Why Osama needs Bush-types

Did you know that Osama bin Laden had never admitted responsibility for the 9/11 attacks, in fact had denied that he or al-Qaeda were responsible? That is, until October 2004 in a taped message just prior to the U.S. 2004 presidential election. Even the FBI has admitted this year that they have “no real hard evidence” connecting Osama with the 9/11 attacks. Though he is on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorist list, it is not for the terrorist acts of 9/11.

Osama is a terrorist
Now I’m not here to debate the question of who is responsible for 9/11. What I do want to show is why Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups need Bush- and Cheney-types. There is no question that Osama bin Laden is a terrorist and is the leader of al-Qaeda, an organization whose stated goals are inflicting harm on innocents. They have carried out terrorist acts in the past and promise that there’s more to come. These are facts – their reasons notwithstanding.

So what does a terrorist organization need to remain viable? They need to:

• Operate surreptitiously, to stay in hiding
• Have sufficient resources/assets to carry out their agenda
• Have the will
• Enlist new recruits

The first three, we know they’ve accomplished. It is the fourth, the enlistment of new recruits, were the Bush-types’ help is needed.

Muslims condemn terrorism, too
There are estimated to be over 1 billion Muslims in the world. Most of them, along with the rest of the world, condemned the despicable attacks of 9/11. Muslims, like America, have their extremist groups. Just like it is wrong to say that the KKK represents the views of most Americans, it is wrong to say that al-Qaeda represents the views of most Muslims. So if most Muslims condemn terrorism, they are not going to join a group that promotes it. And that’s the way it was on September 11, 2001 and probably right up to the invasion of Iraq on March 20, 2003.

Notice I do not say right up to the invasion of Afghanistan which occurred shortly after 9/11. Generally speaking, the war in Afghanistan 1) was not viewed as pre-emptive; 2) had allied support 3) was a justified response to a devastating attack on U.S. soil. The hijackers on the 9/11 planes were trained by al-Qaeda in Afghanistan with the support of the Taliban, the de facto rulers of Afghanistan at the time. Few faulted the U.S. for their mission to seek, punish and dismantle the intricate terrorist network that orchestrated 9/11.

With the Taliban dismantled and al-Qaeda on the run, it is doubtful that the Afghanistan invasion gained significant numbers of terrorists recruits. Osama had to be wondering if the 9/11 attack had gone too far -- after all, the whole world had condemned it, including Muslims. He had to be concerned about being able to convince young Muslim men to strap on sticks of dynamite and blow themselves up.

Bush-types fuel terrorist recruitment
Osama didn’t have long to worry, because Neo-Cons were planning a pre-emptive war on a predominately Muslim country. A Muslim country that wasn’t like Afghanistan – none of the hijackers were Iraqi, the Iraqi government had not participated in the 9/11 attack, and the Iraqi government had made no overt threat against the U.S. Also, there was fractured international consensus and no UN resolution approving this action.

So now, Muslims are seeing an unprovoked attack on a Muslim nation. They are seeing innocent Muslims having smart bombs dropped on them and cities and villages being decimated by U.S. and coalition forces. Yes, they are 'shocked and awed,' but not in the way the U.S. hoped. Suddenly, Osama and al-Qaeda are finding it easier to recruit men and women to their radical cause. Now, even the just war in Afghanistan is starting to be viewed in a different light by many Muslims. Osama did not have to convince them that the great Satan is out to ‘destroy’ them, the Bush- and Cheney-types did it for him.

Both use tactic: “They’re out to destroy us”
It was the exact ploy that was used to convince Americans that Saddam was dangerous – that he posed an imminent threat. Most Americans (even Republicans) are not so devoid of morality that they would approve of wanton and unprovoked military action against a sovereign nation, even after the shock of 9/11. So just like Osama, one of the administration’s favorite phrases becomes “they’re out to destroy us.” It is the phrase that works for terrorist recruitment as well as for fooling a nation into supporting an unprovoked war.

It is the reason that on October 29, 2004, four days before the U.S. presidential election, Osama issues a taped video recording in which, for the first time, he publicly admits responsibility for the 9/11 attacks. Osama justifies his attack with a long list of grievances against the U.S. and vows more attacks to come.

How Osama makes U.S. policies
This was the first public “appearance” of Osama in three years, again, just 4 days before the presidential election. There is one reason, and one reason alone that he would issue a threatening message at that particular time – Osama wants to influence the election. John Kerry promised a phased withdrawal from Iraq, and Bush promised to ‘stay the course.’ A phased withdrawal from Iraq would eventually affect Osama’s recruitment efforts. If the great Satan is no longer participating in an unprovoked war, how can he convince new recruits that they’re out to destroy them. There is only one candidate that can assure that Americans will continue to bomb and kill innocent Muslims. So all over America, scared voters gave Osama exactly what he needed.

Not only have we let Osama influence our elections, we have also let him change our laws. For instance, the NSA’s warrantless eavesdropping program, a suspension of the right-to-privacy which is a long-standing legal precedent, is being carried out because, essentially, we are afraid of Osama bin Laden-types.

Are we a nation of cowards?
We are not a nation of cowards and must not respond to the threat of terror like one. America’s military is strong and, when necessary, can defend this country. We do not have to pre-emptively invade other countries because we think one day in the inestimable future they may attack us. We can put our resources and assets, that are now being depleted in Iraq, to better use in this country’s security and well-being. Global domination is not a democracy’s goal.

Tags: Are we a nation of cowards?, Osama says U.S. wants to destroy all people, Bush says they want to destroy freedom and all people, Get a Grip