"Bush Has Osama's Vote"

[asthmaticeog]

http://www.freetimes.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1269

When the Madrid train bombings were followed a few weeks ago by Spain's electorate throwing out its existing leadership in favor of one which had vowed to pull Spanish troops out of Iraq, all kinds of speculation arose as to how Al Qaeda — which was behind the bombings — would be emboldened to influence elections in other countries.

Underlying these concerns in America was the conventional wisdom that Osama and the boys might try something big before our November election because they desperately want to flush George Bush out of office. Well, once again conventional wisdom is wrong, since it's hard to imagine Al Qaeda having a better friend in the White House than George W. — a man who seems to have been playing right into bin Laden's hands since taking office in January 2001.

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...the last thing Al Qaeda would want is someone in the White House who might be able to unite world leaders in a co-operative effort to eradicate terrorism; someone who could reclaim the trust and confidence of the American people and inspire a spirit of determined unity; someone who might be willing to do the hard, often thankless, work necessary for a possible peace between Israel and Palestine; someone who might be able to alleviate the palpable hatred pulsing throughout many parts of the world from Bush's arrogant unilateralism and saber-rattling; and someone who hasn't been such a witless enabler for the kind of radical Islamic fundamentalism that threatens global peace and freedom.