Orwell Rolls In His Grave

Earlier this week, President Bush gave a speech urging those in the U.S. not to underestimate Osama bin Laden. As such, it was a delightful piece of irony. Said Bush: History teaches that underestimating the words of evil and ambitious men is a terrible mistake. Bin Laden and his terrorist allies have made their intentions as clear as Lenin and Hitler before them. The question is: Will we listen? Will we pay attention to what these evil men say? That's a fair question. But it's not a question he should be asking us. Rather, it is a question we should be asking him. After all, it was Bush, and not us, who failed to take seriously a briefing entitled bin Laden determined to strike in U.S. It was under Bush's leadership, and not ours, that dozens of warning signs went unheeded in 2001. It was during Bush's presidency, and not ours, that planes were hijacked and crashed into buildings. It was Bush, and not us, who afterwards said that he "doesn't spend that much time on bin Laden." It was during Bush's presidency, and not ours, that a CIA unit set up to hunt down bin Laden was disbanded. It is Bush, and not us, who has in five years failed to capture the man he declared he would get dead or alive. It is Bush, and fortunately fewer and fewer of us, who considers his dismal failure to be a resounding success.