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| Summer 2009 CommentsObama’s Inheritance: Al-Qaeda in RetreatI n a widely noted speech at the National Archives in May, President Barack Obama said of George W. Bush’s national security policies: “We are cleaning up something that is quite simply a mess.” The president is wrong. Far from a mess, when it comes to national security, President Obama actually inherited a very strong hand from his predecessor. When Bush left office in January, America had marked 2,688 days without suffering another terrorist attack on its soil, an outcome that seemed all but impossible when the smoke cleared on September 12, 2001 ... Full text articleYou are 100% right on the money, Marc. While George Bush's stewardship of the nation's finances and economy was incompetent almost to the point of criminality, he most definitely kicked Al-Qaeda's butt big-time. He didn't listen to the whining of the chattering classes inside the DC beltway or the professional hand-wringers in Congress like Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Russ Feingold, Carl Levin, Hillary Clinton et al (yes, including Barack Obama) who shamelessly did everything they possibly could do to try and undermine our efforts in Iraq when the going got tough because they saw potential political gain for themselves. Instead, he aggressively took the fight to the bad guys in every corner of the globe. As a result, Al-Qaeda is now a pale shadow of its former self and its popularity in muslim countries is plumbing new lows, now that they've been shown to be not noble defenders of islam, but bloodthirtsy savages who take just as much joy in blowing up other muslims as they do westerners. Thanks to George Bush and the brave men and women of the US military, the trend in the Middle East is unmistakably towards greater freedom and representative democracy, as we've seen recently in Iran. This ia rather long, but well worth reading. Lest we forget. This is absolutely ridiculous. A journal of "ideas & debate" should not be publishing partisan politcal hackery written by party line shills. Please cancel my subscription. Of course it was a mess. The fact that Al-Qaeda is in retreat reflects the inherent weakness of an extreme movement that does not have widespread support in Islamic countries. The fact that it has, at times, garnered very modest support from some extremists reflects the crude and unhelpful tactics of the Bush administration, not a successful foreign policy. I suspect that future histories will find the Bush administration generally pandered to internal domestics constituencies at the expense of a reasonable and careful foreign policy. Great article - well written, well researched. I wish more of the things I see were done as well. "When CLINTON left office in January, America had marked 2,784 days without suffering another terrorist attack on its soil, an outcome that seemed all but impossible when the smoke cleared on February 27, 1993." Fixed that for ya! While Mr. Thiessen makes some intelligent points (al Qaeda has been operationally diminished), let us not forget that the worst attack to have ever occurred on American soil occurred under the previous Administration's watch. On that count alone, so far Obama has kept us much, much safer than W ever did. Next, inexplicably, defying all history (except during Vietnam, which we lost), that Administration cut taxes during war time, and proved singularly incapable of capturing and bringing to justice our central antagonist, Mr. Bin Laden. The heroes who kept us safe after 9/11 deserve the thanks and praise of every living American. Instead the Speaker of ths House and her supporters call them liars. The man who enabled the most corrupt pardon in U.S. history may start political prosecutions. All with Obama's consent and support. They are so desparate to move attention off of 9.5% and rising unemployment from their corruption & economic failures that they will persecute those that kept us safe. Its shameful, and the consequences may be more disatrous than the trillions in debt and printed money they are piling onto us! The author fails to point out that but for our invasion of Iraq there would have been no al qaeda presence there (and quite likely more progress in Afghanistan). We took resources form the real battle and lost much good will around the world when we invaded Iraq without provocation. Well written, and important as we watch what happens next. Obama is weakening the nation, instead of fighting for what is right. Very good article. Although I think that Dan's comment regarding GW Bush is right on in that most of the time Bush's leadership was not all that good. However, either through luck or through cunning, his Middle East policy seems to have been a triumph and this needs to be recognized. Obama is to be credited for tacitly having admitting as much by adjusting his own policies accordingly. John Covington commented: "A journal of 'ideas & debate' should not be publishing partisan politcal hackery written by party line shills." What does Mr. Covington imagine ideas and debate to be? I think he means no one should ever say anything positive about Bush. I was not a fan of Dubya for the longest time and still fault he and cheney for a reflexive defensiveness and for "misunderestimating" Iraq. Unlike many I never regarded it as an 'immoral' war, only a bungled one. But I was forced to admit, as the surge unfolded, that Bush pulled it out in the end. Also, despite Bush's shortcomings there was never any doubt as to where his sympathies lay - not with our enemies, but with our country. His successor leaves us very much in doubt on that score, with his continual mealy-mouthed apologies for our sins and his revisionist history of the Cold War, which he portrays as being ended by some internationalist People Power movement rather than by 45 years of American strength and resolve. Obama has indeed been given an enviable inheritance. Let us see what he does with it. Pia: the truth is tough to swallow, isn't it? See yourself out the door. Astonishing that the anthrax attacks don't count as terrorism. Further astonishing that when comparing what Bush inherited (a foreign policy that had suffered no foreign terrorist attacks at home for thousands of days) Thiessen can't help listing foreign terrorist attacks as the ones that matter. They killed dozens, even hundreds while Obama inherited a policy that had led to terrorist attacks overseas that kill thousands. Amazing that when considering Bush, only attacks on our soil matter (conveniently forgetting some). This is an intellectually dishonest piece. If he wants to make a point he needs to compare equal events, and he can't ignor facts he doesn't like. the worst attack in American history happened on Bush's watch, and he never caught the persons responsible. Multiple anthrax attacks followed, and he never caught the person responsible. 40,000 Americans were killed or wounded by terrorists in Iraq but somehow Thiessen considers this a good place for President Obama to start. It appears Marc's still busy writing speeches for Bush. A lot of things could be said about this piece, but just a few points: Again, for those who are still confused, "Iraq had nothing to do with al-Qaeda or 9/11." Our presence there is what drew al-Qaeda into the area. And in the process, tens (or hundreds) of thousands of innocent Iraqi's were caught in the crossfire (they do count, right?) The Surge (tm) strategy includes the erection of 10 ft barrier walls to create ethnic enclaves in and around urban areas. Within those areas, ethnic cleansing has been occurring. Once we leave, we can expect violence as former residents of these areas attempt to move back into their previous homes. For the list of al-Qaeda successes, Bush deserves some level of credit, but nowhere near what Thiessen piles on. First, and most important, eight years later: where is OBL? There is little doubt that had we focused our skilled military in Afghanistan, and not on Bush's Iraqi Misadventure, OBL would be retired. Next, by my count, we've spent ~$700B so far on The War of Terror (tm). Assuming approximately 40,000 al-Qaeda members, that works out to about $17.5 million per person (and still no OBL.) THAT, my friends, is government efficiency at it's finest!! Our so-called 'successes' in Iraq and Afghanistan (and now Pakistan) include many innocent deaths, the relatives of whom will not soon forget that it was the US who caused them to grieve. Sadly we, as US citizens, will probably be the ones to bear the burden of their revenge. After all, we don't have lifetime Secret Service details. Peace be wth y'all. I think your article reeks of lies and info that is distorted just like the man or idiot you work for. W is a just like republicans now a days, no glue, no ideas that are new and inventive, and just a plain joke. The media foisted Obama, an incompetent ingenue, on us and one can only hope the republic survives. Kind of re-writing history here are we not? Clinton did leave the Bush admin plenty of intell about Al-Qaeda which the Bushies chose to ignore. Of course there was no AQ in Iraq until we went there and made the situation such that they could get into the country. If the Iraqis can maintain stability and some semblence of Democracy then maybe it was worth a trillion dollars to defeat an enemy created by his father and friends. Obama, the American slum lord of the South Chicago political scene makes yet another amazing statement clearly exposing his total lack of knowledge on the successful operation of our national security, thus gravely endangering the lives of every American man, woman and child. |  Submit Your Comment |
Posted by JMS | July 11, 2009 9:17:30 AM EDT