The “war on terrorism”-President George W. Bush’s quick fix for anything ranging from economic problems to chronic back pain-seems to be losing steam. Osama bin Laden-the mastermind behind last September’s terrorist attacks-made his presence known again. Bin Laden recently released a cassette tape praising recent bombing attacks in Bali and speaking of “spectacular” attacks to come against the United States. Yet, for all of our technological and military might, we cannot locate the bearded jihad-loving al-Qaeda leader. Soon after the Sept. 11 attacks, Bush promised that we would find bin Laden “dead or alive.” So far, we’ve offered up a bounty of over $20 million, dropped countless bombs on the mountain fortresses in Afghanistan and still not managed to locate the leader of al-Qaeda.
In one respect, Bush forced himself into a very difficult situation with his stern promise to find bin Laden. Finding a man with the monetary resources and widespread public support that bin Laden has in the Middle East is an almost impossible task. But, once Bush promised bin Laden’s head, he staked his political fate and presidential legacy to one very unenviable job.
Bush is very intense about completing this task. According to a recent Time magazine article, Bush keeps photographs of key al-Qaeda leaders on his desk and crosses their face out when they are captured or killed.
Also, Bush needs to gain public support to continue the “war on terror” by removing Saddam Hussein from power. Growing public sentiment among Americans says that the U.S. military should finish the job in Afghanistan before moving on to Iraq and other nations that threaten peace.
The rest of the world harbors similar reservations about the possibility of an American attack. The recent resurgence of bin Laden in public minds will only serve to reinforce the idea that we should find him first, then deal with other nations.
The Bush administration, after failing to find bin Laden, has backed off from its earlier promise by saying that al-Qaeda is bigger than just one man. While this is true, Bush should have realized this and promised to bring down the organization-not just its leader.
Now, Bush has turned the nation’s attention to Iraq. Hussein, longtime nemesis of more than one President Bush, is still in power and remains a threat to nations around him. Hussein threatens the stability of the entire Middle East, which in turn threatens the stability of the world.
Bush knows this and is trying to garner world support for an attack on Iraq. Many liberal European nations feel that we are trying to dominate the world, a sentiment echoed this week by our old friend Al Gore.
Gore finds joy these days by attacking the policies of our current administration and inventing a new Internet. But, Gore attacks or not, Bush must first make good on his promise to find bin Laden before he can make a move on Iraq.
Josh Johnson is a junior broadcast meteorology major.