Bush's Iraq policies have only emboldened terrorists

[ck4829]

It was supposed to be a nonpartisan, non-politicized speech to commemorate the five-year anniversary of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. Instead, the president used it to imply that those questioning his policies on Iraq and the war on terrorism risked "emboldening" the terrorists.

I know I shouldn't take it personally. It is politics, and Bush has very little going for him these days. But still, I do. I think it is actually Bush's own policies that have made the terrorists stronger.

For starters, Bush let Osama bin Laden off the hook when he was on the run. After Afghanistan, he shifted the focus to Iraq instead of capturing bin Laden.

And when Bush went into Iraq, he did so under false pretenses, without enough troops, without the right armor and equipment, and without any realistic plan for the aftermath. Vice President Dick Cheney basically admitted on "Meet the Press" that the administration would have gone into Iraq anyway, even if they hadn't come up with the WMD excuse.

Instead of isolating bin Laden, the Iraq invasion enabled him to bolster his characterization of America as the Great Satan at war with Islam. And by failing to provide safety and security in Iraq, we created the failed state conditions conducive to terrorist havens and propaganda.

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