Bush: Al-Qaeda’s best friend II

I am bewildered when folks rally behind George Bush and the Republicans because they somehow see him as tough on terrorism. I am bewildered because it seems to me that Bush is doing al-Qaeda’s work for them.

The only real weapon terrorists have is fear:

- So every time Bush beats the drums of 9/11 to rally support for his policies, he is doing exactly what al-Qaeda wants, instilling more fear that a terrorist might be lurking around the next corner, thus magnifying their numbers and their ability to make us afraid.

- Every time he usurps a right we American have enjoyed for 200+ years --- like the PATRIOT Act --- he is doing al-Qaeda’s work for them by forcing us to change our lifestyle.

- Every time there is a public announcement that such and such “is on a heightened state of alert” and that we should be on the lookout “for suspicious persons and suspicious behavior,” especially “unattended packages,” we are helping al-Qaeda keep us in fear.

If I were an al-Qaeda recruiter, I’d be gloating to new recruits about how much we have frightened the Americans, that now we’ve got them looking over each other shoulders for fear that someone might be doing something threatening.