envisions a presidential speech to the nation, either Thursday or Friday.” (AP, 9/8)