My blog rarely touches on geo-political subjects, but once in a while it does. As the title of this entry suggests, I have an opinion about the mastermind of the 911 attack. The reason I bring it up is, well, have you noticed how the news headlines are full of Gaddafi, Assad, and a few other Mideast despots, but the most feared man of a generation has gone silent?
I think there’s a good reason for that, but not a reason you’d immediately guess. That’s why I wrote it several years ago into my short story “The Re-Election Plot.”
Now, I’m not going to write a spoiler that explains everything about that story, but I’ll point out to you how the lack of Osama in the news these days is consistent with my belief that he was killed by a bomb dropped on a desert tent in the first days of the Afghan war.
The lack of current Osama audio tapes pairs well with my feeling that they never were the product of a surviving and still deadly Al Qaeda organization, but rather the product of youthful pranksters. These days, every young Egyptian, Libyan, Bahrainian and Saudi has turned his or her attention fully to the popular uprisings. Hence, the college prankster types are too busy with other excitement to bother making scary Osama impersonation tapes.
The question then becomes, why would anyone in high places in Washington DC accept such pranks as legitimate proclamations of a demonic leader?
Um. Er. Does the title of my story, “The Re-Election Plot,” suggest any reasons?
If you’d like to lighten your burden of evil world leaders by one, check out the story. It’s only 99 cents in ebook format at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com and Smashwords.com, as well as other outlets. Enjoy. Breathe easier. Tell a friend.
Okay, so I was seven weeks premature in announcing Osama bin Laden’s death. Obama said it better than I ever could have, anyway. But that doesn’t change what I said about bin Laden’s silence in recent months and my continued opinion that some or all of the tapes were fakes and college pranks. The story still stands as a plausible way such things might have come about. And don’t forget, it’s just fiction, right?