Precisely. By turning making OBL the personification of militant Islam, Bush inextricably linked the War on Teorror's success to the fate of a single man.
Which is an oversimplification so gross it borders on the criminal.
Thank-you for agreeing. I have talked to several other people who feel the same way. Regardless of what people say, this was a huge PR mistake on the part of the Bush Administration.
In regard to this war on Iraq, we need to be careful not to make the same mistake twice. Make no mistake, it will be very hard to get Sadaam Hussein. Not only does he have several convincing body doubles, he will also be holed up in some bunker in Baghdad, which will be very hard to reach just using air strikes. If we really want to get Hussein, we will have to send in ground troops, and this won't be in the middle of a desert, it will be an urban war, in a very densly populated city, where many are very hostile towards America.
The American people do not like the fact that Osama Bin Laden may still be out there, and they will not tolerant an invasion upon Iraq, centered around the overthrow of Hussein, if we cannot positively get him.