Bin Laden specter gives Bush critics an opening
Posted on 11/16/2002 3:36:14 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
Bin Laden specter gives Bush critics an opening
Democrats see flaw in president's strategy; aides tout pace of war
11/16/2002
WASHINGTON - His domestic political opponents may be on the run, but President Bush now faces the return of a different foe: Osama bin Laden.
The al-Qaeda leader's apparent re-emergence has given critics a new opening to challenge Mr. Bush's stewardship of the war on terrorism, though previous such efforts have backfired because of the president's strong public support.
Mr. Bush and his aides have played down the significance of a new tape purportedly made by Mr. bin Laden, saying that whether he survives or not, his al-Qaeda network has been crippled. And they have aggressively defended their conduct of the war on terrorism, offering a list of accomplishments.
"We have locked up or detained or eliminated important al-Qaeda leaders," said National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. "We have eliminated their base in Afghanistan so they cannot operate in the way that they have in the past. ... A lot has been done."
As some Democrats started raising the cry of "Where's Osama?" U.S. officials confirmed Friday that they have arrested a high-ranking al-Qaeda leader, although they would not say who or where. Officials also said Mr. Bush will devote his Saturday morning radio address to the fight against terrorism.
 President Bush, heading to Camp David, Md., for the weekend, plans to devote his Saturday radio address to the nation on the fight against terrorism. Democrats are questioning the administration's efforts to find Osama bin Laden. (AP)
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The de-emphasis on Mr. bin Laden's fate reflects a long-running White House effort to depersonalize the conflict, officials said.
Once cast as a duel between the American president and a terrorist mastermind - symbolized by Mr. Bush's statement last year that he wanted Mr. bin Laden "dead or alive" - U.S. officials now stress that the struggle is not about finding "one man," but about dismantling "terrorist networks."
"This is going to be a long war," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. "This is a different kind of war and a different kind of enemy."
Sensing an opportunity
Still, Democrats - including some who are thinking of running against Mr. Bush in 2004 - sense an opportunity to stake out their positions on an issue Mr. Bush has owned to this point, the conduct of the war on terrorism.
They have questioned the abilities of U.S. intelligence services and suggested that Mr. Bush's emphasis on Saddam Hussein and Iraq has distracted him from the initial goal of the war: Nailing Mr. bin Laden for the Sept. 11 attacks.
"The new tape puts a bright light on what I've said should always have been our top foreign policy objective - destroying al-Qaeda," said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., a likely presidential candidate. "It's clear we have miles to go before that mission is complete."
Mr. Kerry and other critics also question whether the Pentagon botched the best attempt to nab Mr. bin Laden in the battle of Tora Bora last year in Afghanistan, and whether the administration is doing enough to stabilize that country.
Analysts said most Americans won't consider the war close to over until Mr. bin Laden is caught or killed, an event that would quiet even the most ardent critics of Mr. Bush's strategy.
Analysts also noted that although the Democrats are asking legitimate questions, they must be careful not to be seen as politicizing national security, something they have been accused of in the past.
Officials said it is possible the tape is some kind of forgery, but that is unlikely. It certainly appears to have been made within the last month, as the speaker refers to - and takes credit for - recent terrorist attacks in Bali and Moscow.
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If the speaker is Mr. Laden, it would dash the hopes of officials who believe the terrorist leader was killed at Tora Bora.
Mr. Bush has maintained uncertainty about Mr. bin Laden, saying on March 13, for example, "Deep in my heart, I know the man is on the run, if he's alive at all."
On July 8, Mr. Bush said, "We haven't heard from him in a long time," but he added, "I don't know if the man's living or the man's dead."
"But one thing is for certain," Mr. Bush added. "The war on terror is a lot bigger than one person."
Mr. Bush and his aides have echoed that sentiment since he made his "dead or alive" comment after the Sept. 11 attack. The president did so again when asked this week about the new bin Laden tape.
"We're making great progress in the war on terror," Mr. Bush said. "Slowly, but surely, we are dismantling the terrorist network. We're finding their sanctuaries, we're holding people to account."
Some of his political opponents, however, have a different interpretation of Mr. bin Laden's apparent survival.
"Now, the president laid down that criteria a year ago when he said we will be judged by whether or not we find bin Laden dead or alive. Well, by that criteria, we haven't made a lot of progress," said Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D.
Other Democrats also have invoked Mr. bin Laden's name during congressional debates.
While criticizing some of Mr. Bush's proposals for a new Department of Homeland Security, Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W. Va., said: "Osama bin Laden is still alive and plotting more attacks while we play bureaucratic shuffleboard."
Analysts noted that Democrats have made these kinds of attacks before, only to retreat in the face of Mr. Bush's high standing with the American public.
"To the extent that Democrats are seen as playing politics, the track record suggests they are going to lose," said James Lindsay, a senior fellow in foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution, a liberal-leaning Washington think tank.
Specter of attacks
As for Mr. Bush, Mr. Lindsay said Mr. bin Laden's survival may not matter politically if the country suffers more terrorist attacks.
"Another attack raises the question of whether the national government has done enough to protect Americans," Mr. Lindsay said.
Attacks may be more likely now that fervent followers believe they have heard the voice of their leader, said Daniel Benjamin, co-author of The Age of Sacred Terror: Radical Islam's War Against America.
"Bin Laden's re-emergence does not invalidate the progress that has been made in the war on terror," said Mr. Benjamin, a National Security Council official under President Bill Clinton. "But at the same time, bin Laden is a charismatic figure and his followers in radical Islam is certain to be mightily cheered by this."
E-mail djackson@dallasnews.com
As Ann Coulter so accurately states, a very small percentage, maybe 10%, thinks the way the mainstream newsmedia, Universities and entertainment and pol "elites" think. America gets it. most Americans know why we're in this war, why we need to take out Saddam...but listening to Daschle, CNN, etc., the "will of the people" is not only being ignored, these misguided cowards are spitting on us, America and our President.
I appreciate the e-mail address.
Clinton's parting gift to Bush? Poking the Taliban hornet's nest...and running:
Why would Clinton also close off ANWR those last days in office keeping us more dependent on terrorist-supporting nations for our energy needs?
Why would Clinton invite both Barak and Arafat to the White House the last days of his administration and encourage them both to make concessions that were sure to anger each and which turned their people against them at home?
Why did the press report on the pardons and the vandalism, but neglect to investigate the most damaging actions of the departing President?
Why would Clinton leave so many landmines for the new President, knowing that our national security was at stake?
This carping from the sidelines while we're all trying to figure out how to keep from being blown up is not just annoying, it is angry-making. I think the Democrats are trading a little bit of hype for their base in return for lasting enmity from the American people. If they keep this up, I think we'll start to see people changing their voting registrations. No one will want to be known as a "Democrat." It will become a term of insult. |
We are told the American people will be sure the war is over if Bin Laden is killed? And what will they think following the next Al Queda terrorist attack thereafter? Democrats are scum. They didn't notice the conquest of Afghanistan?
IF they have some suggestions on how better to fight this war, have they offered them to the Commander in Chief? Funny, I haven't heard one.
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I've been without my ping list since Oct. 24th. My Dad was in an auto accident in Colorado on the 23rd, and I drove up there the next morning early. He totalled the car and is banged up a bit. It will take a while getting back to normal, but he's doing better. We got back to Texas Halloween Night.....
Dad's brother and SIL came up to watch him so I could catch up on personal stuff at my house. I retrieved my ping lists and graphics from home and forwarded it to Dad's computer while I was there.
Bump.
Oh, Meek, I'm sorry. Prayers for a full recovery for your dad and peace for your family.
Brothers come in handy sometimes, don't they? (^:
Think you need to hone your thinking here. Why are so many Democrats bent on accepting as true what is presently unprovable?
Daschle: "We are losing the war on terror."
Gore: "We need to focus on the war on terror and finish it before starting with Iraq."
An real OBL tape can be used to "support" their contentions and legitimize their opposition to the Bush administration.
LOL! Makes a good fantasy script for a Democrat TV show, but this is not reality in a Bush administration.
Thank you for reminding me to watch that new hunk, Jason O'Mara as Stiles, on The Agency, CBS at 10pm tonight. I think this is the night they accuse the President of covering up a murder. Democrat must see TV.
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The Democrats don't get it. This is not what people voted for. They are damned lucky there is not another election next week... they would be thrown out en masse for doing this. This is exactly what the Democrats were being told not to do.