For as the United States continues to pound sand in the desert, with Osama bin Laden and his Taliban accomplices holed up in caves and civilian villages and mosques – all of which, for so-called political reasons, are off-limits to U.S. bombing – the president of the United States has been engaged in a war of words with them, with each side giving its rendition, on television and radio, of not only the progress of the war, but making almost daily threats against each other. The spectacle of this "tit for tat," coupled with our military ineffectuality, has not only placed bin Laden and the Taliban on the same plane as the president of the United States, it has undercut George W. Bush's credibility and promise to the American people and the world that these terrorists would be dealt with severely.
American prestige and power has been significantly reduced. Our timidity to act decisively, coupled with the populace's fear of the unknown, has brought the country to its knees. This sad fact cannot be overlooked simply because tearful Americans proudly and correctly display their flag in exhibitions of love for the country and our fallen brothers and sisters.
The U.S. military, hamstrung by the political calculus of the Bush administration's "proportionate response" to the World Trade Center and Pentagon bombings – all in an attempt to placate so-called moderate Arab states who supply American tycoons with imported oil – has in characteristic "Vietnamesque" fashion spewed forth propaganda about how well the air war is going. It has boasted that bin Laden has a noose around his neck, and that his operations have been disrupted.
But how can this be so when, in almost the same breath, the commander in chief is warning the nation that a huge bio-chemical or nuclear attack could be imminent, our vice president (who is the de facto commander in chief) is "holed up" and in hiding in an undisclosed location outside of Washington, D.C., and members of Congress are putting forth emergency legislation to clarify how to choose representatives of Congress should it lose 25 percent or more of its members? And why has Vice President Dick Cheney said, on more than one occasion, in uncharacteristic pessimism, if not a sense of defeat, that this may be the first war where casualties at home exceed those overseas. If bin Laden has been stopped, even temporarily, why then the predictions of doom?
Our limited military effort in Afghanistan, where bin Laden and Taliban leaders remain on the loose, has given them the time, and wherewithal, to mount a huge counterattack on the United States. The president and vice president know this, and that is why they speak of and are preparing the nation for imminent disaster. Obviously, the Bush administration and their Republican colleagues in Congress do not want to be blamed at the ballot booth for what is now likely in store.
By all means, let's take military advice from Larry Klayman.
Beyond that, I didn't see last night and I STILL don't see why this news item would cause anyone to break out in hives. This is a small gesture on the part of the President. So soon we forget what life was like with Bill Clinton in power; this petty "OH NOW THAT'S IT! I'LL NEVER VOTE FOR BUSH AGAIN!!" stuff just makes me shake my head.