Bush and bin Laden: Voices from the Crypt

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Nachrichten, Switzerland

President Bush and his dark 'alter ego,' Osama bin Laden.

Nachrichten, Switzerland

Bush and bin Laden:

Voices from the Crypt

"Bin Laden's message carries more than just a warning for Europe. It also shows that even for bin Laden, Bush is a man whose time has run out. … Both are voices from the crypt - but it seems that it will be bin Laden's voice that will be heard the longest."

By Patrik Etschmayer

Translated By Patrik Etschmayer

March 20, 2008

Switzerland - Nachrichten - Home Page (German)

C-SPAN VIDEO: Bush defends his Iraq policy at the Pentagon, Mar. 19, 00:28:32

It's the fifth anniversary of the starting shot of the second Iraq War, and right on cue, two of the undead have chosen to speak. First, George W. Bush gave his speech on the anniversary of this enterprise; and from the other, reports are that Osama Bin Laden too has spoken again LISTEN .

Bush went first, however, and once again showed how impressive and brilliant he is at ignoring the reality of his own mistakes and giving the truth a whole new twist.

A wonderful example for his mental somersaults can be found early in the speech, when Bush says the following about the defeated Iraqi army and regime: "When the Iraqi regime was removed, it did not lay down its arms and surrender. Instead, former regime elements took off their uniforms and faded into the countryside to fight the emergence of a free Iraq."

What he didn't say was that the army and security forces had in fact surrendered, and then were released by the Americans - with the effect that in the aftermath, hundreds of thousands of unemployed soldiers and police - still armed - were ready to organize resistance to the occupiers.

Of the fact that the U.S. Army also failed to secure huge caches of Iraqi army weapons, which were then cleared out by insurgents in the tremendous power vacuum that existed at the time … not a word was mentioned.

Nor was any mention made of the non-existent weapons of mass destruction (the alleged existence of which was the main reason for the war), the fact that al-Qaeda only appeared in Iraq after the invasion, and that for four years the U.S. administration ignored every voice that criticized its actions in Iraq - and in the case of the generals that dared to speak up - it silenced them.

The perhaps too-late U-turn in Iraq, which in recent times has at least brought a degree of calm, was mentioned this way: "So we reviewed the strategy - and changed course in Iraq." Four botched-up years of ineptitude rolled up into one sentence, which makes it sound as if some real achievement has been accomplished.

This speech - which was an absolute denial of reality and self-deception - was not out there on its own for long, but was soon accompanied by one from Bush's alter-ego on the Dark Side, when Osama bin Laden is alleged to have spoken again. But instead of bashing his arch-enemy Bush (he mentioned him only briefly), bin Laden openly threatened the European Union for allowing the cartoons of Mohamed to be republished after an Islamist conspiracy to murder one of the Danish artists was uncovered.

Osama bin Laden: Still wanted and still alive ...

If bin Laden's message is proven authentic, it carries more than just a warning for Europe itself. It also shows that even for bin Laden, Bush is a man whose time has run out. Bin Laden, too, seems now to have been reduced to a mere symbol. But he's a symbol whose words are still received with a certain fear by his opponents and with great enthusiasm by his supporters.

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

Bush, however ... is over. His decoupling from reality and the fact that his government has failed in almost every regard will be his legacy, along with his ignorance of vital intelligence reports, his manipulation of information, his expansion of executive power and his incapacity to deal with the credit markets. Bush said in his speech that the Iraq invasion would be studied by generations of historians to come. But his administration will leave behind many more interesting things than just a militarily successful but politically disastrous campaign.

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

Not the least of which is Osama bin Laden, who still hasn't been caught, who still gives speeches and still makes headlines. Both are voices from the crypt - but it seems that it will be bin Laden's voice that will be heard the longest.

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SEE ALSO BY PATRIK ETSCHMAYER:

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No Slap for Bush; Pope's Unspoken Endorsement of John McCain

http://worldmeets.us/nachrichten000008.shtml

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America's Financial Crisis: It's Time to 'De-Deregulate'

http://worldmeets.us/nachrichten000007.shtml

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Obama's Words of 'Courage' that European Politicians Should Hear

http://worldmeets.us/nachrichten000006.shtml

Nachrichten, Switzerland