The fact that the United States has not been attacked since Sept. 11, 2001, far exceeds the most wishful expert predictions of the time. Perhaps facing another al Qaeda-led barrage would have reinforced our need for national unity, caused us to recognize the gravity of the Islamist threat and fortified Mr. Bush's standing at home and abroad.
Yet, thankfully, that never happened. And Mr. Bush has been punished for this obvious success.
...By most accounts, al Qaeda is reeling from the damage inflicted by our efforts against the once-thriving terror network. Yet reflexive enemies of the president - including Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee - shamefully mock him for not having caught Osama bin Laden.
It's a playground taunt from the same people who never seriously advocated for a strong military foray into the regions where bin Laden could have been caught. These Daily Kos armchair generals also rhetorically ask why we don't invade North Korea or Saudi Arabia. Yet no one takes this hypothetical warmongering seriously, or expects a President Obama to go on the offense in any of these conveniently preferable hot spots. It's meant to hurt, not help, the president...
1 comment:
Douglas,
I watched the Cain Mutiny again last night and see an interesting parallel (I know you don't appreciate TV or the movies but it's a compelling movie and I like it). Anyhow, the message I walked away with is that leadership is hard and often performed by imperfect leaders. The leader may make mistakes but they're still the leader and need our support or we may find ourselves in a very dangerous place that could have been avoided. One wonders how things would look if the President had not been almost continuously attacked over the last seven years by some in his own country.
Post a Comment