It's another year and another Bin Laden tape. Now he says that an attack on the U.S. is "only a matter of time," and "they are in the planning stages, and you will see them in the heart of your land as soon as the planning is complete."You know of all the personalities on TV, this guy sucks. They should really cancel his show. It seems like every time he appears, the American people look to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney on what we should do, and they give us answers that seem to screw us over and make things worse.
How about it fellas, Bin Laden says he is planning another attack on the U.S., should we intensify the NSA warrentless wiretapping program? Should we ask for more money to pay for the War in Iraq? Should we ban all criticism of the U.S. government to avoid giving "comfort to the enemy"?
Should we start giving up more of our civil liberties to stop the bogeyman from threatening our livelihood?
You know, terrorism is not just about attacks and suicide bombings, it is also about fear. They threaten us with the fear of a potential catastrophe and we react as if the threat is always legitimate. Do you think maybe the reason they make these threats is to scare us? It has been pretty effective so far, since they get a lot of press by putting a tape on television saying they are going to hurt us. When they do that, people get scared, and the American people put more support behind the government who is supposed to protect them.
Now, the press ignores threats like global warming, poverty, economic ruin, runaway energy prices, massive layoffs, and urban violence, but when the bogeyman suggests a potential threat, they cover it 24/7, while never suggesting any solutions beyond trusting the White House, the military and the intelligence agencies, who have yet to provide us with any proven results at eliminating the threat.
The bottom line is that the Bush Administration is not a cure for the threats of the bogeyman, they are the CAUSE OF the threats from the bogeyman. Over 4 years have passed since 9/11 and Al Qaeda is stronger than ever and Bin Laden remains uncaptured. This is despite the fact that our President promised us justice and the eradication of Al Qaeda on 9/11, and he has not yet succeeded at removing or limiting this awful threat to the American people.
Every time the bogeyman appears, it seems that our government uses it to justify convoluted policies that appear to be making things even worse. They increase our Middle-Eastern oil dependency, they torture Muslim prisoners, they threaten or intimidate scientists and journalists who identify the flaws in the policies, or intimidate and threaten their own staff in the military, the CIA, the NSA, or the FBI who dare give them any information they do not want to hear.
So, if we truly want to cancel the "Doom and Gloom hour with Osama Bin Laden" (Don't worry, old episodes will eventually be available on DVD), we need to start to listen to solutions from people who are seriously concerned with the security of our country, and have found alternatives to oil dependency and unilateral warfare. As far as I am concerned, George W. Bush cannot stop the bogeyman, and so far, he has only made the bogeyman more dangerous.