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The Middle East Research Institute [Yigal Carmon, MEMRI] argues that the videotape by Osama bin Laden threatens each U.S. state not to vote for Bush. [Hat tip to Little Green Footballs, "Bin Laden Threatens US States Not to Vote for Bush.] MEMRI claims that the words "ay wilaya" (which means "each U.S. state") were mistranslated by the U.S. media to mean a "country" or "nation" other than the U.S., while in fact, MEMRI states, the threat was directed specifically at each individual U.S. state. In one section of the speech in which bin Laden is highly critical of George W. Bush, the al Qaeda leader states: "Any U.S. state that does not toy with our security automatically guarantees its own security."

MEMRI quotes the Islamist website Al-Qal'a as explaining the sentence this way:

"This message was a warning to every U.S. state separately. When he [Osama Bin Laden] said, 'Every state will be determining its own security, and will be responsible for its choice,' it means that any U.S. state that will choose to vote for the white thug Bush as president has chosen to fight us, and we will consider it our enemy, and any state that will vote against Bush has chosen to make peace with us, and we will not characterize it as an enemy. By this characterization, Sheikh Osama wants to drive a wedge in the American body, to weaken it, and he wants to divide the American people itself between enemies of Islam and the Muslims, and those who fight for us, so that he doesn't treat all American people as if they're the same. This letter will have great implications inside the American society, part of which are connected to the American elections, and part of which are connected to what will come after the elections."

Thus, MEMRI concludes, Osama bin Laden is attempting to influence the American election by offering a deal to each individual state of the union. He is offering a separate truce to each state, similar to the one offered to the Europeans a few months ago.

There can now be no doubt that the enemies of the West would greatly prefer to see Kerry beat Bush, as I argued two weeks ago in "A Question for Those Not Planning to Vote for Bush". Those who have the responsibility to vote on Tuesday should give that fact the utmost consideration.

Labels: al Qaeda, Al-Qa'idah, Al-Qaeda, Al-Qaida, George W. Bush, John Kerry, MEMRI, Middle East Research Institute, Osama bin Laden