A hard look at the fear and terror that President Bush was trying to sow
with his Rovian speech of September 5th

Previous Bush Quotes about Bin Laden:

"The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him." - G.W. Bush, 9/13/01

"I want justice...There's an old poster out West, as I recall, that said, 'Wanted: Dead or Alive,'" - G.W. Bush, 9/17/01, UPI

"...Secondly, he is not escaping us. This is a guy, who, three months ago, was in control of a county [sic]. Now he's maybe in control of a cave. He's on the run. Listen, a while ago I said to the American people, our objective is more than bin Laden. But one of the things for certain is we're going to get him running and keep him running, and bring him to justice. And that's what's happening. He's on the run, if he's running at all. So we don't know whether he's in cave with the door shut, or a cave with the door open -- we just don't know...." - Bush, in remarks in a Press Availability with the Press Travel Pool,
The Prairie Chapel Ranch, Crawford TX, 12/28/01, as reported on official White House site

OOPS I’m in Trouble, Let’s Spin This:

"I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority." - G.W. Bush, 3/13/02

"I am truly not that concerned about him." - G.W. Bush, responding to a question about bin Laden's whereabouts. 3/13/02 (The New American, 4/8/02)

OOPS I’m in Trouble, Let’s Spin Again:

Clips of the President in a speech at the Capital Hilton Hotel, Washington, D.C. on September 5, 2006:

“Your presence here reminds us that we're engaged in a global war against an enemy that threatens all civilized nations. And today the civilized world stands together to defend our freedom; we stand together to defeat the terrorists; and were working to secure the peace for generations to come.”

“We remember the cold brutality of the enemy who inflicted this harm on our country -- an enemy whose leader, Osama bin Laden, declared the massacre of nearly 3,000 people that day -- I quote -- "an unparalleled and magnificent feat of valor, unmatched by any in humankind before them."

“Five years after our nation was attacked, the terrorist danger remains.”

“Osama bin Laden has called the 9/11 attacks -- in his words -- "a great step towards the unity of Muslims and establishing the Righteous… [Caliphate]."

About two months ago, the terrorist Zawahiri -- he's al Qaeda's second in command -- declared that al Qaeda intends to impose its rule in "every land that was a home for Islam, from [Spain] to Iraq. He went on to say, "The whole world is an open field for us."

Again, hear the words of Osama bin Laden earlier this year: "Death is better than living on this Earth with the unbelievers among us."

His charter states that "there will be continuing enmity until everyone believes in Allah. We will not meet [the enemy] halfway. There will be no room for dialogue with them."

“A grisly al Qaeda manual that includes chapters with titles such as "Guidelines for Beating and Killing Hostages." This manual declares that their vision of Islam "does not… make a truce with unbelief, but rather confronts it." The confrontation… calls for… the dialogue of bullets, the ideals of assassination, bombing, and destruction, and the diplomacy of the cannon and machine gun."

Bin Laden calls this his "bleed-until-bankruptcy plan." And he cited the attacks of 9/11 as evidence that such a plan can succeed. With the 9/11 attacks, Osama bin Laden says "al Qaeda spent $500,000 on the event, while America… lost -- according to the lowest estimate -- $500 billion… Meaning that every dollar of al Qaeda defeated a million dollars” of America. Bin Laden concludes from this experience that "America is definitely a great power, with… unbelievable military strength and a vibrant economy, but all of these have been built on a very weak and hollow foundation." He went on to say, "Therefore, it is very easy to target the flimsy base and concentrate on their weak points, and even if we're able to target one-tenth of these weak points, we will be able [to] crush and destroy them."

Secondly, along with this campaign of terror, the enemy has a propaganda strategy. Osama bin Laden laid out this strategy in a letter to the Taliban leader, Mullah Omar, that coalition forces uncovered in Afghanistan in 2002. In it, bin Laden says that al Qaeda intends to "[launch]," in his words, "a media campaign… to create a wedge between the American people and their government." This media campaign, bin Laden says, will send the American people a number of messages, including "that their government [will] bring them more losses, in finances and casualties." And he goes on to say that "they are being sacrificed… to serve… the big investors, especially the Jews." Bin Laden says that by delivering these messages, al Qaeda "aims at creating pressure from the American people on the American government to stop their campaign against Afghanistan."

Bin Laden and his allies are absolutely convinced they can succeed in forcing America to retreat and causing our economic collapse.

Osama bin Laden has written that the "defeat of... American forces in Beirut" in 1983 is proof America does not have the stomach to stay in the fight. He's declared that "in Somalia… the United States [pulled] out, trailing disappointment, defeat, and failure behind it." And last year, the terrorist Zawahiri declared that Americans "know better than others that there is no hope in victory. The Vietnam specter is closing every outlet."

“These terrorists hope to drive America and our coalition out of Afghanistan, so they can restore the safe haven they lost when coalition forces drove them out five years ago.”

But they've made clear that the most important front in their struggle against America is Iraq -- the nation bin Laden has declared the "capital of the Caliphate." Hear the words of bin Laden: "I now address… the whole… Islamic nation: Listen and understand… The most… serious issue today for the whole world is this Third World War… [that] is raging in [Iraq]." He calls it "a war of destiny between infidelity and Islam." He says, "The whole world is watching this war," and that it will end in "victory and glory or misery and humiliation."

The terrorist Zawahiri has said that al Qaeda will proceed with "several incremental goals. The first stage: Expel the Americans from Iraq. The second stage: Establish an Islamic authority or emirate, then develop it and support it until it achieves the level of Caliphate… The third stage: Extend the jihad wave to the secular countries neighboring Iraq. And the fourth stage: …the clash with Israel."

Last year, the terrorist Zarqawi declared in a message posted on the Internet that democracy "is the essence of infidelity and deviation from the right path."

Again, hear the words of bin Laden, in a message to the American people earlier this year. He says: "The war is for you or for us to win. If we win it, it means your defeat and disgrace forever."

Bin Laden and his terrorist allies have made their intentions as clear as Lenin and Hitler before them.

“Al Qaeda has been weakened by our sustained offensive against them, and today it is harder for al Qaeda's leaders to operate freely, to move money, or to communicate with their operatives and facilitators. Yet al Qaeda remains dangerous and determined. Bin Laden and Zawahir remain in hiding in remote regions of this world”

As we continue to fight al Qaeda and these Sunni extremists inspired by their radical ideology, we also face the threat posed by Shia extremists, who are learning from al Qaeda, increasing their assertiveness, and stepping up their threats.

“And the Shia extremists have achieved something that al Qaeda has so far failed to do: In 1979, they took control of a major power, the nation of Iran”

“The Iranian regime has clear aims: They want to drive America out of the region, to destroy Israel, and to dominate the broader Middle East”

“The Shia and Sunni extremists represent different faces of the same threat. They draw inspiration from different sources, but both seek to impose a dark vision of violent Islamic radicalism across the Middle East.”

“Our strategy for combating terrorism has five basic elements:

First, we're determined to prevent terrorist attacks before they occur. So we're taking the fight to the enemy. The best way to protect America is to stay on the offense.

We're also fighting the enemy here at home. We've given our law enforcement and intelligence professionals the tools they need to stop the terrorists in our midst. We passed the Patriot Act to break down the wall that prevented law enforcement and intelligence from sharing vital information. We created the Terrorist Surveillance Program to monitor the communications between al Qaeda commanders abroad and terrorist operatives within our borders. If al Qaeda is calling somebody in America, we need to know why, in order to stop attacks. (Applause.)

“By taking the battle to the terrorists and their supporters on our own soil and across the world, we've stopped a number of al Qaeda plots.”

Second, we're determined to deny weapons of mass destruction to outlaw regimes and terrorists who would use them without hesitation.

“Third, we're determined to deny terrorists the support of outlaw regimes. After September the 11th, I laid out a clear doctrine: America makes no distinction between those who commit acts of terror, and those that harbor and support them, because they're equally guilty of murder.”

“Fourth, we're determined to deny terrorist networks control of any nation, or territory within a nation. So, along with our coalition and the Iraqi government, we'll stop the terrorists from taking control of Iraq, and establishing a new safe haven from which to attack America.”

“Fifth, we're working to deny terrorists new recruits, by defeating their hateful ideology and spreading the hope of freedom -- by spreading the hope of freedom across the Middle East.”

“The experience of September the 11th made clear, in the long run, the only way to secure our nation is to change the course of the Middle East. So America has committed its influence in the world to advancing freedom and liberty and democracy as the great alternatives to repression and radicalism. (Applause.) We're taking the side of democratic leaders and moderates and reformers across the Middle East. We strongly support the voices of tolerance and moderation in the Muslim world. We're standing with Afghanistan's elected government against al Qaeda and the Taliban remnants that are trying to restore tyranny in that country. We're standing with Lebanon's young democracy against the foreign forces that are seeking to undermine the country's sovereignty and independence. And we're standing with the leaders of Iraq's unity government as they work to defeat the enemies of freedom, and chart a more hopeful course for their people. This is why victory is so important in Iraq. By helping freedom succeed in Iraq, we will help America, and the Middle East, and the world become more secure.”

My Comments:

In this speech the president, with a political agenda in mind, quotes bin Laden and Zawahiri 26 times and September 11th 5 times. It’s a way to hit the audience and the American people again and again with the words that are intended to bring fear and anger surging in the American public. The President hammers away again and again with the previous sound bites from bin Laden and Zawahiri that threaten Americans and the United States. He ties these terrorists to 9/11 which indeed he should because they and their al Qaeda organization were responsible for that obscene attack and not by any stretch of the imagination was Sadam Hussein implicated.

The President and his advisors have seen how fear and terror have worked on the American voter before. The specter of Osama bin Laden and the 9/11 attacks have been used quite successfully in scaring the crap out of the American people and have delivered elections to the Republicans and this Administration every time since 2001.

An apropos quote about these tactics comes from President Dwight D. Eisenhower, "In most communities it is illegal to cry "fire" in a crowded assembly. Should it not be considered serious “international misconduct” to manufacture a general war scare in an effort to achieve local political aims?"

The use of these sound bites from these terrorists should remind us that after 5 years these terrorists are still on the loose after Bush claimed that capturing them was his number one priority and he wanted them “Dead or Alive”. We should also be reminded of the fact that the CIA special ops unit that was set up with the specific purpose of hunting down these people has been quietly disbanded.

The question that has been asked before and has to be asked again is, “If bin Laden and Zawahiri were responsible for all the carnage of the African Embassy bombings, the bombing of the USS Cole and the attacks of September 11th, and they are such a continuing threat to the United States, then why did we pull our troops out of Afghanistan to attack Iraq when we had these terrorists cornered in Tora Bora, thus letting bin Laden and Zawahiri escape? And then why did we get these two quotes from the President after they were on the loose;

"I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority." - G.W. Bush

"I am truly not that concerned about him." - G.W. Bush, responding to a question about bin Laden's whereabouts.

Now logically since the President has changed his mind, “flip flopped” I think you call it, and has outlined what a “real” and “terrible” threat these guys are to the American people and to our way of life, what in hell are we still doing in Iraq. If indeed Iraq is, in the opinion of bin Laden as Bush claims, “a war of destiny between infidelity and Islam” why aren’t we taking the fight to them in the tribal areas of northern Afghanistan and Pakistan where that war of destiny would really be settled? According to all the reports coming out of Iraq, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, al-Zaqawi has been killed and it has also been announced over time that upwards of 39 al Qaeda in Iraq number two leaders have either been killed or captured. This would lead you to believe that al Qaeda in Iraq has been totally decimated and is really not much of a threat anymore. In addition to that, all the reports indicate that the killing and destruction there is being done by the insurgents, who are not al Qaeda, or by both Sunni and Shia death squads who are out to accomplish ethnic cleansing in their neighborhoods. And according to all the information available, neither the insurgents (Sadam Hussein Baathists), the Sunni populace or the Shia populace are allied with al Qaeda. In addition 80% of the Iraqis want our troops out of their country and they feel that if we would cease our “occupation” the violence would stop. Since none of these groups are really allied with al Qaeda it brings the question, “how would Iraq become a launching pad for these terrorists if we leave, as the President claims?”

Now it stands to reason that if bin Laden and Zawahiri are such a clear and present danger to the United States, we should be going after them hard and fast instead of wasting American lives, bodies and wealth in this illogical and almost criminal passion to “stay the course” in Iraq. This is idiotic and will NOT protect the soccer moms and their families at home. It will do nothing but keep creating more and more radical terrorists and suicide bombers around the world.

It also follows that if bin Laden and Zawahiri are the real culprits in this Islamic terrorist plot against the American people and the United States why the hell aren’t we “redeploying” (not cut and running) out of Iraq and putting all the huge resources (troops, money and material) at our disposal working in the hunt for these terrorists that threaten the very existence of our way of life and our democracy?

As far as comparing this quest by bin Laden to the rise of Lenin and Hitler, there is no comparison at all. Lenin and Hitler used threats of attacks by outside forces and the economic hardships of their countries (both democratic countries at the time) to take over those governments by using the democratic process. (This sounds like what’s happening in this country with this neo-con cabal that’s in charge). There is an apropos quote by Hermann Goering about what happened there and what’s happening here. It is: "It is always a simple matter to drag the people along... All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.”

If both Lenin and Hitler had broadcast their evil intensions to the whole world via the mass media that we have today, as bin Laden and Zawahiri have done, don’t you think that they would have been hunted down and eliminated well before their regimes murdered tens of millions of innocent people. It seems as if we’ve ignored bin Laden for much too long (5 years) and all this time we have allowed him to spread fear and terror among us, with the aid of Karl Rove and this Administration whether unintentional or not. So the logical and practical thing to do is hunt down and eliminate these two mass murderers. If you cut off a snake’s head the body will die.

Now the Pakistani Government, who is part of that “civilized world” that we are “standing together” with, has just made a peace deal with the Taliban in their country. Whereby Bush, was played the fool by Musharraf, who has cashed in U.S. checks to the tune of $3 billion over five years and was supposedly assisting US efforts on the "war on terror".

These are some of the details:

Miranshah(Pakistani spokesperson): Pro Taliban militants and the Pakistani government signed a peace deal on Tuesday, according to Pakistani negotiators.

The militants said they would stop attacks in Pakistan and across the Afghan border on the condition that the Pakistani government stop air and ground operations in the Waziristan region and dismantle newly built check posts...

“If he is in Pakistan, bin Laden "would not be taken into custody,” Major General Shaukat Sultan Khan told ABC News in a telephone interview, "as long as one is being like a peaceful citizen." ABC News, Sept. 5, 2006

.

So it looks to me like bin Laden and Zawhari have been given a free hand to roam and conduct business as they please in, as Bush states, “a new safe haven”, in the Waziristan region of Pakistan. Bush said in the above speech, “Today it is harder for al Qaeda's leaders to operate freely, to move money, or to communicate with their operatives and facilitators”, which statement now appears to be untrue!

Bush also said, “America makes no distinction between those who commit acts of terror, and those that harbor and support them, because they're equally guilty of murder.” To me it looks like Pakistan is “harboring and supporting” bin Laden. And Bush said, “We’re determined to deny terrorist networks control of any nation, or territory within a nation”. What about the now obvious al Qaeda and Taliban control of the Waziristan region of Pakistan?

Because of these developments by one of our supposed “allies in the war on terror”, according to the “clear Bush doctrine laid out after Sept. 11th”, we should be able to go into the Waziristan region with all of our resources (troops, money and material) that are being eaten up in Iraq and root out and kill bin Laden and Zawahiri and to hell with General Musharraf. This action seems to be more logical and will bear much more fruit than continuing the ill advised policy to “stay the course” in Iraq and keep chewing up our resources and troops in an untenable civil war. Let the Iraqis settle this civil war without us while we confront and eliminate the “real” danger to the USA in Waziristan.

As to the danger of the Shia; we created this monster in Iran with our meddling and with our thirst for profits for the oil industry. As Bush said, the Shia took control of Iran in 1979 to get rid of that corrupt tyrant (who we put on the throne) the Shah of Iran, and now we’re beating the drums of war because they are building a nuclear device. As to the threats that they’ve been tossing those around since 1979, I feel that this is just warmed over rhetoric. In the past we’ve supported Sadam Hussein (thanks Donald Rumsfeld) in the 10 year war against them. With all our meddling in their affairs, is it any wonder that they call us the Great Satan? As to their threats against Israel, the Israelis can take care of themselves especially if it comes down to a conventional war against them. They are already preparing themselves for that eventuality. As to their nuclear weapon development, our best intelligence says that it will take them six to ten years to develop one. It probably would have taken them longer if our great ally Pakistan hadn’t given them the technology and know how to build a device. It stands to reason, since we’ve been supporting the subjugation of their people in many ways for decades and has made us many enemies among them, it’s time to take a new tact and join the Europeans and the UN in using diplomacy and aid to negotiate an end to their WMD program. Of course our saber rattling neo-con Administration hasn’t been very good at that in the past, just look at Lebanon, Iraq and North Korea. Haven’t we learned from those results that our heavy handed and imperialistic foreign policy doesn’t work?

As far as the Shia in Iraq, we’ve essentially turned the Iraqi government over to them and the country is close to becoming a theocracy. In the Shia areas of Iraq the Muslim religious law, Shari`ah, is being enforced. The Iranians probably have much more influence in that Iraq than we do. If we don’t end our occupation of Iraq the radical Shia militia that are aligned with Iran (e.g. those of Muqtada El Sadr), will eventually take over the Iraqi government.

As to the unrest in Lebanon and Gaza; Israel, with our help, created the radical organizations Hamas and Hezbollah with the heavy handed and forceful policies that they have pursued in the past. Those organizations along with al Qaeda in Afghanistan have won the hearts and minds of the people by providing humanitarian, medical and social service aid for the citizens of those countries in the areas where no other organizations or government services exist.

Bush states in his address, “We're taking the side of democratic leaders and moderates and reformers across the Middle East” and he said, “We're standing with Lebanon's young democracy against the foreign forces”. Our allies in the region (supposed moderates), Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt are all ruled by either Kings or dictators and not by democratic leaders or reformers like Bush claims and we are propping them up just like we did with the Shah of Iran. Is it any wonder that the people of these countries hate us as we are complicit in their subjugation? In Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai’s government controls only a small part of the country around Kabul while warlords and the Taliban control the rest. I wouldn’t call this a democracy, especially because all the powers in that country have denied equal rights to the women. As far as our “standing with Lebanon’s young democracy against foreign forces”; the Israelis were the foreign forces that decimated that country with weaponry supplied by who? The United States!! And who is helping the people of Lebanon rebuild? Hezbollah!!

Another small thing to throw into the mix about the B.S. coming out in this Rovian speech is about the claim that this administration has “stopped a number of al Qaeda plots”. This claim is a bunch of hogwash. Examples of the plots that have supposedly been stopped are: 1) The day dreaming and psychotic planning of a addled group of idiots in a Miami warehouse that had neither the means nor an operational plan to carry out any terrorist action. 2) The apprehension of some individuals with a truckload of cell phones crossing into the US from Canada. Come to find out, the cell phones were NOT going to be used as detonators for bombs they were just going to be sold to people in the US for the “evil” purpose of communication. 3) An alert about a plan by a terrorist group that was going to blow up the tunnels under the Hudson River into New York City for the purpose of flooding lower Manhattan. The problem with this supposed plan is that for it to be successful water would have to be able to flow up hill.

The terrorist plots that were foiled in Britain were stopped because of good police work consisting of the use of informants, undercover law enforcement and good old fashion human intelligence work.

None of these plots were foiled because of Bush’s so called “Terrorist Surveillance Program” which is really nothing but an illegal and unconstitutional domestic spying program.

I would hope that you get the message that I’m trying to convey here. That is;

Our foreign policy of using force; subjugation; occupation; imperialistic agendas; war profiteering; ignoring the needs of the populace; support for totalitarian governments; and exploitation of this area for the obscene profitability of the big oil corporations, while the people live in grinding poverty, without hope has been a failure. It is the stew of hate and animosity that has created the terrorists and the suicide bombers that are striking out against Israel and America.

The solution is to immediately withdraw from Iraq; use diplomacy to negotiate in good faith to cool the hot spots in the area; rebuild the areas that have been decimated by war and insurrection by using the local population and home country industries (not the war profiteers); start providing welfare, medical and social services to help the population pull themselves out of poverty; have the oil companies contribute a good share of their profits to assist in these rebuilding and social service efforts; and help bring democracy to the area by encouraging reform and by living up to our own moral and democratic values (including the elimination of the exploitation of the populace of the world by greedy multinational corporations) that were once the beacon of hope in this world.

More apropos quotes:

“May we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion” ~Dwight David Eisenhower

“Though force can protect in emergency, only justice, fairness, consideration and cooperation can finally lead men to the dawn of eternal peace.” ~Dwight David Eisenhower

“If you want total security, go to prison. There you're fed, clothed, given medical care and so on. The only thing lacking... is freedom.” ~Dwight David Eisenhower

Sources:

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=4493754&...

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060905-4.html

Quotations from www.Thinkexist.com