On the latest video of Osama bin Laden

There is something unsettling about the latest videotaped message of Osama bin Laden. The consensus appears to be that bin Laden sought two objectives: To influence Tuesday's U.S. presidential elections and to extend an olive branch to the U.S. by ending threats against America's security in return for changing Washington's policies towards the Arab and Muslim worlds.

(The message) will be noticed by an audience ... even more important to the goals of al-Qaeda's leader ... a young, certainly more moderate, but definitely frustrated Muslim street.

Perhaps bin Laden has come to the realization that since his tune has not changed, his support is fading. The horror he has perpetrated has done the greatest damage to the Arab and Islamic worlds.

The timing of the release of the tape, just four days before the U.S. elections, suggests rather forcefully that bin Laden seeks ... a change of leadership in the U.S.

Meanwhile, has he managed to catch the ear of a disheartened Muslim youth? -- The Jordan Times, Amman, Jordan