Osama Tape 'Sophomoric' and Bizarre

Osama’s latest tape is “a great disappointment,” as sophomoric as it is bizarre, says James Robbins in the National Review. The terrorist’s invitation for Americans to convert to Islam – which would force “warmongering corporations” to spend energy converting people back – is as odd as his critique of JFK’s killing or US credit problems. “I really expect more from a terrorist mastermind,” says Robbins.

“No new threats, no new deals, just a new beard, if it is even real,” grieves the intel expert. He calls Osama’s speech “an interesting fusion of pseudo-Marxism and standard Islamism,” and tips his hat to the man’s ability “to dominate the news cycle whenever he appears, no matter what he says. The new video is a case in point; the only thing newsworthy about it is the fact that it exists.” (More Osama bin Laden stories.)