President Bush Lets Bin Laden Define America’s Foreign Policy Priorities
President Bush Lets Bin Laden Define America’s Foreign Policy Priorities
For the past few weeks, members of the Bush administration have argued in speeches and television appearances that because al Qaeda views Iraq as a “central front in the war on terror,” America should too. They are effectively outsourcing our national security strategy to bin Laden. Watch a video compilation:
The facts on the ground, not the opinions of terrorists, should guide our military policy. Iraq has become a distraction from the fight against al Qaeda. In fact, the bin Laden trail has gone “stone cold” as our soldiers are caught in the middle of sectarian violence in Iraq. It is time to redeploy our troops out of Iraq to more effectively combat Islamic extremists.
Transcript:
BUSH: Well, first of all, I do think Iraq is a central front in the war on terror and so does Osama bin Laden. [9/6/06]
SNOW: We are in Iraq. It is now seen as the central focal point of the war on terror by the very people who mounted September 11th. [9/12/06]
BUSH: For al Qaeda, Iraq is not a distraction from their war on America – it is the central battlefield where the outcome of this struggle will be decided. [9/5/06]
TOWNSEND: You know, it’s not just the president who has said Iraq is the central front. Zawahiri has said it’s the central battle front in the war on terror, as has bin Laden. [9/5/06]
BUSH: The fighting in Iraq has been difficult and it has been bloody, and some say that Iraq is a diversion from the war on terror. The terrorists disagree. [9/7/06]
SNOW: And the people who initiated the hostilities on September 11th now say that Iraq is the central theater in the war on terror. [9/13/06]
BARTLETT: It doesn’t matter the debate we are having about whether Iraq is part of the war on terror or not. The enemy themselves has said it is. Osama bin Laden, Zawahiri, the number two man of Al Qaida. They have both said the central front is in Iraq. [8/31/06]
BARTLETT: It doesn’t matter what we debate on this topic. Our enemies believe it’s the central front in the war on terror. [8/31/06]
BARTLETT: So, it doesn’t matter what we say. We should be taking the — the words of the enemy seriously. They think it’s the fight of — of the war on terror, so, we must as well. [8/31/06]
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September 13th, 2006 at 4:32 pmI wrote about it on August 6, 2005. Bush hasn’t changed one wit.
September 13th, 2006 at 4:32 pmWhat you whining little liberals really need is:
Your own huggable Jesus.
September 13th, 2006 at 4:36 pm#3 – That’s it, I can throw out my Christmas list. Huggy Jesus all around!
September 13th, 2006 at 4:43 pmListen up then all neocons it’s time to Man up and get serious about Iraq. if it is truly the center of this struggle then let’s as a nation respond. Call up the draft, increase military spending by cutting the tax relief for the wealthiest few. We didn’t win WWII by cutting taxes and letting a small portion of our citizens fight. The whole country sacrificed. You have the White House and both houses in congress so quit pushing the panic button, get off your non enlisted ass and put your boots where your bullshit is. Call for 400,000 troops to be put in this den of terrorism. Let’s wipe it out and have a collective struggle in this country.
The current administration has rattled the worry sword for the last 5 years but has been a complete failure in executing any cohesive plan.
put up or shut up and quit blamming the ones without the power to change it.
September 13th, 2006 at 4:45 pmOBL thinks Iraq is a cetral front. bush thinks Iraq is a central front.
OBL hates our freedoms. bush hates our freedoms.
OBL is a twisted religious psycho. bush is a twisted religious psycho.
Hey this is kind of fun…..
OBL makes photo ops with guns to satisfy hios ego. bush makes photo ops with guns and military personnel to satisfy his ego.
OBL was aided by Reagan. the bush family was aided by Reagan and bush jr. is still in cahots with some of Reagan’s lackeys.
Changed my mind. It’s really kind of sickening.
September 13th, 2006 at 4:56 pmNot only is Bin Laden leading The Decider! around by the nose, he has pinned down our military for over 3 years with that Zarchawi guy in Iraq.
September 13th, 2006 at 5:00 pmI guess TP couldn’t take anymore heat on their Air America thread. So what do they do? That’s right, shut er down. No more posting allowed. The TP regulars have run away. This too funny.
Come on Judd have some backbone and open up that thread.
September 13th, 2006 at 5:00 pmIraq IS the central front in the war on terror. The war on terror is, in essence, a long-overdue cultural conflict between radical Islam and the Western Democracies. By metamorphizing Iraq into a democracy, we are attacking one of the root causes of terrorism. Instead of the Democratic strategy of pulling into a shell and hoping to defeat every attack on our society, we are doing what the American military does best: staying on the offensive and taking the fight to the enemy. Better to have terrorists dying in the streets of Baghdad then to have American dying in a terrorist attack in a town near you.
September 13th, 2006 at 5:06 pmLooks like Spector’s bill to legitimize the current illegal warrantless wiretapping has passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on a party line vote today.
If the democrats do not fillibuster this, we might as well just give up.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/12/AR2006091201252.html
September 13th, 2006 at 5:08 pmCAPTION:
Jeff.
September 13th, 2006 at 5:12 pmWTF – that thread closed down almost 2 hours ago, ben…
why aren’t you trolls over at your own party… get on over there and pat each others backs or butts or whatever else you do…
stoopid wanker trolls… never learn anything…
a real wanker is a bigger fool if it thinks a terrist attack is NOT coming … the longer we stay and antagonize, the sooner it will happen…
broke my own rule here… hard to resist…
September 13th, 2006 at 5:22 pm…
Iraq will not, and could not, fall to al-Qaida.
The Iraqi resistance is overwhelmingly made up of Sunni, former Baathist, nationalist members of Iraq’s former military and intelligence services, Sunni tribal leaders and just plain old “pissed-off Iraqis.†It is not al-Qaida. When Bush says that by leaving Iraq we would turn Iraq over to the al-Qaida types, he is making the same false argument that he made five years ago. Then, he told us that Saddam Hussein backed Osama bin Laden. Now, he tells us that pro-Saddam Hussein Iraqis back pro-bin Laden al-Qaida types. He lied then and he is lying now.
The threat of terrorism is wildly exaggerated.
A strong and convincing case that the al-Qaida bogeyman is inflated far beyond the real but limited threat that it poses is made in the current issue of Foreign Affairs, in an article by political scientist John Mueller. He and others argue persuasively that the reason the United States has not been attacked since 9/11 is that terrorists are far less powerful than the White House claims. “If al Qaeda operatives are as determined and inventive as assumed, they should be here by now. If they are not yet here, they must not be trying very hard or must be far less dedicated, diabolical, and competent than the common image would suggest,†writes Mueller. Why haven’t the Democrats picked up this argument?
from Tom Paine website
September 13th, 2006 at 5:34 pm#9 then why aren’t you screaming at the party in power to start the draft, build up the military and rebuild up the reserves to crush the Crescent scurge. Let’s go all you necan’ts get these leaders to stand behind all the bullshit they spew. If it is truly a fight for our civilization then let’s get all of our civilians involved.
It’s so easy to say “Better to have terrorists dying in the streets of Baghdad then to have American dying in a terrorist attack in a town near you” but I don’t see one true push to really do anything about it other than try to scare the American public.
September 13th, 2006 at 5:36 pmRedeploy?
To where? I vote Iran.
September 13th, 2006 at 5:39 pm#3 Conservative Rockstar
What you whining little liberals really need is:
Your own huggable Jesus.
He’s so cute and cuddly! I could just hug him to pieces!!!
Uh-oh. Would that be a sin?
Seriously, though, thanks for that. I think I have a new favorite website.
September 13th, 2006 at 5:42 pmSince the Air America thread is shut, I will comment here on it.
I think Judd should open that back up, how could he not have anticipated a troll feild day? Everyone should have their day, let the people have thier day.
I have never listened to Air America, I hate the radio due to commercials and re-plays of limited types of music.
I do feel hate and fear sell almost as well as sex. Hate and fear are basic survival emotions that operate out of the more primitive areas of the brain. It takes work to overcome hate and fear, and start using that frontal lobe. Who wants to work if you have a choice not to? The right appeals to those basic survival emotions and appeals to our society of laziness and avoiding of personal responsibility. The right offers safe, easy, black and white answers to complex issues, and does not challenge beliefs, values, perceptions. Maybe the left and Air America made the mistake in thinking more people are willing to overcome hate and fear than there actually are. To me this is a barometer or a testament as to how dense society really is. We have more uneducated folks than ever before. Is the Right as dumb as we would like to think, they are capitalizing on fear, hate, and stupidity. Seems those qualities are more prevalent than the left thought.
September 13th, 2006 at 5:43 pmSo what does that say about the idiot who made it into the “central front”? Is that supposed to back up their contention that “we’re fighting them there so we don’t have to fight them here”?
If that’s true, how come I can’t take liquids on planes anymore? Why is there a big hole in London’s subways? Etcetera, etcetera, on and on.
September 13th, 2006 at 5:55 pmi’m glad it got shut down, for truth… the trolls can have a hate fest elsewhere, thank you…
the few here calling TP any kind of spineless must be unaware that there is NO posting on the reichwing sites… good riddance…
September 13th, 2006 at 5:55 pm…
BTW – waiting for randi to make an announcement any minute now…
she promised…
…
#9 A Real American
By metamorphizing Iraq into a democracy, we are attacking one of the root causes of terrorism.
I’d like to watch that metamorphosis. What stage is it in right now? Larva or pupa? How about if we metamorphose the civil war between Sunni and Shiite militias into a Boy Scout Jamboree?
You really have to stop buying into that phony imagery that Bush is peddling. It’s crap and it bears no resemblance to the ground truth.
September 13th, 2006 at 5:56 pmShould one assume that the comments by A Real American at # 9 are satirical and not meant to be taken seriously? The occupation in Iraq is not killing more terrorists, it is creating more terrorists. Does A Real American seriously believe what the administration says, that the U.S. “is fighting them over there so not to fight them here?” As Congressman Murtha has repeatedly tried to point out, apparently to no avail, those terrorists or outside forces who are fighting against the U.S. and coalition forces number only 7 per cent. Again, that number is 7 NOT 70 per cent. Al Qaeda is also reputed to be in sixty other countries. Does Mr. A Real American advocate that the U.S. invade and occupy 60 other countries in order to try and contain al Qaeda? The stupidity of that position is simply beyond belief. As long as U.S. forces are in the Middle East, there will continue to be tenision in that area. The U.S. should withdraw, not redeploy, their forces from the region as rapidly and as quickly as possible in order to insure that no more U.S. troops be killed and maimed and crippled for a less than noble cause.
September 13th, 2006 at 5:56 pm#9 “A Real American”,
If this is honestly how you see the world, then I pity you. Reality truly is so much more enjoyable than the universe you seem to prefer inhabiting. Peace to you.
That freeze frame of Bartlett up above looks ripe for captioning. He reminds me of a little bird waiting for mommy to shove a worm down his throat.
September 13th, 2006 at 5:58 pmThe 14th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit opened in Havana, Cuba, on Monday. It will continue through Saturday, when it will end with a meeting of some 50 leaders from Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, as well as by the United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan. Topping the agenda is poverty, health care and a discussion of the Middle East conflict.
Members of the movement have already spoken out about what they call the double standards of big states, complaining that countries such as the U.S., Britain and Israel have altered the meaning of terrorism to the extent that it allows them to commit terrorist acts of aggression with impunity.
One interesting recommendation was that for broadening the definition of “terrorism” to include the occupation of Iraq by the U.S. and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. These aggressions are defined in the draft declaration as “examples of state terrorism.”
September 13th, 2006 at 5:58 pmWe have no foreign policy any longer. It is the members of the Bush regime using the power of the American government to protect themselves. We must stay the course in Iraq because to do otherwise would acknowledge the crime of starting the war. Withdrawing our troops is the first step to war crimes charges and impeachment. We must wage an endless war on terror because to do otherwise would acknowledge that the Bush regime let 9/11 happen and has made us less safe. Whenever the regime talks about the threat posed by “our enemies” they mean their own political opponents who threaten to hold them accountable for their crimes. When Bush says that our safety depends on success in Iraq he means that our troops are dying in Iraq to prop up the regime in Washington.
September 13th, 2006 at 5:59 pmIt’s not al Qaeda fighting in Iraq…its the freaking Iraqi’s fighting each other. Al Qaeda has moved on. Iraq quagmire is taking care of itself now, thanks to Bush. Al Qaeda is off and training somewhere else.
The only time frame on the table now is Bush’s exit and it cant come soon enough. He has no plans because he doesnt know what to do. So he is just riding it out until his term is over so he can pass it off to someone else. This is the same routine he has used in every decision he’s made his whole life!
September 13th, 2006 at 6:02 pmThat Conservatives for American Values site is great. Especially the piece titled James Dobson is Not Gay. Hilarious!
September 13th, 2006 at 6:08 pmGood point Katy,
Whenever I have tried to post on the Repub sites, guess what, they delete it. The feedback from others seems to be the same. Those rightwing sites have created a safe, simple and easy atmosphere with no intrusions of outside thoughts or opinions, how spineless is that? It backs up what I said above, keep em ignorant and scared, thats good business.
September 13th, 2006 at 6:09 pmwhere’s the battle cry for conquering this enemy? Why hasn’t a full fledged draft been called for. Probably because this administration doesn’t have the stomach and knows the public would finally see through the panic they push
September 13th, 2006 at 6:14 pmIts such a lame and tired argument that it’s better to have terrorists die over there than over here.
Then why do the Republicans constantly say another attack is inevitable? And they say that to bring the troops home now would mean all the deaths of soldiers would be in vain. So if its inevitable that we will be attacked again, doesnt that mean they have all died in vain anyway?
September 13th, 2006 at 6:15 pmPrescott Bush supported the Nazis
George Bush supports OSAMA by going soft on Terror and such is why Afghanistan regresses back into the hands of the Taliban
September 13th, 2006 at 6:17 pmGeorge and Prescott Bush are supporters of fascism — one supported nazofascism the other supports ‘islamofascism’
George is soft on terror and weak on national security.
September 13th, 2006 at 6:21 pmThe UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, who returned last week from a two-week trip to the Middle East, said today: “Most of the leaders I spoke to felt the invasion of Iraq and its aftermath has been a real disaster for them. They believe it has destabilised the region.”
In Baghdad more than 100 Iraqi MPs signed a resolution to set a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops. The resolution was backed by an alliance of Sunni MPs and Shias loyal to the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. It won the support of 104 of the 275 MPs, an unexpectedly high figure, before being sent to a committee for review, a manoeuvre which will delay it for at least six months. “We do not want another kitchen in which decisions are cooked away from the representatives of the people, and away from the hearing of the Iraqi people,” Falas al-Mishaal, the resolution’s sponsor, said.
September 13th, 2006 at 6:23 pmA conservative rock star….hey do you also take limbaughs drug of choice?
Bush is soft on Terror and let Osama get away and let the Taliban reemerge. Bush is soft on national security.
September 13th, 2006 at 6:27 pmAs others have noted:
Bush declaims “Iraq is the central front…”
Tony Snow says, “Those who committed 9/11 believe Iraq is the central front…”
Could it be any plainer?
9-11 was an inside job. Just ask Marvin Bush…
September 13th, 2006 at 6:28 pmBUSH: Well, first of all, I do think Iraq is a central front in the war on terror and so does Osama bin Laden. [9/6/06]
SNOW: We are in Iraq. It is now seen as the central focal point of the war on terror by the very people who mounted September 11th. [9/12/06]
Who were “the very people who mounted September 11th”?
Just ask Marvin Bush.
9/11 was an inside job.
September 13th, 2006 at 6:30 pmPlease don’t show photos of the above individual anymore. I would rather see one of Karen Hughes than this shill.
By the by, what ever happened to Carville’s wife?
September 13th, 2006 at 6:53 pm#22 Tobey Tall,
Thanks, as always, for the info. Let’s see, can we guess which countries on the Security Council would veto any attempt to expand the definition of “terrorism”? Anyone, anyone? [Hint: Don't go alphabetically. Start with the countries beginning with "U".]
September 13th, 2006 at 7:01 pmA conservative rock star….hey do you also take limbaughs drug of choice?
Comment by Trinary Suka — September 13, 2006 @ 6:27 pm
um… you don’t get it? …or is this your own brand of satire?
September 13th, 2006 at 7:03 pmi just don’t want you to get any deeper…
…
Katy,
September 13th, 2006 at 7:25 pmHelp! I listened to nearly all the Randi Rhodes show awaiting her explanation, but I had to leave for 30 minutes and I am afraid I missed it.
Was anything said?
Our enemies have proven to be smarter than us (or at least George Bush). By keeping the U.S. in Iraq it is draining the U.S. dry. I wish the Bush idiots could see through this simple ploy and the journalists would say to the Bush administration, “your just being stupid now”.
September 13th, 2006 at 7:33 pmright on!
September 13th, 2006 at 8:05 pmA conservative rock star….hey do you also take limbaughs drug of choice?
Comment by Trinary Suka — September 13, 2006 @ 6:27 pm
um… you don’t get it? …or is this your own brand of satire?
i just don’t want you to get any deeper…
…
Comment by katy
===========
I read that Satire site Katy, I am a Christian and that kind of stuff, while comical to many here, only serves to draw the fundies together and vote for bush, no matter how bad he is…
I think bush is incompetent and his admiminitration is corrupt, by attacking their religion solves nothing and you should go after the peoples actions and not their belief.
Just sayin,,
Thanks for worrying about me, and yes that was my reverse form of satire. And I do get it.
September 13th, 2006 at 8:11 pmAnd I do get it.
Comment by Trinary Suka — September 13, 2006 @ 8:11 pm
ok… sorry … it was hard to tell… :-]
September 13th, 2006 at 8:22 pmand, for the most part, i’m with you on the subject of attacking a person’s personal beliefs… i’m especially of the belief that it’s a private affair… i’m not for proselytizing either way… “to each his own” and all that…
…
marie – sorry to make you wait…
NO! randi never did make any announcement! it was maddening!
however, sam seder did talk about it – i wondered if maybe that wasn’t the plan… anyway, he purposefully kept it short and sweet – there has been NO decision to file for bankruptcy, if there was such a decision that procedure could take years – AirAmericaRadio isn’t going anywhere…
they are doing some restructuring and shuffling… the lineup, if i can remember will be: young turks – early, sam seder – 9-12, franken – 12-3, randi – 3-5, and now i lose my memory… rachael and jon elliot somewhere… still trying to get the malloy spot filled…
sam denied the current rumor, said he had an idea who started it but wouldn’t say any more about it…
it was a really good, heartening speech – i’m confident we’ll be hearing AirAmericaRadio for a good while…
September 13th, 2006 at 8:37 pm…
while i’m on this, i want to say this to TP…
September 13th, 2006 at 8:41 pmfrom the beginning i’ve made a point of reminding some here that TP is not a NEWS site, per se… and so to put up the headline, “Exclusive – AirAmerica…” (which i see is changed now), rather smacked of sensationalism… in a big hurry to break a story before getting all the facts and information…
that was a big disservice to AirAmericaRadio in particular and progressive/liberal radio in general…
i must say, i’m rather disappointed… really bad call…
…
Iraq had nothing to do with the war on terrorism until the Bush admin decided to invade it. Thanks George, for giving Osama a new playground for recruits!
September 13th, 2006 at 8:43 pmI have finally realized why all of the trolls like to come here to provoke arguments — one can’t leave comments on any of their sites! I’ve visited Malkin, Little Green Footballs and Power Line just to see what they are making of an issue. No comments allowed, or in the case of LGT, no new users are being registered so there are a handful of wingnuts only spewing their rhetoric. The thread on the Lauer interview with Bush was enlightening. Whereas the progressives all saw a creepy, hung-over looking Bush doing his bully act on Matt; the right wing Kool Aid brigade saw a “powerful looking” President who had no use for international laws or the Geneva convention. Downright scary are they in blind idolotry and adulation.
September 13th, 2006 at 8:50 pmIRAN’S KHAMENEI tells Iraqi PM that U.S. departure would calm Iraq.
BARTLETT: So, it doesn’t matter what we say. We should be taking the — the words of the enemy seriously. They think it’s the fight of — of the war on terror, so, we must as well
September 13th, 2006 at 8:56 pmKaty
September 13th, 2006 at 9:35 pmThanks so much for the update! I have to leave the computer from time to time and miss either AA or TP (and you now I have trouble posting).
Anyway I did hear that Jerry Springer was leaving – I liked him much more than I thought I would and he makes so much fun of his own TV show.
Sam Seder will make a good replacement. I will seek out Rachel Maddow.
Thanks.
Sorry for the OT everyone.
Sorry for the OT everyone.
Comment by Marie — September 13, 2006 @ 9:35 pm
hey – the official thread is closed to comments, so it goes wherever now…
yes, i liked springer more than i thought i would… he’s pretty smart… but it wasn’t the depth i wanted, so i didn’t turn him on much, knowing i was gonna have it on the next 10 hours (!)… i won’t miss him…
sam cracks me up… i look forward to him… it will be weird hearing him in the morning…
sam just signed off saying don’t believe the rumors… one way or another we will have progressive radio…
September 13th, 2006 at 10:05 pmUm, Real American (No. 9), I think your violatin’ somebody’s trademark.
You should have put it like this: Iraq!ª … The Central Frontª in the War on Terror!ª We’re Taking the Fight to the Enemy!ª
Glad I could be of some assistance.
September 13th, 2006 at 11:01 pmOh well. You gotta fight them where you can find them.
September 13th, 2006 at 11:18 pm# 53:
Yea,if you’re responsible for their rebellion in the first place.
September 14th, 2006 at 1:45 amI always call people out on this point. WHy do we listen to OBD? F#ck him!
If Bin Laden told Bush to resign would he?? What OBD says is policy. Screw Bush, Screw Bin Laden. THe world would be a helluva lot better place without these two pricks.
September 14th, 2006 at 2:35 amIn a recent interview, somewhere in West Pakistan Bin Laden was asked:
September 14th, 2006 at 2:45 amReporter: “Why do you want Iraq to be the centre on the War on the Infidels?”
Bin Laden: “We fight them over there so we don’t have to fight them over here”, “I feel safer here now than I did after 9/11, don’t you?”
Bloggers as Political Strategists
Scott (24) wrote: “Bush …is just riding it out until his term is over so he can pass it off to someone else. This is the same routine he has used in every decision he’s made his whole life!”
Precisely! That’s another great argument for the Dems. There are many other great arguments here that take the fight to the Reps.
Sometimes I think the Dems should look for political strategists on blogs.
September 14th, 2006 at 2:56 amEnuff already!
September 14th, 2006 at 9:11 amIf anyone buys into this CRAP, I don’t think I can put words to what I think of them. When something requires this amount of different justifications it should be clear that any justification is seriously in doubt.
If only Bush could have been as attentive to Bin Laden’s intentions on August 6, 2001. What a bunch of f-ing hypocrites!
September 14th, 2006 at 9:20 ambin laden, bush….they all use the same tactic to get what they want – fear. republicans are parlor shooksters scaring the American people while they pickpocket them. bin Laden is doing the same…dragging us into an expensive war that ultimately costs us hundreds of billions more than it costs them – we have so much more to lose than they do. they can only get us by bringing us down to their level since they cannot reach our level otherwise.
The Reps have no facts, so they lie, and cheat and scare the American public. they confuse and distract Democrats with nonsense like Ann Coulter. it is time for us to give Americans a real choice and to hold the Reps accountable for their failures.
September 17th, 2006 at 9:24 pm