Posted by
mgraves on Tuesday, September 12, 2006 10:28:33 PM
Ran into the same story, The WashPost, at http://vicarioussunshine.townhall.com/ (Just surrender already) and at http://clearcommentary.townhall.com/. The following is based upon the responses I left at those excellent sites.
Perhaps the fact that UBL is hiding in the wilds of Pakistan rather than riding on the shoulders of his followers should be read as contrary to the notion that UBL has won?
Is Cohen implying that we win by ignoring the murder of American servicemen and American citizens? Does he not realize that if the government does not protect its citizens, the citizens will protect themselves, and the government will forfeit the (almost) absolute right to use force? In other words, is he a flippin' moron?
I don't typically like name calling; it seems childish and better suited to the playground, but for the love of mike, this is idiocy. Does he not think through the logical consequences of his pronouncements?
Saddam had links to terrorism. This is a war on terrorism. Saddam was in violation of the cease fire agreement and daily committed acts of war against US and UK airplanes. The official policy of the US, in regards Iraq, was regime change. The 1998 bombing of the al-Shifa plant in the Sudan was justified partly by the fact that it was alleged to be a joint UBL-Saddam venture. Cohen, What...The...Fox?
Cohen states the UBL has achieved his goals. So UBL's goal was to reduce the operational capability of his vaunted organization? His goal was to have his training sites destroyed? His goal was to have the seeds of democracy sown in territory long hostile to democracy? Cohen, WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot?
To more accurately address the different analysis (at Bin Ladin won?): UBL is one man. His death will not end terrorism. In fact, it could reasonably be argued that the best case scenario, now that UBL has survived this long, for UBL to fade into irrelevance, and see that he faces justice at a later date. Justice delayed is justice denied, but KSM and Ramzi bin Al-Shibh were the planners and implementers, UBL was the figurehead. UBL is the Queen Elizabeth of AQ.
The left's blind fascination with capturing UBL was appropriate in the first year, but now that he has eluded capture, let him hide and fade into irrelevance. Continue to roll up his network. Attack his finances. Destroy the regimes friendly to his network.
But marginalize UBL. Publicly and pointedly ignore him. UBL no longer matters. Nasrallah, Ahmadinejad, and HAMAS present much more pressing targets, as far as leadership goes. UBL is a goatherd hiding in the mountains right now. What else he is and what he has done will be closed eventually. If UBL is marginalized before he dies or is killed, his figurehead status has crumbled. People don't rally to a pile of dust.
The left is insistent on continuing to build up this SOB. Break him down.