If Bin Laden does have a car in his cave, it may well be a Prius. A new audio tape has surfaced that suggests the elusive terrorist has a green streak. On the tape, Bin Laden condemns industrial nations for causing climate change.
More from the BBC and the New York Times:
“All industrial nations, mainly the big ones, are responsible for the crisis of global warming,” the latest tape says.
“This is a message to the whole world about those who are causing climate change, whether deliberately or not, and what we should do about that.”
Bush the son, and the [US] Congress before him, rejected this [Kyoto Protocol] agreement only to satisfy the big companies.”
Who knew Bin Laden was an environmentalist? But he doesn’t stop there. The tape also urges a boycott of American goods and the US dollar:
“I know that there would be huge repercussions for that, but this would be the only way to free humankind from slavery… to America and its companies.”
“Noam Chomsky was correct when he compared the U.S. policies to those of the Mafia,” Al Jazeera quoted Mr. bin Laden as saying. “They are the true terrorists and therefore we should refrain from dealing in the U.S. dollar and should try to get rid of this currency as early as possible.”
The tape hasn’t been verified, but if it is indeed Bin Laden, then perhaps the US should broaden its search for him. He could be living on a wind farm somewhere. He could be working as manager of a “buy local” coop. Although, I’m guessing a cave in Afghanistan or Pakistan is pretty carbon friendly too.
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
