“I have an excellent idea of where he is.”
-- Porter Goss on Osama Bin Laden
This came from a recent interview of the CIA Director by Time Magazine. I have a very simple follow up question: Then why don’t you go get the son of a bitch?
I don’t know if the tough-on-terror administration realizes this, but Osama bin Laden is responsible for the deaths of nearly 3,000 Americans. I remember a president who once said he was going to get him “Dead or Alive.”
I remember a president who once said, “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." President Bush has a curious way of not resting. I’ve lost track of how many vacations Bush has taken since he made that statement on September 13, 2001.
Number one priority? Who can say with a straight face that Osama bin Laden is the number one priority of this administration? Apparently not the President because this is what he has said since then:
—"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." President Bush, 3/13/02
—"I am truly not that concerned about him." President Bush, responding to a question about Osama bin Laden's whereabouts, 3/13/02
—"Because he's hiding…" Bush, explaining why Osama bin Laden has yet to be captured. (Washington Post interview, Jan. 16, 2005)
How much clearer could it be? He said it himself only six months after September 11th – “he’s not our priority.”
Excuse me, but why the hell not?!
Osama bin Laden is the number one killer of American civilians in our country’s history. He organized an attack that killed more people than Pearl Harbor. He is the leader of a worldwide network of terrorists whose main aim is to destroy this country. And the president is not concerned about him?!
How does he get away with this stuff? Now they’re just throwing it in our face – they have an excellent idea of where he is ... and they still won’t get him.
And this guy claims to be tough on terror? President Bush gets his highest approval ratings for how he has fought the war on terror. It’s unconscionable. He took his eye off the prize, he let Osama get away from us in Afghanistan, he won’t pursue him now even though we knows where he is and he says he’s unconcerned about him. Why doesn’t he slap the 9/11 victims in the face while he’s at it?
President Bush sent over 150,000 U.S. soldiers to get Saddam Hussein, who had absolutely nothing to do with the attack against us on 9/11, and he sent 50 U.S. soldiers to Tora Bora when we thought we might have Osama surrounded there.
150,000 to 50.
I’d ask what you thought about those priorities, but there’s no need, the President has made it clear himself. “It’s not our priority … I’m truly not that concerned about him.”
What is the President’s top priority? You’d have to be brain dead not to realize it is, it was, and it has always been, Iraq. The 9/11 Commission concluded that Saddam Hussein and Iraq had no part in attacking us, yet mysteriously Bush gets credit for fighting the war on terror by focusing all of his energies on Iraq. Meanwhile, the people who did attack us must be ecstatic at their turn of luck. Who could have figured we would so thoroughly distract ourselves from the real culprits?
The New York Times and Newsweek ran stories this week on a new CIA report that indicates Iraq has become a new hotbed of terrorism where the next class of master terrorists are getting hands-on training. We have created more terrorism through our invasion of Iraq, we have done precious little to fight the terrorist who struck us and we call our President a tough leader who is effectively fighting the war on terror. Al Qaeda must be having a good belly laugh over that one.
If you couldn’t tell, it makes me furious that we have not brought the people responsible for 9/11 to justice. What I can’t understand is why all of the people who claim to be tough conservatives, let alone the liberals, aren’t just as angry. Is it more important for you to defend your political party than it is to defend the country?
I was a Republican until this President. But I care more about America than I do about partisan politics. This President has the wrong priorities and is brazenly dismissive of the terrorist who struck us on 9/11. If you’re not angry about that, then I question your patriotism.
Lastly, James Risen and David Rohde wrote a story in the New York Times on December 13, 2004 citing CIA officers who say it is clear that Osama bin Laden is in the province of Waziristan in northern Pakistan. Now the Director of the CIA confirms that he has an excellent idea of where Osama is “hiding” out.
Yet, absolutely no action. How long are the American people going to stand for this? We have a ticker up on our website, www.youngturk.com, that shows the number of days Osama has not been caught since 9/11. We’re going to keep counting until we shame the Bush administration into action.
1,382 days and still counting ...
Are you angry yet?