In what is shaping up to be an east-versus-west, worldwide conflict, it is not surprising that both sides have been spewing its share of rhetoricand propaganda. It is also not surprising how similar the propaganda has been. A point-by-point comparison of Bush's post-attack speech and bin Laden's post-attack statement (though, being filmed during the day, it was clearly made before the nighttime raids) reveals that both men are saying essentially the same thing. In what follows, I have simply cut and pasted comments from each individual's speech, usually with no altercation. Where I have made changes, I have done so only for contextual clarity, with inclusions indicated with brackets and omissions with ellipses. In addition, I have not indicated the individual sources. For most examples it will be obvious, but for some, its eerily similar.

To begin with, both sides see themselves as the liberatorand defender of freedom while calling the enemy an oppressor:

Each side accuses the other of killing innocents:

Each side has given its demands unequivocally:

In the case of non-compliance, each side has explained the consequences:

"Terrorism" is the key term in describing each others' actions:

Each man sees the situation as the definitive "us-them" battle, with no middle ground:

Each leader has made a call for support from his people, no matter what the price:

(Recall that the Taliban leader recently pledge to sacrifice 2 million lives to defend Afghani freedom.)

And, as is the case in every war, each side has made an appeal to God and believes that God is on its side:

With two equally stubborn, stupid individuals at the forefront of this conflict, there can be little doubt that a horrific conclusion lies somewhere in the future.