The President’s series of speeches last week and the week before have served to transform “The War on Terror” into Worldwide War Against Fundamentalist Islam and Islamic Terrorists

“With less than 8 weeks until Election Day, the president’s public relations offensive gives him a way to handle his biggest weakness – the war in Iraq by absorbing it into his biggest strength – the War on Terror, Axelrod reports.” *1

Absolutely amazing! Why is the War on Terror Mr. Bush’s leading strength? What has been done to protect the United States other than establishing a Department of Homeland Security? Let’s begin with a few random bits of information. First, This administration has worked systematically to weaken both the CIA and the FBI, the chief government organs of domestic and foreign criminal investigation and defense. At the same time, the CIA has been used to establish secret prisons scattered around the world in which to torture terrorists (Yes, I know, the president says, “not.”). Second, The president and his administration have misled the American people, twisting CIA and FBI information to suit their purposes in Iraq. And, another thing, while we can no longer take toothpaste on an airplane - mind you, I’m not complaining, they can check my armpits if it means I’m protected against terrorists - there is no government program in place to check packages placed in airplane holds. Instead, this administration relies on the companies transporting the packages to check contents, and less than 10% of the packages are checked. It is only a matter of time till terrorists seize this window of opportunity. Additionally, not one of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, which did place blame for that horror just as squarely on Mr. Bush’s administration as on the Clinton administration by the way, has been implemented. Finally, instead of finding and defeating Osama Bin Ladin and other al Qaeda leaders, we have the war in Iraq, and more decentralized terrorist cells proliferating worldwide. Bill Cusack says it best, “Had Bush immediately gone into Afghanistan with overwhelming numbers and sealed the border Bin Laden would be dead by now, he could have forced Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to stop supporting terrorists and 9/11 would not have been a turning point in world history. But Bush, it turns out, wanted Iraq all along, and skimped on Afghanistan so he could have Iraq.”*2

By some counts, the Bush War on Terror has resulted in the deaths of more U. S. military service members in Iraq than all those killed, both foreign nationals and Americans, excluding terrorists, in the 9/11/2001 attack on the World Trade Center.

The President Speaks



In his speeches, Mr. Bush actually drew a picture of the war in Iraq that looks surprisingly like the beginning of a War against Worldwide Fundamentalist Islam. He went so far as to compare the new decentralized proliferating terrorist cells in Iraq and across the world to Nazis – while pretending that the Iraq war has nothing to do with that explosive expansion. Though the comparison to Nazis is apt, the implications of a war against fundamentalist Islam is frightening because the president’s idea of worldwide conflict can only lead to another World War. If anyone thinks that a world war would not create a catastrophic atomic conflagration, he or she is a fool.

Instead of creating images of worldwide conflict in his speeches, Mr. Bush should be pursuing resolution of “The War on Terror” through diplomatic relations with the nations of the world. I guarantee that such a course will be slow, but will inevitably be safer than worldwide conflagration.

Ah well, I could go on with more damning stuff, but I won’t. Sometimes I think it’s pointless because Americans allow themselves to be led by the pied piper. Mr. Bush’s popularity is actually going up this week (42 percent)! *3

*1 “Bush Speech Links Iraq War And Nazis: President Says U>S> Withdrawal From Iraq Would Give Victory To Enemies,” CBS/AP, http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/08/31/politics/main1957257.shtml. Salt Lake City, August 31, 2006. Viewed Tuesday, September 5, 2006, 8:50 AM EDT.

*2 Cusack, Bill, “Osama Bin Laden is Kicking George Bush Ass.” Yahoo News, http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/20060901/cm_huffpost/028478. Friday, September 1, 2006, 1:11 AM ET


*3 “President Bush – Overrall Job Rating,” PollingReport.com. http://www.pollingreport.com/BushJob.htm. Viewed Monday, September 18, 2006, 8:38 AM. EDT.

Sanger, David and O’Neil, John, “U.S. Strategy Shifts Focus From Al Qaeda,” The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/05/washington/05cnd-bush.html?hp&ex=115751. September 5, 2006.