But the oaths that the President and other federal officers take do not mention protecting Americans from harm. The oaths pledge to uphold and defend the Constitution, which embodies the principles of a democratic Republic.
Bush has turned this reality upside down. In the name of making Americans safer, he has tossed the habeas corpus right to a fair trial and other liberties guaranteed by the Constitution.
False Dichotomy
In his speech, Bush also posed the choice facing America as either going “on the offense against an enemy” or “sitting back and being passive in the face of this threat.” Though an appealing argument to the weak of mind, those two choices aren’t the real alternatives.
No serious person has advocated “sitting back and being passive,” but there are profound differences about how to conduct a sensible counter-insurgency program aimed at neutralizing or eliminating al-Qaeda and other dangerous terrorist groups.
To pose the dichotomy more honestly, the choices are: pursuing a sophisticated strategy that avoids unnecessary violence, addresses legitimate grievances of the Muslim world and isolates the extremists – or crashing around the Middle East trying to kill anyone who might be a potential enemy and thus creating more hatred and more terrorists.
In effect, Bush has opted for the second approach, which is why Atiyah and other al-Qaeda leaders want Bush to continue doing what he’s been doing. The longer Bush insists on an open-ended war in Iraq the more time that buys for al-Qaeda to sink down roots there and to recruit jihadists in other countries.
Bush remains bin Laden’s perfect foil and Bush’s Iraq War continues to serve as al-Qaeda’s ideal recruitment poster.
One alternative to that dangerous situation would be a recognition that Bush handed al-Qaeda an extraordinary gift when he invaded Iraq and that one way to deny al-Qaeda continued use of that gift is to announce that U.S. combat forces will be leaving Iraq at a date certain.
Giving Bush another blank check for the Iraq War is like giving Osama bin Laden an indefinite extension on the gift that keeps on giving.
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