Osama drama

from the liberal oasis.. Pilli pictures come out later.
The Osama Tape
Another Reminder Of the GOP's Failing Terror War
(posted Jan. 20 1:30 AM ET)

1590 days since 9/11 and Osama still has not been brought to justice, nor (as Dubya used to say) has justice been brought to him.

Friendly leaders have been undemocratically installed in Iraq and Afghanistan under the guise of democracy.

The Bush Administration has unconstitutionally asserted that Dubya is at the “zenith” of his executive power.

He has used that unchecked, unbalanced, unconstitutional power to allow torture, secret detentions, and warrantless wiretaps.

Unsurprisingly, these undemocratic, unconstitutional acts have not helped defeat the terrorist threat, but have exacerbated it.

Killing or capturing bin Laden immediately after 9/11 might have sent a strong message and severely disrupted the terrorist network.

Now, if we ever do get bin Laden, it will be four or more years too late.

It will be mere symbolism, as the terrorist ideology has already spread thanks to Bush’s neocon program.

Bush and the neocons deserve our deep disdain for putting their dangerous ideological desires ahead of taking care of immediate threats.

But let us not argue that bin Laden should be the be all and end all of a liberal counterterror strategy, simply because Bush has shamefully let him run free for so long.

Getting bin Laden, taking care of unfinished business, may be Step 1 in getting our counterterror strategy back on track, but it is far from steps 2-10.

Steps 2-10 involve junking the failing neocon game plan of phony democracy imposed by unilateral force, and replacing it with credible democracy and the eradication of poverty, fostered multilaterally.

That’s what will sap the Al Qaeda ideology of any rationale, depriving it of sympathy and support from the Arab/Muslim world.

Getting bin Laden’s symbolic scalp, without a substantive shift in foreign policy will be meaningless.

Of course, instead of delving into why the GOP strategy has failed us so, elements of the media are reinforcing the GOP-fed notion that liberals and Democrats are akin to Osama.

Chris Matthews sunk to a new low, saying Osama sounds like Michael Moore. (Calls for a public apology are mounting.)

And the GOP flaks in Scarborough Country are saying Dems are taking cues from Al Qaeda.

Perpetuating the perception that Dems and liberals are weak is what has kept Republicans in power when national security is believed to be on the line.

But it is not Democratic politicians, liberal bloggers, or portly filmmakers that have fed Al Qaeda’s growth.

It is the last five years of essentially unfettered Republican rule, breaking our military, wasting our resources, denying people’s freedom, undermining our moral authority.

Bush is not Osama, and Cheney is not Zarqawi. But they make us weaker by the day.