Republicans' Bizarre Rediscovery of Osama bin Laden

For quite a while, it looked as if the Republican Party had just about given up on taking Osama bin Laden seriously. During his presidential campaign, Mitt Romney took a surprisingly passive attitude towards the terrorist responsible for 9/11, saying, "It's not worth moving heaven and earth spending billions of dollars just trying to catch one person." Fred Thomson dismissed bin Laden's significance as mere "symbolism." The president, of course, famously said of bin Laden, "I truly am not that concerned about him."

But that was then. Now that it's time for the general election, and the right is desperate to smear Barack Obama, the GOP has rediscovered OBL. Yesterday, for example, John McCain posted this item on his campaign blog:

Senator Obama is obviously confused about what the United States Supreme Court decided and what he is calling for. After enthusiastically embracing the Supreme Court decision granting habeas in U.S. civilian courts to dangerous terrorist detainees, he is now running away from the consequences of that decision and what it would mean if Osama bin Laden were captured. Senator Obama refuses to clarify whether he believes habeas should be granted to Osama bin Laden....

Yesterday morning, the RNC distributed this Obama quote to reporters, as if it were, prima facie, controversial: "I think what would be important would be for us to deal with him in a way that allows the entire world to understand the murderous acts that he's engaged in and not to make him into a martyr." (Why the RNC finds this offensive is unclear.)

Shortly before that, McCain foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann falsely accused Obama of opposing the death penalty for bin Laden. McCain also repeated his promise to either "kill" or "execute" bin Laden (McCain is relying on a secret get-bin-Laden plan that he chooses not to share with the White House or the military.)

I can understand, on a certain level, why Obama's remarks have sparked Republican attacks. After all, when Obama said "we've got due process to go through'' once we've found bin Laden, it was bound to get the right's attention.

Wait, did I say that was Obama? Actually, it was Fred Thompson who said during his campaign that bin Laden deserves due process. And now, Thompson is a McCain campaign surrogate. Interesting.

Look, I know why McCain and his cohorts are trying to scare people. I realize that they've given up on facts and decency, and hope that the same old "soft on terror" smears can overcome a weak campaign, unimpressive candidate, and ridiculous policy agenda.

But these tactics are scraping the bottom of the barrel. Would Obama extend habeas to terrorist suspects in U.S. custody? Of course; that's the law. Would Obama apply the death penalty to bin Laden? Absolutely; he's already said so. Does Obama's counter-terrorism policy rely exclusively on "law enforcement"? Of course not; he's already laid out a comprehensive strategy based on intelligence gathering, military strength, law enforcement, and international cooperation.

The bad news is, the demagoguery here is shameless and pathetic. The good news is, it doesn't make any sense and is easy to push back against.

Comments

[nirek]

bush never had his eye on OBL , he only wanted Iraq and oil.

[Mitchell4A]

I suggest that the invocation of OBL at this point is as much about confusing people regarding Obama's loyalties as anything else. The not so hidden message: don't forget, Obama is some sort of exotic guy, not like one of us, and we can't be sure that he can be trusted.

"Obama" It's His Name, Stupid"
http://msa4.wordpress.com/

[booksnmore4you]

ROFL!!! Sure, grant OBL habeus. And the judge will, I don't know, like, let him go???

[Tommygun264]

Obviously the 'pubs are suffering under the delusion that the rest of the country is as dim as they are. For close to seven years now, Osama Bin Laden has been the 'pub's all-purpose boogie man, conjured up every time they want to abuse their authority or defeat a political opponent. Yet NOTHING of substance has been done to capture or kill the man. Osama has put out more tapes since he supposedly dropped off the face of the earth than Tupac, tapes that he posts on the web with impunity, and STILL he cannot be found. The 'pubs still think that we all get scared whenever we hear them cry "Osama", but in reality we think "they haven't even caught that guy yet". Go ahead, keep screaming Osama - you're only ticking us off more.

[cindy4america]

Something is bugging me here. Something just doesn't make any sense at all.
Saddam Hussein was a much bigger criminal than Osama Bin Lauden, but he was tried in a court and found guilty. Having access to the courts and being tried legally did not stop justice from occurring. It showed there is justice. He killed thousands more people and more horrifically than OBL. Manuel Noriega killed plenty of people and in general is known as a pretty horrible man. I would bet his own people consider him a terrorist. He was given a trial and found guilty. He is in jail now. Why is it that with these so called terrorists, the rules should not apply? Just stating someone is a terrorist does not make them guilty of any terror activities. They have released a couple of those prisoners lately and when the story was all told, they were guilty of nothing. They were held for years. We can not become a country without morals, values and rules for anybody. If that is where McCain is leading (like Bush) I can only hope no one will follow.

[adl]

Well, OBL attacked America, and we all know that makes it different. Saddam killed Iragis and Noriega killed Panamanians. OBL killed good white people, so he is, by definition a bigger threat and should be dealt with differently. I'm sorry to sound so cynical, but, basically, I am.

[dubop]

Very well said Cindy. Do you ever notice the amont of distractions this group floats. I bet if they caught OBL and he went to trial wearing an american flag pin they would then argue that maybe he wasn't so bad, everyone deserves a second chance.

[fresno500]

A military kangaroo court was justice? I don't think so.

[MegInPA]

Osama bin Laden is only entering back into the GOP lexicon now so they can "accidentally" interchange the names Obama and Osama.

[certainot]

i think you're right. i heard a large NM state gun show ad on the big limbaugh station urging Americans to buy guns to get ready for OSAMA, while recently limbaugh "accidentally" urged the killing of OBAMA, er OSAMA.

[macbabe]

a woman was assas sinated for saying Osama is dead, heaven forbid we should mess that up and spoil the GOPs fun.....

[darker]

OSAMA died years ago of kidney failure. Republicans are trying to RAISE THE DEAD the way they always do. GOP = A DEADHEADS PARTY.

[MemphisBuffalo]

He was the vp for George II in 2004 and McBush will use him as well. Too bad nobody cares anymore due to the mess here at home.

[realpolitic]

Many scary movies come out around Halloween. I enjoy watching them on television. The Republicans always trot out Osama bin Laden around election time. I would not be surprised if we find out that Bush made a deal with him that he would let bin Laden escape at Tora Bora, as long as he put out several tapes around our elections saying 'Death to America.'

[Marlyn]

"not to make him into a martyr. (Why the RNC finds this offensive is unclear.)"

It is clear to me that the RNC just wants to KILL. Justice and truth are not important to them.

[Marlyn]

"habeas should be granted to Osama bin Laden...."

YES, and to EVERYONE who is in America!

[iamaperson]

Bush and his extremist neocons and Machiavellian Carl Rove never repeat never intended to capture Bin Laden. They all along has used him and his ideology as the excuse to do whatever they want in the name of security. If they really captured and killed him what could they then use as an excuse? In fact Bush and his rich Republican friends made more money off this Bin Laden fear than anyother venture imaginable. Bush has spent over $800 Billion nearly $1 Trillion on Iraq guess who pockets most of that money? Guess who pays the cost-not just in dollars but also in lives? You and me !

[infinity]

What would happen if Bin Laden is captured or confirmed dead? Another bogeyman would be found as a replacement. And probably this time the specter would be reported to be operating out of, or supported by, Iran. Fear by the masses is a wonderful thing to those who want to retain power. Read Machiavelli.

[Rog49Thomas]

New to these shores?

OBL is a seasonal item - like the Bosco's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

He's trotted out just at election times to scare the voters into voting for our "national security" party.

I for one am eagerly awaiting his new video which MTV will release I suppose about the last week of October.

[nightwind928]

Years have passed under the current Republican administration and we are no closer to having Bin Laden in our sights then we were on 9-11. Even Oliver North under Regan told congress, when asked why he needed such an elaborate security system in his home that Bin Laden was "the most dangerous man I have even known". You'd think that Republicans, in light of their inability to close in on Bin Laden, would want to keep away from this subject. Their track record on keeping up with him is dismal. The truth is that under the repubs we have no idea wether his corpse is buried under tons of rubble in a mountain cave in Afghanastan or he's living the good life, protected in a sympathetic country. Now Mc Cain has a secret plan he's not sharing at this time for getting him? When it comes to Bin Laden, McCain and the Republicans couldn't catch cold if they were standing in the rain.

[watchingthings]

OBL is supposed to be dead. It's funny how Republicans bring him to life before an election......the rest of the time they don't even want to talk about him.

[ErnestineBass]

Democrats need a hero, Republicans need a villain.

[ChewyToy22]

For real. I remember waking up one morning to Bush saying he will catch Bin Laden before he leaves office. That was the morning's headline, while the MIdwest was submerged.

Suddenly he's all the rage again. Who doesn't know that the purpose of this is to re-awaken the nation's fear, and fool the people, yet again, into continuing the Republican Presidency with the promise of secret plans and new tactics to catch OBL?

[Rog49Thomas]

You can fool some of the people all of the time.

Apparently somewhere around 26 to 28%.

The rest you only have to fool in November of even numbered years.

[javagirl322]

Catch him before he leaves office, heh? That's like OJ looking for Nicole's killers!! Look, by now EVERYBODY knows you can't believe anything the repugs say, including and especially Bush!!. You're so right...they have to resurrect that lie about OBL, cause it worked before.

[Marlyn]

"OBL is supposed to be dead" ???

I don't think so. I know that Benazir Bhutto said that in a David Frost interview.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=UnychOXj9Tg

However, I believe she misspoke, intending to say "Massoud", legendary mujajadeen leader Ahmad Shah Massoud, ... leader of the Northern Alliance, who was assassinated two days before 9/11 by Al Qaeda because he supposedly warned the USA about the coming attack.

YES ... the USA was WARNED about the 9/11 attack. Bush knew. That is why he didn't even look surprised when he was told a plane had crashed into the WTC. He just went on reading "My Pet Goat", waiting for the other plane to hit.

[fungeezer]

Trouble is, the statement about Benazir Bhutto saying that she "misspoke" was issued after her death. So it is impossible to corroborate.

One thing is certain. The video tapes sent out of Bin Laden contained many things amiss with them, such as his wearing rings, his right vs left-handedness, even his facial features.

Makes one wonder.