"...Bush is implicitly elevating Osama bin Laden's stature and historic significance to the level of figures such as Lenin, Stalin or Mao..."
Hitler was regarded as an insignificant kook by many, but managed to cause the death of millions and untold misery.
Bush is right. Brzezinski is wrong.
And of course, Saddam was just a thug until he manged to get his hands on the reins of power. How many millions of Iranian, Kuwati and Iraqi deaths was he responsible for?
Brzezinski is certainly wrong -- once again. He did not appreciate the importance of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, either as it impacted the Soviet Union or world wide Islamism. The Soviet Union is dead, but the Islamists are alive and kicking from Morocco to the Philippines, and from South America through the United States and Canada on to Europe.
1. Most (if not all) of the Islamic world is mobilized for waging Jihad at the grass roots level should give us pause.
2. Islamists have signicantly infiltrated Western society and are increasing their base daily through immigration and conversions.
3. We have a fifth column (the MSN + Leftists) working to undermine our ability to mobilize against this threat. As a result, most of our populace is deaf, dumb, and blind to the true nature of this threat.
4. Al Qaeda is actively seeking nuclear weapons. At least one Muslim country has them. Others (Iran) are nearly there.
When taken together, the above four facts actually make them every bit as dangerous as either communism or fascism.