Ugh:
President George W Bush has enlisted British special forces in a final attempt to capture Osama Bin Laden before he leaves the White House.
Defence and intelligence sources in Washington and London confirmed that a renewed hunt was on for the leader of the September 11 attacks. “If he [Bush] can say he has killed Saddam Hussein and captured Bin Laden, he can claim to have left the world a safer place,” said a US intelligence source.
The last year in a president's term is always the legacy year, a twelve month countdown to leave on a high note and look good for the history books. But this redoubled effort to bag Osama bin Laden is a pitiful stretch to rescue what is already a writhing abortion of American stature, both home and abroad.
After his gung ho approach to kill or capture bin Laden following the Sept. 11 attacks, Bush famously had this to say six months later:
It took a presidential election to change his mind on bin Laden, which has has moved from viciously wanted to casually forgotten and back again. It didn't take 390 Taliban prisoners being freed in a suicide attack to get Afghanistan back in the news, or a 50% uptick in violence in the U.S. controlled southern region. It was simply a few words from the guy on his way out to find the glaring asterik of his presidency somewhere in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan.
It remains dubious if bin Laden's capitulation or death would amount to anything in the (real) war on terror. al-Qaeda and the Taliban seem to replace their high ranking members immediately when death befalls them, but getting numero uno might deal a blow to their morale and show the world how competent we are. The jury is still out on our competence and prioritizing of military assets, seeing as we have about as much soldiers in Baghdad as we do in the whole country of Afghanistan. When the defense secretary asks repeatedly of the world to send more troops there, you know you're in a logistical nightmare.
Hmm, if only there were a large consolidation of American troops and equipment in the Middle East to quell the rising tide of violence in Afghanistan...
I'll be the first person to support more efforts in Afghanistan in the face of an insurgency spinning out of control, but this reeks of political posturing. It's nothing more than a relay handoff to John McCain to justify his bold plans of an American presence in 22nd century Iraq, if bin Laden ends up being killed or captured. The ultimate October surprise. It would give a startling impression to undecided voters: that the Bush administration accomplished something, anything in the nearly eight years of war in Afghanistan. And you better believe John McCain will go out there, smile awkwardly and suggest more of the ass kicking will come if he is elected.
The truth is that he's already dedicated to Iraq and will likely leave Afghanistan on the wayside just like his presidential surrogate, with or without bin Laden locked up.
And for that, the RGWOT will continued half-assed and on the cheap as we dump lives, money and time into the 100 year pit.