Yesterday, after the latest Osama bin Laden video was released, David Kurtz noted that both sides of the political divide “may be tempted to use bin Laden’s words to some perverse advantage,” but suggested everyone show some restraint. David explained, “Bin Laden is a crazy, evil man. No one should take any pleasure in trying to exploit his rantings for their own partisan purposes.” Arguing the same point, I suggested, “Might we be better off not trying to make use of the rambling tirade of a monster who killed 3,000 Americans?”
Last night on PBS’ The NewsHour, New York Times columnist David Brooks compared 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden’s latest video message to “lefty blogs,” saying the al Qaeda head is like “one of these childish people posting rants at the bottom of the page.”
Yes, Brooks, supposedly one of the media’s favorite “serious” grown-ups, is playing the same offensive game far-right activists have been playing for years: tying the 9/11 architect to the left. It’s insulting and ridiculous, but Brooks’ sentiment was echoed, aggressively, by the usual suspects.
I suppose this is all fairly predictable, and not worth getting too worked up over. Things haven’t gone too well for the right when it comes to the military (stretched to the breaking point), counter-terrorism (increased terrorist attacks around the globe every year since 9/11), combating al Qaeda (which has used Iraq as a successful recruiting and fundraising tool), or U.S. foreign policy (our international standing has reached its lowest ebb in a generation), so I guess it makes them feel better to argue that fundamentalist terrorists and secular liberals share some kind of ideology. Whatever.
Having said that, it’s probably worth noting, from time to time, that if Osama bin Laden were to sit down and write a gameplan for what he’d like to see the United States do since 2001, it would look eerily similar to the approach taken by the Bush administration over the last six years.
In fact, a few years ago, Paul Krugman suggested Bush has followed the steps of a modern-day Manchurian Candidate, whom Krugman labeled the “Arabian Candidate,” who would serve the terrorists’ cause while “pretending to be their enemy.”
After an attack, he would strike back at the terrorist base, a necessary action to preserve his image of toughness, but botch the follow-up, allowing the terrorist leaders to escape. Once the public’s attention shifted, he would systematically squander the military victory: committing too few soldiers, reneging on promises of economic aid. Soon, warlords would once again rule most of the country, the heroin trade would be booming, and terrorist allies would make a comeback.
Meanwhile, he would lead America into a war against a country that posed no imminent threat. He would insinuate, without saying anything literally false, that it was somehow responsible for the terrorist attack. This unnecessary war would alienate our allies and tie down a large part of our military. At the same time, the Arabian candidate would neglect the pursuit of those who attacked us, and do nothing about regimes that really shelter anti-American terrorists and really are building nuclear weapons.
Again, he would take care to squander a military victory. The Arabian candidate and his co-conspirators would block all planning for the war’s aftermath; they would arrange for our army to allow looters to destroy much of the country’s infrastructure. Then they would disband the defeated regime’s army, turning hundreds of thousands of trained soldiers into disgruntled potential insurgents.
After this it would be easy to sabotage the occupied country’s reconstruction, simply by failing to spend aid funds or rein in cronyism and corruption. Power outages, overflowing sewage and unemployment would swell the ranks of our enemies.
Who knows? The Arabian candidate might even be able to deprive America of the moral high ground, no mean trick when our enemies are mass murderers, by creating a climate in which U.S. guards torture, humiliate and starve prisoners, most of them innocent or guilty of only petty crimes.
At home, the Arabian candidate would leave the nation vulnerable, doing almost nothing to secure ports, chemical plants and other potential targets. He would stonewall investigations into why the initial terrorist attack succeeded. And by repeatedly issuing vague terror warnings obviously timed to drown out unfavorable political news, his officials would ensure public indifference if and when a real threat is announced.
Last but not least, by blatantly exploiting the terrorist threat for personal political gain, he would undermine the nation’s unity in the face of its enemies, sowing suspicion about the government’s motives.
To be sure, I’m not arguing for a moment that Bush is intentionally helping our enemies, only that his policies have inadvertently had that effect.
In this sense, Brooks’ comments yesterday, and those from other far-right voices, are part of a classic Rovian strategy — identify your rival’s strength, and go after it vociferously. Indeed, the strident rhetoric and the nonsensical finger-pointing reeks of desperation, as if the president’s political supporters hope that if they scream “OBL (hearts) Democrats” loud enough, no one will notice that Bush’s presidency has been everything al Qaeda could have hoped for, and more.
It’s kind of sad, when you think about it.