by JAMES TARANTO
Thursday, December 13, 2001 3:05 P.M. EST

The Osama Video
The Pentagon has released the video of Osama bin Laden, found at a house in Jalalabad; the transcript is here and "highlights" are here. Among them:

"We calculated in advance the number of casualties from the enemy, who would be killed based on the position of the tower. We calculated that the floors that would be hit would be three or four floors. I was the most optimistic of them all [inaudible] due to my experience in this field, I was thinking that the fire from the gas in the plane would melt the iron structure of the building and collapse the area where the plane hit and all the floors above it only. This is all that we had hoped for."

"We were at [inaudible] when the event took place. We had notification since the previous Thursday that the event would take place that day. We had finished our work that day and had the radio on. It was 5:30 p.m. our time. I was sitting with Dr. Ahmad Abu-al-[Khair]. Immediately, we heard the news that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. We turned the radio station to the news from Washington. The news continued and no mention of the attack until the end. At the end of the newscast, they reported that a plane just hit the World Trade Center. . . . After a little while, they announced that another plane had hit the World Trade Center. The brothers who heard the news were overjoyed by it."

Remember all those sophisticated thinkers who informed us that America brought the attack on itself by supporting Israel? The video makes not one mention of the Israeli-Arab conflict.

Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden?
USA Today reports U.S. officials are disputing yesterday's Christian Science Monitor report that bin Laden has fled to Pakistan. "I'm sure he's there," one defense official tells USA Today, referring to the Tora Bora cave hideout. "If there was any indication that he wasn't there, we'd know." The Monitor's source was Abu Jaffar, a "senior al Qaeda operative and Saudi financier," who is still in Afghanistan, in a "village still sympathetic to Mr. bin Laden and his fighters." Reuters reports Pakistan also denies the Monitor report.

The Times of London, however, reports that "the last remnants" of al Qaeda's military force "were trickling across the border into Pakistan yesterday after the death or capture of more than half their fighters. . . . Once in Pakistan, individuals are likely to try to flee to third countries, such as Somalia, Yemen or Sudan, where al-Qaeda has strong support." The Telegraph reports that "the US navy is scouring the world's oceans and ports for a fleet of 23 merchant ships owned by Osama bin Laden, fearing that the vessels could be used to help him escape or carry weapons of mass destruction to the West."

On to Somalia
The Telegraph reports that Britain has persuaded Kenya to allow American special forces to use bases for a planned attack on al Qaeda operations in Somalia. President Daniel arap Moi fears that a large-scale assault on Somlia would bring a flood of refugees into Kenya, but "intensive studies of Somalia, where al-Qa'eda terrorists have been able to hide and train in the past, have shown the Pentagon that a broad military campaign as used in Afghanistan would not be necessary to destroy Osama bin Laden's limited network there."

Talk About Sick
Thirteen injured Arab fighters have explosives tied to their waists and "threatening to blow themselves up if anyone other than medical staff entered their rooms" at a Kandahar hospital, the Associated Press reports. "They don't allow anybody to see them except just those who are treating them, dressing the wounds or cleaning the rooms," says Ghulam Mohammed Afghan, Mirwais Hospital's head nurse. "They are scared and they don't want to talk about anything. It's extremely difficult for the hospital staff because they or other patients could get injured. It's dangerous."

How hard can it be to neutralize this problem? Can't the nurses just inject the patients with a tranquilizer?

Jewish Terror Bust
Irv Rubin, head of the Jewish Defense League, and Earl Krugel, his West Coast coordinator, are under arrest in Los Angeles, charged with "conspiracy to destroy a building by means of an explosive" and "possession of a destructive device related to a crime of violence." Rubin and Krugel allegedly planned to blow up the King Fahd Mosque in Culver City, Calif., and an office of Rep. Darrell Issa, a California Republican who is Arab-American. The Los Angeles Times reports:

The alleged plot, according to an FBI affidavit, was revealed by a JDL member who was first contacted by Rubin and Krugel in October about participating in attacks on local Arab-related institutions. In a subsequent tape-recording of a meeting at Krugel's residence, the affidavit alleges, Krugel said Arabs needed "a wake-up call" and Rubin said the JDL needed to draw more attention to itself in a "militant way."

Watch for the root-cause crowd to come forward with the usual explanations: The poverty and oppression under which L.A. Jews live makes this sort of thing understandable, if not inevitable; they did it as a protest against U.S. foreign policy; their alleged targets need to ask themselves: Why do they hate us? Yeah, we expect to hear this stuff any minute now.

Terror in New Delhi
A terrorist attack on India's Parliament has claimed the lives of six cops and a Parliament staffer. Also dead are all six terrorists, who "set off massive blasts and reportedly used AK-47 rifles, RDX and Chinese-made grenades for the attack," according to the Hindustan Times. No word yet on who's behind the attack.

Israel and Arafat
In response to the latest Arab terrorist attacks, Israel has severed all contact with Palestinian Authority honcho Yasser Arafat, bombed his headquarters and sent troops into Arab towns. Israel's security cabinet put out a statement saying Arafat was "directly responsible" for the latest round of terrorism "and therefore is no longer relevant to Israel, and Israel will no longer have any connection with him." Israel's justice minister also says meetings of Israeli and Palestinian security commanders, arranged by U.S. envoy Anthony Zinni, will end.

USA Today notes that "in the latest attack, a bomb was detonated under a bus outside the Israeli community of Emanuel. Palestinians opened fire on fleeing passengers and shot at rescuers who arrived to treat the injured. One gunman was killed. Taking credit [sic] for the attack was the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, an underground militia affiliated with Arafat's Fatah group. The brigade said it took part in the attack with Hamas, a group opposed to the state of Israel."

Slate's "Today's Papers" column asks: "If Hamas and Fatah members did indeed work together on the attacks, would it be the first such joint operation between the two groups? Because that would certainly be a notable development."

White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said yesterday that "it is imperative that Chairman Arafat take every step possible to stop the violence, to stop the attacks. It's hard to imagine how a peace process can be fruitful and take hold if there is no peace, if there's killing"--an obvious point, but such clarity has been lacking in Washington until recently.

Another encouraging sign from the U.S.: The Jerusalem Post reports that "after a three-year lobbying effort by US Jewish groups and families of Americans who were murdered by Palestinian terrorists, the State Department announced this week that it plans to publicize rewards of up to $5 million for for information leading to the capture of Palestinian killers of US citizens on its "Rewards for Justice" website."

Our Friends the Saudis
The New York Times (link requires registration) notes that the government of Saudi Arabia took no note of the three-month anniversary of the Sept. 11 atrocities:

The only event known to have taken place in the kingdom was a one- minute moment of silence late Tuesday afternoon at the United States Embassy in Riyadh, which no Saudi officials attended. In other Arab countries, including Egypt and Kuwait, government officials attended memorial services sponsored by American embassies.

Osama bin Laden grew up in Saudi Arabia, and 15 of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers were Saudis.

From Hot Tubs to High Treason
The Associated Press visits San Anselmo, Calif., hometown of Marin mujahid John Walker. This snippet says it all:

"I don't think it's a big deal for young people to have weird ideas," said Nahshon Nahumi, who repairs hot tubs in the hills above the home of Walker's mother. "My concern is more for his well-being, to help him recover."

The AP adds that at Tamiscal High School, Walker's alma mater, "Principal Marcie Miller said the highly competitive school remains proud of Walker as well as its other students, who tend to be self-directed."

Meanwhile, the Adelaide Advertiser has identified the Australian bin Ladenite captured by the Northern Alliance. He is David Hicks, alias "Mohammed Dawood," a 26-year-old Muslim convert. His father, Terry Hicks, got a call from David Sept. 28, and son told father he was fighting for the Taliban. Cheers to Terry Hicks for being much more clear-headed than John Walker's parents. "I think of a terrorist as someone with a bomb strapped to him, but he's a terrorist in our eyes as he's fighting against his own kind," the elder Hicks tells the Advertiser. "I told him what I thought of what he was doing."

Stupidity Watch
The Berkeley, Calif., City Council "voted Tuesday night to supply workers who answer the city's general information phones with material about the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors," the Associated Press reports. "The idea is to have information available so staff can refer anyone who calls asking about how to avoid military combat." The council defeated an amendment that would also have made available information about military recruitment.

Now, you're probably thinking: What's the news here? After all, everyone knows the majority of the Berkeley City Council is unpatriotic. Yes, but we didn't know quite how stupid they were. Didn't it occur to any of them that America has a volunteer military? If you want to avoid military service, you don't need to declare yourself a "conscientious objector." Just don't enlist!

She Should Have Walked
We've heard a few stories of people trying to scam insurance companies by falsely claiming loved ones died Sept. 11, but this one takes the cake. The New York Post reports Jihad Razzaq has been indicted in New Orleans. The indictment says Razzaq "tried to cash in his wife's $100,000 life-insurance policy when in fact she had left the United States for her native Jordan":

The 54-year-old man apparently told New York Life that his wife was shopping at the World Trade Center site when the buildings crumbled.

Red flags were raised when he said she had taken a taxi there from New Orleans.

When I Saw This Court Order, I Thought Immediately of You
The FBI has confirmed it's working on a project called "Magic Lantern" that "would allow the agency to plant a Trojan horse keystroke logger on a target's PC by sending a computer virus over the Internet," Reuters reports. The agency would need a court order before it could send the virus.

DeLay Can't Wait
Roll Call reports that House Republican whip Tom DeLay has the votes to succeed Dick Armey as House majority leader. Paul Gigot broke the story of Armey's retirement.

Why Not Ammo Vouchers?
Why do some social conservatives continue to vote Democratic? The Holland (Mich.) Sentinel quotes an explanation from Mark Brewer, Michigan's Democratic chairman: "A lot of people in our party are pro-life--it's the same thing when you talk about the gun issue. What unifies us tends to be the economic issues. I tell people, 'If you don't have a job, you can't afford a gun, let alone the ammunition.' We're a very diverse party."

Those Wild Republicans
The Omaha World-Herald reports that a melee broke out the other night at a meeting of Omaha Young Republicans--the second time in a month that police have been called to break up a fight at the GOP group's meetings. "Police arrested a 38-year-old Omaha man who had been banned from the sports bar where the group meets after starting a brawl at its Nov. 12 meeting," the paper reports. "The man was booked Tuesday on suspicion of refusing to leave and obstructing an officer, both misdemeanors. He was being held late Tuesday at the Police Headquarters."

Meanwhile, Reuters reports that "South Park" creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker announced at a convention of the liberal-left People for the American Way that they're "proud Republicans." Andrew Sullivan quickly pronounced himself the third "South Park Republican."

The Lights Are On, but No One's Home
London's Tate Gallery has awarded its prestigious Turner prize to 33-year-old Martin Creed for "an empty room with lights that flicker on and off every five seconds," National Review's John Derbyshire writes. "Mr. Creed's previous exhibits include a scrunched-up sheet of plain typing paper, a piece of plasticine stuck to a wall, and neon signs bearing cheery messages":

Prior to the announcement of Mr. Creed's triumph, the favorite for the prize was Mike Nelson, who (I am quoting here from a British newspaper report) "works with rubbish," and whose prize submission was a pile of planks. The other shortlisted artists were Richard Billingham, exhibiting photos of his alcoholic father, who lives in a Glasgow slum, and Isaac Julien, who entered some short films about homosexual cowboys.

Then there's James Beal, who, the Associated Press reports, works with porcupine feces and worms. He won an award . . . oh, sorry, actually he was arrested:

According to a court affidavit from Postal Inspector Ted Andersen, Postmaster Virginia Raz called Beal on Oct. 17 and suggested that he resign [from his job as a relief postmaster in Empire, Mich.] because of poor performance.

"If you want to play rough, fire me," Beal replied, according to the affidavit. "I will roast you in this . . . town."

Raz immediately fired him. The next day, Beal said he took the two buckets of fecal matter and worms, which he had gathered in some woods, to the post office.

He said he threw the contents of one bucket at several employees, then left for about 30 seconds before returning with the second bucket to splatter more muck on mail and another employee. . . .

Beal's actions also halted local mail delivery the next day while a hazardous-materials team cleaned and repackaged mail with a note explaining the damage.

If we get one of those letters, we're forwarding it to the Tate Gallery.

(Elizabeth Crowley helps compile Best of the Web Today. Thanks to Hanna Hill, S.E. Brenner, Michiel Visser, Jim Orheim, Raghu Desikan, Rosslyn Smith, Damian Bennett, Shelley Taylor, Yehuda Hilewitz, C.E. Dobkin, Gregory Taylor, David Merrill, Franz Misch, Doug Rogers, Steve Vaughn, Owen Handy, Tom Jackson, Napoleon Cole and Jim Orheim. If you have a tip, write us at opinionjournal@wsj.com, and please include the URL.)

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