A Democratic Party too terrified to confront an incompetent, criminal Presidency, thereby allowing the United States to be lead on a fool's errand of baseless war which Bin Laden wanted from day one. The enemy saw that our government was broken when no one would stop the moron.
A President so historically ignorant he announced the beginning of a "Great Crusade" in response to 9/11. The enemy gained a billion sympathies and outrages that day.
A boy who would cry wolf: A President who disgraced the United States in front of the whole world by lying about a threat. The enemy became credible by comparison in the eyes of much of the world because they were.
A President so stupid he would ignore 20 years of the best military advice regarding Iraq and Bagdad as a lethal morass to U.S. forces, and who would commit U.S. Forces where our troops were trapped and sitting ducks anyway. The enemy was ecstatic at Bush's "Mission accomplished".
A President who did not provide sufficient body armor, and properly armored vehicles to troops. The enemy was rendered effective with third world technology because Bush was too cheap to use 21st century technology.
A President who committed to his war with far too few troops because he lacked the political courage to tell a rightly skeptical American public the true cost of the war, so he went in "on the cheap". An enemy who would ALWAYS out number us thanks to this decision.
A President so stupid he declared "Mission accomplished" when he had defeated no one, but rather, the enemy had redeployed and was laying in wait to destroy our forces. An enemy who knew their trap had been fallen into.
A President who could be relied upon never to change a failing course. An enemy who could then commit to not altering their successful strategy because they didn't have to.
A President so arrogant, he said "Bring 'Em On" when the enemy was armed and surrounding his troops absent his knowledge they were even there. An enemy who knew they were going to have the last laugh.
A President who let tens of thousands of tons of high explosive ordinance fall into the hands of the enemy by utterly failing to secure munitions sites. The enemy praised Allah for the unbelievable blessing, courtesy of his making George Bush without a brain.
A President who's mendacity and refusal to adjust to reality, would result in the abandonment of the United States in Iraq by it's allies one by one. An enemy who could see it's own progress as measured by the departure of the United States supporting nations.
The deaths of three quarters of a million innocent Iraqis for nothing but LIES has "emboldened the enemy" and gained him majority support in Iraq.
Hurricane Katrina: Witnessing the astonishing level of incompetence displayed by a President who would not act to save his own people gave the enemy confidence he would not save them in Iraq either.
A President so sadistic, so disdainful of international law, that he would abandon all respect for the rule of law and human rights, and engage in systematic torture in violation of the Geneva convention. An enemy who could then rightly say to the world that he was no better than Saddam Hussien, thereby proving Bin Laden correct about "American morality" and it's respect for the dignity of other peoples. A billion sympathies again gained.
A President who removed the number one enemy of Al Qeda in the Middle East from Power, Saddam Hussien, thereby allowing Al Qeda to set up operations where they formerly couldn't. An enemy who could not only recruit, but who now had safe haven to train on the job directly in the killing of Americans.
These are the things which have truly "Emboldened" our enemies. There remains one more thing, giving the greatest aid and comfort of all to our enemies:
A President so pathological in his denial of his defeat, he is willing to completely destroy what is left of the United States military in an utterly failed policy, rather than to admit his lies and the loss they created and to allow what is left of our troops to live to fight another day. We have an enemy who's victory is assured so long as the United States remains in Iraq as targets.
These are the things which have emboldened our enemies. The United States itself has not been defeated yet. George W. Bush has been defeated though, and for quite some time. If the American people and their elected representatives do not acknowledge the defeat of Bush, their failure to assign responsibility for the loss and to stop him now, certainly can and will result in a defeat of the United States through the final destruction of our military.
I have only one uncertainty about our leaving Iraq: George Bush says that "if we leave, the enemy will follow us home". Someone needs to find out right now: Is George Bush planning to validate their visas and then arm them when they get here?