Friday, January 20, 2006

Progressive Talking Points 1/20/06

Osama been Forgotten

More that four years after 9/11, terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden released a new audio tape warning of future attacks on the United States. In the 13 months since we’ve heard from bin Laden, he has pretty much been forgotten by the administration – his name is rarely mentioned in public by the President or his staff. On his tape, bin Laden mentioned a potential “truce” with the United States, which prompted White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan to declare, "We do not negotiate with terrorists. We put them out of business." But clearly, bin Laden and al Qaeda have been very much in business, and four years of Bush’s policies have not made America more secure or diminished terrorist attacks abroad.

  • Fighting them over there has not diminished the threat over here. Global terrorist acts have in fact increased since the Iraq war. It is no longer credible to argue that by fighting terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan we are subverting terrorist attacks. If anything, the Iraq war has stoked anti-American sentiment and increased the likelihood of future attacks on Americans, be it at home or abroad.

  • We had a chance to get Osama bin Laden in 2001, but diverted our attention and resources to Iraq. Learning that Osama bin Laden had masterminded the 9/11 attacks, President Bush claimed to make capturing and killing bin Laden America’s top priority. Yet in early December 2001, President Bush was given the opportunity to capture and kill Bin Laden, but he failed to act. By 2002, he was singing a different tune about al Qaeda’s leader, saying, “I truly am not that concerned about him.”

  • The Bush administration’s war on terror has not made us safer. It is no secret that al Qaeda’s recruitment and fundraising levels have increased as a result of the Iraq war. By going to war in Iraq without a post-invasion plan, the administration provided al Qaeda with a new breeding ground for future terrorists – one that did not exist prior to the war. Not only do these new recruits have a cause, they now have combat experience.

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