The al Qaeda leader released a tape on Friday that blames the U.S. and Western economies for climate change and called for boycott of all U.S. goods.
In what would seem to be a fairly politicized message from the normally jihad-focused al Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden's most recent tape attacks the U.S. for its role in...climate change? This tape is perhaps the first glimpse for many Americans into the complexity of Bin Laden and the depth of his distrust and hatred of all things American and Western. Bin Laden explains in his tape that American economic policies are to blame for many of the world's problems, including chronic poverty and desertification, among several others.
In his message, Bin Laden calls on his followers to boycott all U.S. products and explains that the only way to bring about real change is to free the world from its dependence on America as an economic engine. This message mirrors much of the political talk in America that is currently driving a push toward greener policies and a drastic reduction in America's dependency on foreign oil. In both instances, it appears that the goal is for more self-sufficiency and ingenuity, which would ultimately be a good thing for everyone involved.
Bin Laden also declared that a world goal should be to remove the U.S. dollar as the dominant international currency for global commerce. Bin Laden acknowledged that these things would all be quite difficult, but he insisted that doing so is the only sure path to a better global future and freedom from U.S. oppression around the world.