Bin Laden's Playbook

Good military strategists know that to defeat somebody you have to think like him. What is in Osama Bin Laden's mind? This is not my view, just what Bin Laden might believe. First, he was a Mujaheddin freedom fighter in Afghanistan against the Soviet Army. After a long struggle, the Russians gave up and pulled out. Bin Laden probably thinks the Soviet economy collapsed partly as a result of losing the war in Afghanistan. Then following the economic problems, the USSR broke up into separate states, and it ceased to be a world super power. Bin Laden thought he had figured out how he could beat a world power, and thought he could do the same to the USA. Next he decided to take on the USA, partly because they were the only superpower left, and partly because there were American bases on Holy Saudi land. His first problem was to get America to invade Afghanistan, then defeat the Americans, and next the US economy would crumble, and finally, the breakup of the union.

The attack on 9/11 was an attempt to get the USA to invade Afghanistan, which sort of worked, but sometimes not exactly as you expect. The USA has invaded Afghanistan, and has suffered a serious economic setback. The stage is set for Bin Laden's endgame, the breakup of the USA.

I have the impression now that a sizeable number of Bush supporters are suffering in this economic downturn, and are not happy with the presidency of Barack Obama either. Fox News announcer Glen Beck and the Governor of Texas were both calling for Texas to secede from the USA.

So far, this is all happening exactly according to Osama Bin Laden's playbook.