Pepe Escobar Commentary: Al Gore campaigns for Obama in Florida; Bin Laden still not heard from
For months there has been relentless talk of an October surprise capable of swaying the US presidential election - just as the Osama bin Laden video "Message to the American people" released in late October 2004.
Possible October surprises include former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsing Senator Barack Obama and former vice-president Al Gore campaigning for Obama in Florida - the state that cost him the election in 2000.
Meanwhile, al-Qaeda has vaguely endorsed Senator John McCain. But many - including top US government officials - are still waiting for an Osama bin Laden video.
Pepe Escobar, born in Brazil is the roving correspondent for Asia Times and an analyst for The Real News Network. He's been a foreign correspondent since 1985, based in London, Milan, Los Angeles, Paris, Singapore, and Bangkok. Since the late 1990s, he has specialized in covering the arc from the Middle East to Central Asia, including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He has made frequent visits to Iran and is the author of Globalistan and also Red Zone Blues: A Snapshot of Baghdad During the Surge both published by Nimble Books in 2007.