Bush elevated bin Laden to foreign leader, icon, political adversary-

[bigtree]

Bin Laden’s Bounce

The White House hopes a renewed focus on domestic security can secure a GOP victory this fall.

WEB-EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY
By Richard Wolffe and Holly Bailey
Newsweek
Updated: 6:08 p.m. ET Sept 5, 2006
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14687615/site/newsweek/

Sept. 5, 2006 - There was a time when the White House considered Osama bin Laden so contemptible and so radioactive that it would rarely mention his name in any presidential speech. President Bush’s aides didn’t want to dignify the Al Qaeda leader by suggesting he was worthy of a presidential response. Moreover, they thought there was some danger in propagating the views of a figure who wanted to reach the widest audience—and possibly even send coded messages to his followers.

So when bin Laden released a tape late in the last election—in October 2004—the White House handled it delicately. In the final days of the closely fought campaign, Bush’s aides preferred to focus not on bin Laden but on how John Kerry was handling the tape. Bush challenged Kerry for what he called “Monday morning quarterbacking” on the war in Iraq, saying his criticism was “especially shameful in the light of a new tape from America’s enemy.”

Even earlier this year, after another audiotape from bin Laden, the White House dismissed the Al Qaeda leader’s words as irrelevant. When bin Laden offered a truce to the United States, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said simply, “We do not negotiate with terrorists.”

That was the old rhetoric of the war on terror. In the latest version of the war of words, the White House has elevated bin Laden to a mixture of foreign leader, historical icon and political adversary. Bin Laden’s words (and those of his henchmen) provided the backbone for Bush’s speech to military officers on Tuesday. Far from brushing aside bin Laden’s rants, Bush insisted they were a modern-day Mein Kampf, a guide to Al Qaeda’s global strategy. The White House now finds itself in the extraordinary position of selling the war on terror by citing the very man it ranks as public enemy No. 1.

more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14687615/site/newsweek/



Because Bin-Laden Says So (9-6-2006)

[kurth]

1. So how's Osama doing?

His video production company is doing pretty well.

[bigtree]

2. his WH agents have done a bang-up job with promotion

and distribution