How Bush, Cheney and McCain Let bin Laden Escape

If Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) believes his prediction of a terrorist attack within a year, he is admitting the Bush-McCain policies have created these dangers and we should answer him with this:

It all began when the CIA briefed George W. Bush about the danger of Osama bin Laden flying planes into buildings and Bush reacted with arrogance, ignorance and contempt and did nothing.

It then continued throughout a six-year obsession with the Iraq war that let bin Laden off the hook at Tora Bora and tied down the American military in a war that should never have been fought, that prevented our winning the war that was necessary.

Barack Obama should spend less time maneuvering politically and more time attacking the essence of the failure of the Bush years that let our greatest enemy escape and regroup while doing grave damage to our military and intelligence services and our reputation around the world.

John McCain can claim he will chase bin Laden to the gates of hell, but McCain, Bush and Cheney have failed to chase bin Laden to where he actually is. McCain can chase bin Laden to the next political commercial; he can chase bin Laden throughout Iraq, where bin Laden isn’t; now he can chase bin Laden to the gates of Cartagena, Bogota, Mexico City and the Republican National Convention.

Iraq does nothing to kill bin Laden and much to help bin Laden’s cause. Torture has not killed bin Laden. Massive FISA eavesdropping has not killed bin Laden. The tough talk with failed policies from Bush, Cheney, Lieberman and McCain have not killed bin Laden.

All these mistakes, misrepresentations, blunders, falsehoods and miscalculations have done is gravely damage our Army, Guard and Reserves; created a probable trillion-dollar shortfall in long-term needs of American vets; and isolated America throughout the democratic world.

All these mistakes, misrepresentations, blunders and falsehoods have done is rob more than a trillion dollars from the American economy and help push the price of oil to record highs that benefit the oil companies that met with Cheney and now profit from the war alongside corrupt Middle Eastern despots who too often allow funneling of oil money to terrorists — that is, when they aren’t using the money in sovereign wealth funds to buy depressed American assets on the cheap.

If Joe Lieberman actually believes there will be a terrorist attack next year, he is admitting that the argument here is true and accounting for the dangers resulting from the failures and fiascos of the Bush, Cheney, Lieberman and McCain policies that have made America weaker economically and militarily.

Barack Obama does not need to maneuver politically at the margins; he needs to make this case about why Bush and McCain have made America less safe and why our policies would protect our land while preventing further disaster to our economy.