Bush
today:
FORT MEADE, Md. - President Bush, defending the government's secret surveillance program, said Wednesday that Americans should take Osama bin Laden seriously when he says he's going to attack again.
"When he says he's going to hurt the American people again, or try to, he means it," Bush told reporters after visiting the top-secret National Security Agency where the surveillance program is based. "I take it seriously, and the people of NSA take it seriously."
Hmm, I remember him having a different attitude earlier:
Q But don't you believe that the threat that bin Laden posed won't truly be eliminated until he is found either dead or alive?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, as I say, we haven't heard much from him. And I wouldn't necessarily say he's at the center of any command structure. And, again, I don't know where he is. I -- I'll repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him. I know he is on the run. I was concerned about him, when he had taken over a country. I was concerned about the fact that he was basically running Afghanistan and calling the shots for the Taliban.
This is a little troubling. When Bin Laden sends a tape out, Bush insists that he must be taken seriously. When Bin Laden hasn't sent a tape out for a while, Bush assumes that he's not a threat and isn't concerned about him. It would be nice to think that our President has an understanding of what is and isn't a threat aside from how recently a Bin Laden tape was released.