Actor: We Need To Ask Osama Bin Laden Why He's Mad At Us

"Imagine if somebody were to really sit down with Osama bin Ladin and say, 'Listen man, what is it that you're so angry at me about that you're willing to have people strap bombs to themselves, or get inside of airplanes and fly them into buildings?'"

So said actor Matthew Modine in an interview published at CNN.com Monday.

"That would be the miracle if we can get, sit down and talk to our enemies and have a fine way for them to hear us" (video embedded below the fold with partial transcript and commentary, h/t Hot Air):

MATTHEW MODINE: The play that I'm in right now, making my Broadway debut, "The Miracle Worker," is very much a story about communication. At first, you might think it's a story about a student and a teacher, Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan. In a bigger sense, the story is about all of us being deaf and blind. And the struggle that Helen Keller has with her teacher is a struggle that all of us face when we don't understand another person. When we find somebody or we have somebody in our lives in our families that don't hear us, we have to find a different way to communicate to them so that they can hear us. You know, the miracle in "The Miracle Worker" is that Annie Sullivan found a way to put letters into Helen Keller's hands and open up a world to her of communication so that she could speak finally. But we have to do that all the time in different ways with our children or with people who see things differently than us. Imagine if somebody were to really sit down with Osama Bin Ladin and say, "Listen man, what is it that you're so angry at me about that you're willing to have people strap bombs to themselves, or get inside of airplanes and fly them into buildings?" That would be the miracle if we can get, sit down and talk to our enemies and have a fine way for them to hear us.

For those unfamiliar, Modine is best known for his performances in Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket" as well as Louden Swain's "Vision Quest."

As NewsBusters' Tim Graham reported in September 2008, Modine is no stranger to making foolish political comments:

With the media focusing in on McCain's speech tonight and the week's focus on his heroic biography, Modine uncorked this rebuttal in Denver, as reported by the Washington Examiner:

"I mean, he got shot down three times!" said Modine, taking on one of McCain's most lauded personal accomplishments. "That's not success!" While on a bombing mission over North Vietnam, McCain was shot down and held as a prisoner of war. When McCain's father was named commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam, the future Arizona senator was offered an early release, but rejected it because his captors would not also released his fellow American P.O.W.s.

That kind of loyalty has earned McCain endless accolades, but Modine thinks that McCain's rejection of the release offer is yet another example of McCain's shortcomings. "And he wasn't even a good prisoner of war," said Modine. "He should have left as soon as he could. That's what you're supposed to do as a prisoner of war: Leave when you can. It defeats the enemy. It makes them look bad and it weakens them."

For the record, CNN.com seems rather pleased with this video, as it was listed as a "Don't Miss" at the network's website:

The irony of all this is that at roughly the same time CNN.com was calling Modine's interview "Don't Miss," it was announced that the show he's currently in is being canceled:

The Broadway revival of "The Miracle Worker" is to close April 4, a message on the play's Web site announced Monday.

Starring Abigail Breslin, Alison Pill, Matthew Modine and Jennifer Morrison, the fact-based drama about a determined teacher's relationship with a deaf and blind child in the late 1800s began preview performances Feb. 12 at Manhattan's Circle in the Square Theatre. It officially opened March 3.

I guess his performance wasn't "Don't Miss!"

Now THAT'S entertainment!