Ackerman isn't impressed by the new bin Laden tape:
Here’s the funny bit. bin Laden says that Obama is “powerless” to win the Afghanistan war. Well, perhaps. But this is his 9/11 anniversary message, the one everyone expects at this time every year, and it drops days after the actual anniversary. And al-Qaeda is reportedly having difficulty convincing anyone of its relevance outside Waziristan, after snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in Iraq and showing itself unable to recruit new fanatics. Its last several major attack attempts have been foiled and it doesn’t look like it has another mastermind like Khalid Shaikh Mohammed still in its ranks.
In short, bin Laden is like the music industry. His major successes are now on the mixtape circuit, but he can’t figure out, in this new environment, how to translate that into wider success. No one’s interested in buying it anymore.
Obama has taught us that allowing your enemies to defeat themselves can sometimes be the right strategy in the long run. But I still dream of the US tracking down bin Laden, and bringing that aristo-fundie to justice.