Last May, documents discovered in the hideout of Osama bin Laden revealed that the Al Qaeda leader dreamed of killing President Obama, as well as “military chiefs like the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the defense secretary, top military people,” a counterterror official told Pro Publica. As for Joe Biden … eh.
>“There is a note indicating that the vice president is not an important target because that position has less weight.”
While it was somewhat embarrassing for Biden that he was not considered assassination-worthy, Bin Laden’s analysis seemed like a fairly accurate assessment of the largely ceremonial role that vice-presidents play in American governance, not a personal judgment on Biden.
But it turns out that bin Laden did actually have a very low opinion of Joe Biden, on a very personal level. The Washington Post’s David Ignatius reports today that in another document taken from the Abbottabad compound, bin Laden explained the rationale behind a plot to shoot down President Obama’s plane thusly:
“Obama is the head of infidelity and killing him automatically will make (Vice President Joe) Biden take over the presidency. … Biden is totally unprepared for that post, which will lead the U.S. into a crisis.”
