Why does anyone believe Osama Bin Laden anymore?

Apparently he wants to "nuke 7 US cities". UBL hasn't followed through on any of those things that he said he would, like bringing troops into our homeland. I don't think he'll get nukes. Why do people believe him? Osama is just trying to be an evil version of Goldstein.

[edit on 6-9-2007 by Maverickhunter]

It's easier to believe all your troubles are caused by a "boogieman" than the possibility that your government is lying to you. More so if you actually elected that government in office. People don't like to think themselves stupid enough to be duped.

It's easier to attribute externally than internally.

Attribution Theory

[...]

When we offer explanations about why things happened, we can give one of two types. One, we can make an external attribution. Two, we can make internal attribution. An external attribution (get ready for this) assigns causality to an outside agent or force. Or as kids would say, "The devil made me do it." An external attribution claims that some outside thing motivated the event. By contrast, an internal attribution assigns causality to factors within the person. Or as the sinner would say, "I'm guilty, grant me forgiveness." An internal attribution claims that the person was directly responsible for the event.

[...]

It's not easy to attribute internally. The path of least resistance for most people is to attribute externally.