Osama Endorses Bush!
By Anthony Wade
In this hotly contested election season everyone is jockeying around for endorsements and it seems that Bush may have picked up a big one. The idea for this came from a recent wave of republican inspired "who would Osama vote for" sentiments. There are now bumper stickers and paraphernalia you can buy with this ominous motto. The inference is insidious. A vote for Kerry, is a vote for Osama. However, there are a lot of assumptions that go with that logic. Lets take a look at the case for each candidate.
John Kerry has openly stated that this administration has abandoned Afghanistan, long thought to be the haven of bin Laden. His exact quote on his website is "We must drain the swamps of terrorists, but you don't have a prayer of doing so if you leave the poisoned sources to gather and flow again." That doesn't sound like something Osama would want.
What about George Bush? The conventional thought would be that Osama would want Bush gone because of his dreaded "war on terror", except for the fact that Osama apparently doesn't qualify for Bush as a target of this war. Lets look at the facts:
Five months before 9-11, the Bush administration welcomed the Taliban to the White House, knowing full well they supported and harbored Osama. The administration then also gave 43 million dollars to the Taliban, reportedly for aid in light of the destruction of the opium crop that year. Osama must have been grateful.
Two months before 9-11, when bin Laden was still public enemy # 1 because of his alleged role in the Cole bombing, he was actually treated in an American hospital in Dubai. Not only was he treated for his ongoing kidney problems, but also he was reportedly seen by a CIA agent, and then was simply allowed to ride off into the bad-guy sunset. Of course the administration denies this, but it was broadly reported. Widely respected John O'Neill, the counter-terrorism expert who was renowned for being the most committed tracker of Osama, resigned from the FBI at this point because of what he called repeated obstruction by the White House. O'Neill tragically, and conveniently, dies in the Trade Center attacks, on his first day at his new job. Osama must be really starting to like our President at this point.
After being blamed for the 9-11 attacks, Bush then gave bin Laden a two-month head start before trying to track him down. Multiple reports from that country at that time simply state that he still could have been caught, if that was truly the goal of the administration. After installing the new government, and signing the pipeline deal on the first day, Bush largely ignored Afghanistan and when asked about bin Laden soon after, he responded that "he is someone who is marginalized now, I really don't think about it that much." Reports say that bin Laden was registering as a republican at this point.
The single event that sealed bin Laden's support for Bush, was the decision to invade Iraq. The benefits for bin Laden were threefold. On the one hand, it took resources out of Afghanistan, so that the Taliban could reassert themselves and he could be left alone. Secondly, he got to watch Bush obliterate a country that he opposed, due to its secular nature. I know Cheney would have you believe that Saddam had bin Laden over for curry goat every month, but the truth is that they were polar opposites and actually never really collaborated on anything. Lastly, because of all the attention paid to Iraq, which has nothing to do with a war on terror, bin Laden has been allowed to fade into the fabric of American fear again, only to be pulled out during election times, with vague and unsubstantiated warnings.
There is no doubt that Osama would vote for Bush. In just three years he went from public enemy number one, to being marginalized. One day you are a worldly pariah, the next day, you are not thought of much. Who would Osama vote for? I think that is pretty obvious. Bush hasn't done wrong by him yet, why change in mid-stream?
Anthony Wade is co-administrator of a website devoted to educating the populace to the ongoing lies of President George W. Bush and seeking his removal from office. He is a 36-year-old independent writer from New York with political commentary articles seen on multiple websites. A Christian progressive, and professional counselor, Mr. Wade believes that you can have faith and hold elected officials accountable for lies and excess.
Anthony Wade's article Archive: http://www.opednews.com/archiveswadeanthony.htm
Email Anthony: takebacktheus@gmail.com
