by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright September 7, 2007
All Rights Reserved.

osting his first video since 2004, Osama bin Laden reminded President George W. Bush that the war on terror is still under construction. Nearly six years after Sept. 11, Bin Laden continues to menace the Western world, hitting Spain in 2004, London in 2005, a recently thwarted plans in Germany to attack U.S. Ramstein Air Force Base and the Frankfurt Airport. Attending an economic summit in Australia, Bush said Bin Laden's latest video illustrates “the dangerous world in which we live,” after losing nearly 3,000 innocent lives on Sept. 11, spending over $600 billion and sacrificing 3,750 troops in the Iraq War, with no end in sight. Bin Laden's video talks about the costly U.S. detour in Iraq, confirming to Bush that Iraq represents “the central front in the war on terror.” Before Iraq Commander Gen. David Petraeus reports to Congress on the status of Iraq, Bush used Bin Laden to justify the fight.

      Since Cruise missiles hit Baghdad March 20, 2003, the White House changed its excuses from finding and destroying weapons of mass destruction to fighting Osama bin Laden. Before toppling Saddam, al-Qaida had no presence in Iraq, despite Vice President Dick Cheney's best effort to establish a link. Cheney still believes that Saddam relocated his WMD to the Bekkah Valley before the U.S. invasion. He also insists that, as Secretary of State Colin A. Powell told the U.N. Security Council Feb. 6, 2003, that Saddam possessed mobile germ laboratories, despite those reports being totally discredited. Today's justification for the Iraq War revolves around keeping terrorists off American streets, despite the fact that no Iraqi participated in Sept. 11 or any other attack on U.S. interests. Bin Laden's mujahedeen fight to liberate Iraq as they did in Afghanistan in the early ‘80s.

      Bush talks about a dangerous world while reassuring the public about his great advances in the war on terror. “It's important that we show resolve and determination to protect ourselves, to deny al-Qaida safe haven and support young democracies, which will be a major defeat for their ambitions,” said Bush reacting to the new Bin Laden videotape. Together with Pakistan President Pervez Musahrraf, Bush has ceded al-Qaida the tribal lands inside Pakistan next to the Afghan border in which to plan, plot and train for more global terror operations. When Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-Il.) dared to say he'd go after al-Qaida inside Pakistan, the White House went ballistic condemning his suggestion as irresponsible. But since it's now known that recently incarcerated German terrorists planned and trained inside Pakistan, the White House sings a different tune.

      Bush sees Bin Laden's mention of Iraq as proof that al-Qaida must be confronted in Mesopotamia. He knows as all other intelligence agencies that Bin Laden and the bulk of al-Qaida's roving operations operate in the no-man's-land in Pakistan. “I found it interesting that on the tape Iraq was mentioned, which is a reminder that Iraq is part of this war against extremists,” said Bush, making a faulty inference from Bin Laden's recent message. It's beyond dispute that Bin Laden's mujahedeen fighters are helping former Baathists and Saddam loyalists fighting to end U.S. occupation. That's a far cry to calling Iraq “the central front in the war on terror.” There's never been any link between the Saudi-dominated cell responsible for Sept. 11 and any Iraq fighting to end U.S. occupation. Yet Bush goes out of his way to draw a connection between Iraq's insurgents and terrorists to blame for Sept. 11.

      Facing a tough battle for more cash in the Congress, Bush fights an all-out PR battle to prove the troop “surge” is restoring order in Baghdad, begging the American people for more patience. With Iraq Commander Gen. David Petraeus poised to report on the “surge's” progress in mid-September, Bush hopes to use the Bin Laden video to score political points. “If al-Qaida bothers to mention Iraq, it's because they want to achieve that objective their objectives in Iraq, which is to drive us out and to develop a safe haven. And the reason they want a safe haven is to launch attacks against America and any other ally,” Bush said during a photo-op with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Aba, at a Pacific Rim conference in Australia. Of course al-Qaida seeks to drive the U.S. out of Iraq. But they can't have a safe haven, like they do in Pakistan, because the U.S. can bomb any sanctuary in Iraq.

      Bin Laden's latest video demonstrates the utter failure of the U.S. global war on terror. Despite White House claims about how they've neutralized al-Qaida, nearly six years after Sept. 11 there's more terror attacks and plots than ever. “The tape is a reminder about the dangerous world in which we live, and it's a reminder that we must work together to protect people against these extremists who murder the innocent in order to achieve political objects,” said Bush. Bin Laden's tape should be a kick in the pants to the White House of how disgraceful it is to let the world's most notorious terrorist operate with impunity in the ungoverned region in Pakistan shadowing the Afghan border. While there's no safe haven in Iraq, al-Qaida runs amok in Pakistan where it finances, plans and trains terrorists to conduct terror operations against the West without any real consequences.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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