Guardian: Bush and Bin Laden locked in an embrace

[muriel_volestrangler]

Bin Laden's political comeback was sealed by no less than 17 name checks during a Bush speech in Washington on Tuesday. Since declaring after the September 11 2001 attacks that he wanted him "dead or alive", Mr Bush had tended to avoid mention of the al-Qaida leader for fear of reminding Americans of his failure to catch him.

Now the president has changed course, reportedly at the behest of Karl Rove, his chief strategist, and started talking up the global menace represented by the "enemy leader". In another positional shift, he asserted that Bin Laden, his followers and emulators were "not madmen ... they kill in the name of a clear and focused ideology, a set of beliefs that are evil but not insane", he said. That made them even more scary.
...
In Tuesday's speech, one of a series, Mr Bush portrayed the fight against Sunni Muslim extremists typified by al-Qaida in the starkest terms. Their aim, he said, was nothing less than the destruction of America and the establishment of "a violent political utopia across the Middle East where all would be ruled according to their hateful ideology". Likening Bin Laden to Hitler, he said the aim was to "terrorise us and cause our economy to collapse".

A report today published by the Chatham House thinktank offers a less alarmist assessment.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldbriefing/story/0,,1867474,00.html

Simon Tisdall's World Briefing in The Guardian is usually worth reading - informed, and thoughtful.

[Kierkegaard]

1. He's also invisible and could be under your bed RIGHT NOW!

BOOGA! BOOGA! BOOGA!

"Six months after he said Osama bin Laden must be caught dead or alive, this president was asked, 'Where's Osama bin Laden?' " Kerry said. "He said, 'I don't know. I don't really think about him very much. I'm not that concerned.' We need a president who stays deadly focused on the real war on terror."

Just so I'm straight on this, we're back on again, right?

[ixion]

2. America and the establishment of "a violent political utopia across the

Middle East."


Gee, isn't that also what PNAC wants to do? :shrug:


It's a typical neocon ploy: Accuse your enemies of the very action you're carrying out.

[ClintonTyree]

3. Bush is nothing without Bin Laden..........

and vice-versa. They compliment each other, they're the Yin and the Yang of the "war on terra'". Without Bin Laden bush would have been a one term complete failure as a president. As it stands, he'll be a two term failure as a president but his heinous policies will forever scar American history. He's made his mark, albeit a hideous one, and he owes it all to Osama Bin Laden. Georgie's man of the hour! :grr: