Pas de deux

So George Bush has suddenly remembered the existence of Bin Laden just in time for the fear fest leading up to the November elections and Bin Laden himself resurfaces in a video timed for the anniversary of the attacks on New York and the Pentagon.

Surely this is no coincidence. As Simon Tisdall has observed in the Guardian these two are "locked in an embrace".

Bush and the Republican party, undoubtedly at the behest of the ever manipulative Karl Rove, need Bin Laden as a hate figure and need to emphasise the threat he poses. This connection has not gone unnoticed elsewhere.

This focus would seem to fly in the face of a report released this week by the Royal Institute on International Affairs. This report states in part that:

• Al-Qaeda is being challenged "from within as traditional Islam attacks the use of terror as un-Islamic".
• That, though radicalised, the Muslim street is "finding expression in Islamist groups who are keen to use democratic channels".
• The main terrorist threat to the west "comes from within its borders".

By the same token Bin Laden needs the aggression of the West, especially in the form of America, to justify his rhetoric and acts of terror. The same report notes that:

• "Al-Qaeda's strength lies in its political message which resonates with many" not in its religious rhetoric
• What success al-Qaeda has had has come from its identification of "the link between the West's policies in the Middle East and terrorism".

The full Chatham House report (PDF) may be found here.