Terror’s top PR man – George W. Bush

The Washington Post’s Dan Froomkin made the obvious point in his July 25, 2007 “White House Watch” column:

Like any terrorist organization, al-Qaeda wants attention. It wants to be perceived as powerful. And it particularly wants Americans to live in fear.

Could al-Qaeda possibly have found a better publicist than President Bush?

The point of terrorism is to terrorize; that is, to frighten people into complicity. And, let’s be honest, al-Qaeda managed to scare the hell out of us one ugly morning almost six years ago.

But ever since, the Bush administration has pursued policies that could be described as difficult at best. Despite widespread public concern and growing discontent with the direction the administration has taken us, Bush has persisted. There is no carrot in this, but the stick he wields is al-Qaeda itself.

By Froomkin’s count, Bush’s July 24 speech at Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina raised the name “al-Qaeda” some 118 times in 29 minutes. Simple arithmetic brings us a quotient of 4.06. Four times a minute, or every fifteen seconds on average, Bush invoked al-Qaeda.

Averages, however, are deceiving. Reading through the White House transcript, you’ll find that the first use of the phrase al-Qaeda in the fifteenth paragraph. By my count, and I could easily have counted wrong, there are forty-seven paragraphs to the speech. The last two-thirds are chock full o’terror.

It almost reads like the results of one of those cheesy “How to Pick Up Women” routines: “Hello, Qaeda. How are you, Qaeda? I must say, you’re looking lovely tonight, Qaeda. Tell me, Qaeda, what’s on your mind? Do you know how beautiful you are, Qaeda?”

Add a dash of Chicken Little, and you’re almost there.

The problem, though, is that instead of doing anything to keep the sky from falling, as such, Bush chooses to shoot rubber bands at the stars, daring the firmament to crumble: he made the invasion of Iraq the American top priority in the “War on Terror”. The capture of Osama bin Laden and the conflict in Afghanistan–al Qaeda’s center of operations–slipped down the list of priorities. One might see some sense of convenience in leaving bin Laden out there; Bush has used bin Laden and al Qaeda as a stick with which to beat Americans into complicity.

Bush asserted,

Some note that al Qaida in Iraq did not exist until the U.S. invasion — and argue that it is a problem of our own making. The argument follows the flawed logic that terrorism is caused by American actions. Iraq is not the reason that the terrorists are at war with us. We were not in Iraq when the terrorists bombed the World Trade Center in 1993. We were not in Iraq when they attacked our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. We were not in Iraq when they attacked the USS Cole in 2000. And we were not in Iraq on September the 11th, 2001.

It’s not so much that Bush used flawed logic to accuse flawed logic, but rather that the President was flat wrong. He countered the point that al-Qaeda in Iraq did not exist until after the invasion by pointing out, “The argument follows the flawed logic that terrorism is caused by American actions.”

Yes, terrorism is inspired by American actions. In 1996, five years before al Qaeda hit New York, Washington, and went down in horrific flames in Pennsylvania, Osama bin Laden stated quite clearly that he was coming for us. And he gave his reasons, including the American presence in Saudi Arabia, American support for Israel against the Palestinians, and more:

It should not be hidden from you that the people of Islam had suffered from aggression, iniquity and injustice imposed on them by the Zionist-Crusaders alliance and their collaborators; to the extent that the Muslims blood became the cheapest and their wealth as loot in the hands of the enemies. Their blood was spilled in Palestine and Iraq. The horrifying pictures of the massacre of Qana, in Lebanon are still fresh in our memory. Massacres in Tajakestan, Burma, Cashmere, Assam, Philippine, Fatani, Ogadin, Somalia, Erithria, Chechnia and in Bosnia-Herzegovina took place, massacres that send shivers in the body and shake the conscience. All of this and the world watch and hear, and not only didn’t respond to these atrocities, but also with a clear conspiracy between the USA and its’ allies and under the cover of the iniquitous United Nations, the dispossessed people were even prevented from obtaining arms to defend themselves.

The people of Islam awakened and realised that they are the main target for the aggression of the Zionist-Crusaders alliance. All false claims and propaganda about “Human Rights” were hammered down and exposed by the massacres that took place against the Muslims in every part of the world.

Now, regardless of how we feel about bin Laden’s assessment of what American actions equaled, these are his reasons. If we wish to win the fight against al Qaeda, we must understand a few things about how our enemy operates. We cannot gain that understanding by ignoring what they are telling us. That we did not listen then, or else did not care, does not mean we should have been surprised when al Qaeda finally arrived and took its shot.

Additionally, the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, financed by al Qaeda, came about, according to letters claiming responsibility, in response to American support for Israel and meddling in Middle Eastern political affairs. Even if we believe terrorists are simply corrupt human beings looking for an excuse to hurt people, American actions provided them the excuse to hit the United States.

By ignoring or refusing these facts of history, Bush’s exploitation of the al Qaeda menace seeks to confuse the public, erase any notion that, whether or not we accept them, al Qaeda has its reasons for wanting to fight. The increased confusion leads to increased fear; the American people are terrorized even further. For Bush, this apparently seems a plus.

A frightened people are more complicit. Terrorists, naturally, agree.

George W. Bush has worked against the capture of Osama bin Laden, and then exploited the al Qaeda name in an attempt to keep the American people frightened. What greater aid and comfort could our President possibly give our enemies?