Where on Earth is Osama bin Laden? Where is the man who actually organized the worst terrorist attack in United States history? Where is this man who has pledged to destroy the United States, the “Great Satan” in his eyes? Wherever bin Laden is, he is probably laughing to himself because almost two years after his heinous, disgusting act, he is still out there. What is probably even funnier to him is that the United States is more preoccupied with destroying Saddam Hussein than finding him.
How on Earth does bombing an underdeveloped third world country hurt Osama bin Laden? If anything, it is strengthening his cause. The last major story written about bin Laden came on March 12 after the arrest of Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Al Qaeda’s supposed number two in command. The report by Associated Press journalist Paul Haven stated “a manhunt has been under way in a remote 350-mile corridor near where the borders of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran meet, and officials believe they may be closer than ever to capturing bin Laden.”
Unfortunately this was almost a month ago. What has been happening with this evil man? Even if Saddam Hussein has ties to Al Qaeda, they are economic and minimal at best, yet we attack Iraq as if it was the number one threat to our security. The rationale people use to justify the attack is that Saddam Hussein is dangerous, supports terrorism and has weapons of mass destruction. I’ve got news for these people, Saddam Hussein can’t reach the United States with his weapons, but Osama bin Laden and his operatives can certainly release chemicals onto a crowded subway platform or possibly worse.
I cannot understand why the government of the United States has deemed it more important to “dethrone” Saddam Hussein. Maybe the Cabinet of President Bush gives us some answers.
The self-proclaimed neo-Reaganites Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and, perhaps most importantly, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, all formulated a plan to take out the Iraqi government during the waning days of the Reagan Administration, which they were all part of. They saw the problem with giving aid to Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq War and wanted to rub out his regime with the first chance they had. This chance came during Operation Desert Storm, where Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait gave the administration under the first President Bush an excuse to carry out their plan.
Today this plan is based on pre-emption rather than containment and calls for the bold assertion of American power and influence around the world. Unfortunately the administration thinks that force is the best way to rid the world of terrorism. Colin Powell was against action in Iraq, Colin Powell pushed for action against Osama bin Laden. We seem to have forgotten who organized Sept. 11.
