January 16, 2005 5:06 PM
The Washington Post on Friday interviewed President Bush for 35 minutes on Air Force One:
As for perhaps the most notorious terrorist, Osama bin Laden, the administration has so far been unsuccessful in its attempt to locate the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Asked why, Bush said, "Because he's hiding."
He goes on to say: "I am pleased about the hunt, and I am pleased he's isolated. I will be more pleased when he's brought to justice, and I think he will be."
Bush is "puzzled" as to why he only received 11% of the black vote, a 2 point increase over 2000: "I did my best to reach out, and I will continue to do so as the president. It's important for people to know that I'm the president of everybody."
"Because he's hiding." (01.16.2005)
Next Entry: "Iraq is just one campaign." (01.18.2005)
Previous Entry: The Rice of Life (01.13.2005)
Aaron:
I've always been confused why Bush hasn't pumped up the argument about Osama's isolation being better than his capture or death.
Bush doesn't really want Osama captured or killed, I believe...
Think about it. If he's killed or captured, the terrorists get a new, fresh head to their organization who continues the job.
With Osama's isolation, he has no command of his organization. It is much more difficult for Al-Queda to have someone take over the lead when they all know their leader is out there somewhere, just isolated. It's not like Osama can attend meetings with many people with a $25 million bounty on this head.
I think the Bush administration made it a goal a long time ago to isolate him. They probably also planned to keep it secret if they killed him. I think it's a good tactical move in the War on Terror.
Sun Jan 16 2005 5:57 PM
Mike of the Great White North:
Did you step into Homer Simpsons toaster time machine and get warped into the land of raining donuts? Consider the fact that he is absolutley NOT isolated, your basically saying that you want W to become *gasp* a flip flopper? The guy who wanted him dead or alive, to 'dont think to much about him', to just leave him be in the mountains?
The longer he remains alive, the greater a figure he becomes to those who follow him. And it will show that they can successfully outrun the much vaunted United States military. He is the ultimate morale booster to his followers, and you think W should just leave him alone?
You think he doesn't control whats going on because you dont see him on TV, because Pentagon press reports say he's isolated? Please.... you had him isolated ONCE, in Tora Bora. This is well documented in Michael Scheuer's book Imperial Hubris. You let him escape because you paid warlords who have no loyalties to your country to go after OBL so your could carry out your imperialism in Iraq. They took your money and gave you the finger! Now he's god knows where thanks to that incompitence and believe you me, he's far from isolated.
If you think 25 million means anything to these folks, your a fool. The only time it worked was against Saddams sons, but they were well renowned in Bagdad as butchers and sadists and nobody there shed any tears for those fools. But OBL is like a walking prophet to these people, he fought for their country against the Soviets, he preaches to these people the injustices your country does to their kind, and they all share a simple common life. That bounty will go unclaimed. And OBL will continue to be offered protection and safe hiding areas all over Afghanistan, Pakistan. Hell i bet half the Pakistani army takes their marching orders from the mullahs instead of Musharaf anyways so i wont hold my breath waiting for them to capture him either.
You know, it amazes me how absolutely brilliant Imperial Hubris is... not because it's a Bush bashing book, or anti-american book. It's none of those. It's a book full of intelligence that goes deep into the heart of understanding your enemy. "Know thy enemy" in order to beat them. And it amazes me how much lack of understanding there is from a certain section of the American populace. Is it so hard to put the remote down and stop channel flipping from Jerry Springer to the Bill O'reilley spin zone and just read the damn book? Or is reading the fundamental problem?
Good tactical move in the Sham War? Thats about as 'tactically' sound as trying to defuse a landmine with a hammer.
Sun Jan 16 2005 7:14 PM
Mike of the Great White North:
Oh and i also have to comment on this since there's nowhere else to post this as of yet.
W is going around now saying that the election results have ratified his war policy on Iraq. NO F'N WAY!. This is the exact kinda BS and doubletalk spin crap I've come to expect. In no uncertain terms was the election NOT a referendum on his Iraq policy. The election degenerated into a 'values' platform on your domestic homefront. With poll after poll coming out showing increasing dissaproval and loss of support for the Iraq mission, Bush CANNOT now come out and claim the election was a mandate on the Iraq war. His words...
"We had an accountability moment, and that's called the 2004 elections," Bush said in an interview with The Washington Post. "The American people listened to different assessments made about what was taking place in Iraq, and they looked at the two candidates, and chose me."They looked at the two candidates and saw one pasted as a flipflopperfrenchy, and one who supported a constitutional amendmant to ban gay marraiges. The only war debated between those 2 during the election was their damned Vietnam service. Iraq never made a blip on the rader so don't anyone dare tell me the election had a damn thing to do about the Iraq wars legitimacy or it's continued direction under Bush.
Values. Isn't telling the Truth a value? Obiously not if you're a neocon bitch.
Sun Jan 16 2005 7:32 PM
Cici:
"... the president of everybody" he says.
I don't think I even need to explain why that's such a poor choice of words.
On a total tangent, the use of "OBL" makes me read it as the late "ODB" (Ol' Dirty Bastard). I miss that guy...
Mon Jan 17 2005 11:28 AM
I think the soldiers in Iraq refer to him as 'UBL'. Seems like nobody can decide how to transliterate his name into roman letters.
Mon Jan 17 2005 1:40 PM
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