Bin Laden accuses Bush of ignoring warnings
In a recent video broadcast, the author of the Sept. 11
attacks says Bush is acting out of 'private interests'
BY NADIA ABOU EL-MAGD
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CAIRO, Egypt — Terror master
mind Osama bin Laden claimed in
new video footage that President
Bush ignored warnings against in
vading Iraq because he was dazzled
by the country’s “black gold” and
ended up leading the United States
into a quagmire.
The full video, portions of which
were broadcast Friday, was posted
on a Web site used by Islamic
groups Wednesday. The tape
showed the author of the Sept. 11
attacks accusing Bush of acting
out of what he calls “private”
interests — and allusion to his oil
business past.
Bush ignored the warnings be
cause “the darkness of the black
gold blurred his vision and insight,
and he gave priority to private inter
ests over the public interests of
America,” bin Laden said in the
portions of the tape that the Arab
network Al-Jazeera did not broad
cast Friday.
“The war went ahead. The death
toll rose. The American economy
bled, and Bush became embroiled
in the swamps of Iraq that threaten
his future,” bin Laden said.
Accusing America of oppressing
and killing Arabs, bin Laden asked:
“Is defending oneself and punishing
the aggressor objectionable as ter
rorism? If it is, then it is unavoidable
for us.”
Al-Jazeera, which is based in
Qatar, published a transcript of the
full tape on its Web site on Monday.
The transcript matches the video
posted on the Islamic Web site.
Analysts say bin Laden issued the
tape in a bid to influence the U.S.
presidential elections, which took
place four days after Al-Jazeera
broadcast it.
In another partial portion of the
video released Monday, bin Laden
vowed to bleed America to bank
ruptcy, boasting that for every $1 al
Qaida has spent on terrorist
strikes, it has cost the United
States $1 million in economic
fallout and military spending,
including emergency funding for
Iraq and Afghanistan.
“As for the size of the economic
deficit, it has reached record astro
nomical numbers,” bin Laden said,
estimating the deficit at more than
$1 trillion.
Actually, the war against terror
and other factors have resulted in
an expected $377 billion shortfall
for 2003 — the highest deficit since
World War II accounting for infla
tion. The total U.S. national debt is
near the $7.4 trillion statutory limit.
The terror mastermind credited
the religiously inspired Arab volun
teers that he fought with against the
Soviets in Afghanistan with having
“bled Russia for 10 years, until it
went bankrupt and was forced to
withdraw in defeat.” He suggested
the same strategy would work
against the United States.
IN BRIEF
Board elections, city
housing code on agenda
The West University Neighbors
association will hold elections for its
board of directors at 7 p.m. tonight
at the Indigo District on the corner
of East 13th Avenue and Oak Street.
Anyone who lives in the neighbor
hood west of the University or is in
terested in community involvement
is encouraged to attend.
Neighborhood landlords will be
at the meeting to discuss a city
housing code that ASUO Communi
ty and Housing Coordinator Scott
Lu said the Eugene City Council is
expected to pass later this month.
The City Council will hold a pub
lic hearing Monday, Nov. 8, to dis
cuss the housing code, which has
been an ongoing project for mem
bers of the community and of ASUO
for many years.
Also on the agenda is an update
on the neighborhood mapping proj
ect that students in University pro
fessor Marc Schlossberg’s Applied
Geographic Information Systems
and Social Planning class are doing.
Students are working with neigh
borhood residents to create a com
puterized map of the area using
hand-held mapping devices.
The West University Neighbors
association, commonly referred to
as WUN, was formed last year to
combat crime in the neighborhood
and increase communication in the
mostly student-populated area.
— Meghann M. Cuniff
Bush: College Republicans were confident Bush would win
Continued from page 1
chair. “The people of America have
spoken and the vast majority have
cast their vote for George W. Bush. ”
Warren said the College Republi
cans were confident by late TUesday
night that their candidate would
win, and it was uplifting to get the fi
nal confirmation yesterday. He
added that unlike his opponent,
Bush was the right person to move
the nation forward and fight the war
on terrorism.
“George Bush is definitely the
man who understands the war on
terror,” Warren said. “His job is to
defend the people of America and
keep it safe. ”
College Republican Executive Direc
tor Jarrett White said he is happy the
president got re-elected. He said the
president would continue to pursue
his “overall conservative policy of lim
iting government” as well as his strate
gies on the war on terrorism, adding
that the president did not base his de
cisions on those of other countries.
“I think he’s going to stick to
his guns and do what is right,”
White said.
Freshman Matt Dorsa said he did
not think it was wise to change lead
ers in the middle of a war.
“I’m happy because I voted for
(Bush),” Dorsa said. “1 know it was
pretty close till the end.”
The candidates and their support
ers battled it out for months, criss
crossing the nation with divergent
messages. Their campaigns invested
millions in advertising to sway the
voters. And the voters heard their call.
Almost 115 million voters cast their
votes in the presidential election,
some braving long lines at voting sta
tions all day long. There were record
turnouts in many states. In Oregon,
about 80 percent of the registered vot
ers made their voices heard, accord
ing to the secretary of state statistics.
Kerry took the state of Oregon with 51
percent of the vote.
Many voters stayed up late into
the night, watching with nail-biting
anticipation as the drama unfolded
on television screens, the states on
the map slowly changing to either
red for Bush or blue for Kerry.
At the end of the day, it came
down to Ohio, the state that seem
ingly decided the nation’s fate for
the next four years. At that stage, it
was clear that if Bush got the state’s
20 electoral votes, it would be
enough for him to keep his job. By
early morning the White House had
called Ohio and the presidency for
Bush, but the Kerry campaign insist
ed on waiting for provisional ballots
to be counted.
But by 8 a.m., Kerry’s team decid
ed that even the provisional ballots
would not be enough to win Ohio,
and it was time to concede.
“The outcome should be decided
by voters, not by a protracted legal
process,” Kerry said later in his con
cession speech in Boston.
He said he had a good conversa
tion with the president, noting the
danger of division in the country
and “the need for unity.”
“Today, I hope we can begin the
healing,” Kerry said.
His voice hoarse and choking up
at times, Kerry thanked his family,
staff, volunteers and voters.
“1 wish, you don’t know how
much, that I could have brought this
race home for you, for them,” he said.
However, Kerry said he would
keep working for the Democratic
Party’s ideals, as well as the issues
that have been the focus of the cam
paign, such as the war in Iraq, the
economy, health care and education.
“I believe that what we started in
this campaign will not end here,” he
said. “We’re Americans and Ameri
ca always moves forward.”
His running mate, John Edwards,
who spoke first, also believed that
the fight will go on, saying that peo
ple can be “disappointed, but you
can’t walk away.”
“We didn’t start fighting for you
when this campaign began, and we
won’t stop fighting for you when
this campaign ends,” he said. “Your
cause will always be our cause.”
For Kerry’s supporters, it was hard
to believe that the long journey is
now — unsuccessfully — over.
“I think that Kerry being elected
would have been the last hope for
our country,” freshman Mari
Babinec said.
She said if Kerry had won, it would
have shown the rest of the world that
Americans did not support current
events like the war on Iraq.
Freshman Brittany Moss said she is
against the president because of his
policies on reproductive rights, the
economy, assault weapons, gay rights,
the war in Iraq and the “manipulation
of the country through fear. ”
“It makes me mad that the Demo
cratic Party worked so hard ... then
Bush won,” Moss said. She added
that by re-electing Bush, the nation
is showing the world that it agrees
with these policies.
“I don’t think there’s any hope,”
she said.
Sophomore Brendan Coffin said
he is disappointed.
“I am sort of flabbergasted that
we could sit through four years of
what he’s done and still want more,”
Coffin said.
Coffin said he hopes that in his
second term, Bush will be more fo
cused on addressing the issues and
allow for more open negotiations
and less militarism.
“I’d like him to do what he says
he’s going to do,” Moss said. “I’d like
more honesty, a lot more honesty.”
With the votes counted and the
decision clear, another chapter
opens in America’s history. What re
mains to be seen is how Bush’s sec
ond term will play out.
“A new term is a new opportunity
to reach out to the whole nation,”
Bush said. “We have one country,
one Constitution and one future that
binds us. And when we come to
gether and work together, there is no
limit to the greatness of America.”
ayishayahya@ daily emerald, com
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