Smart Money on bin Laden?

In Bush vs. bin Laden, The Smart Money's On bin Laden

Osama bin Laden has issued a new audio tape which boasts of plans for new Al Qaeda attacks on American soil. He also called for a long-term truce if there's a pullout of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. The Busheviks' reaction?

"We don't negotiate with terrorists," Vice President Dick Cheney said. "I think you have to destroy them." Cheney said the tape showed that al-Qaeda has been marginalized because "they didn't have the ability to do anything on video" and because it had been so long since bin Laden had been heard from.

And speaking for his bosses, White House flak Scott McClellan said: "Clearly the Al Qaeda leaders and other terrorists are on the run. They're under a lot of pressure. We do not negotiate with terrorists. We put them out of business."

So there you have it. The "Smoke Him Out/We'll Get Him Dead or Alive"  Bushies discounting yet again the threat of violence from the terrorist scum responsible for vaporizing 3000 Americans and hundreds more around the globe. The administration with the worst intelligence record in the history of the presidency assures us that bin Laden and Al Qaeda have been neutered and weakened, mainly because we haven't seen him in a while and because we've reduced him to audio (as far as I'm concerned, he could issue an 8-Track tape and I'd still feel chills down my spine).

The Bushies' mantra is that time is on their side; that four no-attack years since 911 is proof that we're winning the war on terror here at home and have secured our borders. Forget the fact that there was an eight-year span between the first and second World Trade Tower attacks, and that bin Laden took his time to masterfully plan same. Forget the fact that acts of terrorism in Spain, London and elsewhere suggest that Al Qaeda is anything but weak and disorganized.

While Bush and Cheney tirelessly run around bragging of their machismo, and of their success in hammering away at the man they once promised to capture no matter what, terrorism experts everywhere are saying it's a matter of when not if we'll be attacked again here at home. Once again, this administration can't seem to level with the American people. Call me crazy, but when it comes to intelligence, I don't believe one word that comes out of this White House.

And speaking of telling the truth, ya know that macho declaration about not negotiating with terrorists? Well the U.S. government, as reported recently in the NY Times and elsewhere, is in secret talks with Iraqi insurgents in an effort to enlist them in our fight against Al Qaeda in that region. But wait just a second! I thought we were over there fighting terrorists? Especially since, according to the military's own statistics, about 90% of who we're battling there are Iraqis, not Al Qaeda or other terrorist groups. So if the insurgents are terrorists, as Bush and Cheney constantly ram down our collective throats, then it sure as hell sounds like we're negotiating with terrorists. Sorry Dick, your bullshit has been exposed once again.

I'd really love to experience just one day where this administration tells us the truth.

LINK:  Wouldn't we all!