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Blanche, you should have quit while you were ahead.
"Osama Bin Laden is the man who bombed the WTC TWICE"
So it wasn't a worldwide terror organization operating with support from Afghanistan and Iraq that bombed the World Trade Center, or that flew an airliner into the Pentagon, or that tried to fly an airliner into the Capitol, or that bombed commuter trains in Londoin and Madrid. It was Osama and only Osama. He personally hijacked all four planes on September 11th, flew all four of them simultaneously, and miraculously survived all four crashes. And if we eliminate him, all terrorists around the world will automatically surrender and become nice peaceful devotees to what their faith truly teaches.
And if Osama did bomb the World Trade Center the first time, then where is your outrage over Bubba Clinton refusing twice to apprehend him when Sudan had him in custody and offered him to us?
Cross out that B+ - B+; it is now a C-! 
posted by
WriterofLight
on April 15, 2006 at 7:57 PM
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Yes, but Osama Bin Laden is the man who bombed the WTC TWICE,
I think he merits some attention. Mr. Bush seems to have a bit of an ADD problem where Bin Laden is concerned.
posted by
Blanche.
on April 15, 2006 at 7:14 PM
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Thanks, Blanche!
B+! 
I had to mark down for not quoting him accurately (unless I missed it when I read the transcript) and for not pasting the entire context of the quote.
Here's the quote as reported by Blanche: "I don't spend much time thinking about Osama Bin Laden and neither should you"
Here's the portion of the transcript in which Osama been Hidin was discussed. I've highlighted the President's remarks that most closely resemble the quote:
------
Q Mr. President, in your speeches now you rarely talk or mention Osama bin Laden. Why is that? Also, can you tell the American people if you have any more information, if you know if he is dead or alive? Final part -- deep in your heart, don't you truly believe that until you find out if he is dead or alive, you won't really eliminate the threat of --
THE PRESIDENT: Deep in my heart I know the man is on the run, if he's alive at all. Who knows if he's hiding in some cave or not; we haven't heard from him in a long time. And the idea of focusing on one person is -- really indicates to me people don't understand the scope of the mission.
Terror is bigger than one person. And he's just -- he's a person who's now been marginalized. His network, his host government has been destroyed. He's the ultimate parasite who found weakness, exploited it, and met his match. He is -- as I mentioned in my speech, I do mention the fact that this is a fellow who is willing to commit youngsters to their death and he, himself, tries to hide -- if, in fact, he's hiding at all.
So I don't know where he is. You know, I just don't spend that much time on him, Kelly, to be honest with you. I'm more worried about making sure that our soldiers are well-supplied; that the strategy is clear; that the coalition is strong; that when we find enemy bunched up like we did in Shahikot Mountains, that the military has all the support it needs to go in and do the job, which they did.
And there will be other battles in Afghanistan. There's going to be other struggles like Shahikot, and I'm just as confident about the outcome of those future battles as I was about Shahikot, where our soldiers are performing brilliantly. We're tough, we're strong, they're well-equipped. We have a good strategy. We are showing the world we know how to fight a guerrilla war with conventional means.
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.
But once we set out the policy and started executing the plan, he became -- we shoved him out more and more on the margins. He has no place to train his al Qaeda killers anymore. And if we -- excuse me for a minute -- and if we find a training camp, we'll take care of it. Either we will or our friends will. That's one of the things -- part of the new phase that's becoming apparent to the American people is that we're working closely with other governments to deny sanctuary, or training, or a place to hide, or a place to raise money.
And we've got more work to do. See, that's the thing the American people have got to understand, that we've only been at this six months. This is going to be a long struggle. I keep saying that; I don't know whether you all believe me or not. But time will show you that it's going to take a long time to achieve this objective. And I can assure you, I am not going to blink. And I'm not going to get tired. Because I know what is at stake. And history has called us to action, and I am going to seize this moment for the good of the world, for peace in the world and for freedom.
-----
So there it is: He wasn't preoccupied with Osama been Hidin for three reasons:
- It was more important to focus on prosecution of the war in general;
- The one regime he most directly influenced and that most fully supported him had been eliminated; and,
- The exact reason I gave in guessing at the conterxt of the remark: "And the idea of focusing on one person is -- really indicates to me people don't understand the scope of the mission. Terror is bigger than one person."
Thanks again, Blanche.
posted by
WriterofLight
on April 15, 2006 at 6:59 PM
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I don't think you can get much more credible than the White House home page
posted by
Blanche.
on April 15, 2006 at 5:56 PM
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Herre you go, WOL,
I was busy doing that: March 12, 2002, White House Press Conference, Mr. Bush answered a reporter's question re the search for Osama Bin Laden:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/03/20020313-8.html
posted by
Blanche.
on April 15, 2006 at 5:55 PM
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Blanche, since FW didn't do the homework, how about you doing it?
Provide us with a link to that quote. I'm sure that if it were that significant it would be in print somewhere. But two stipulations apply:
- It has to be a verifiable source, not - with all respect - someone else quoting the source; and,
- It has to include the context in which it was made. In other words, not just the sentence itself, but the entire speech or whatever context in which it was made.
That way, we can work it over in detail and see why he would make such a remark. (My guess is that he was saying, rightly so, that Osama been Hidin is not the only enemy we face.)
posted by
WriterofLight
on April 15, 2006 at 5:50 PM
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What do you want to bet Xenox didn't do the homework?
I don't see violation of the Fourth Amendment anywhere in this. Surveillance of telecommunications to known enemy agents and operatives in time of war can hardly be termed unreasonable unless you are in a state of denial about us being at war in the first place. I remind you: Such commnuications were a key part of why the September 11 attacks succeeded.
As for Turner 's paper, see pages 6 and 7 for discussion of the President's constitutional duty concerning national security. Here's the link again. http://www.virginia.edu/cnsl/pdf/TURNER%20SJC%20FINAL.pdf
posted by
WriterofLight
on April 15, 2006 at 5:44 PM
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Oh, come on, WriterofLight, deny, deny, deny...UFOs?
George W. Bush has been documented ON TAPE as saying, 6 months after the World Trade Center attack, "I don't spend much time thinking about Osama Bin Laden and neither should you".. Do you or the President not realize there are such things as tape and computers that record these things..it could not be more clear. Yet you persist in denying reality. Strange.
posted by
Blanche.
on April 15, 2006 at 5:29 PM
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FW saw a clip where Bush said he doesn't think of Osama much anymore . . .
. . . and I saw a UFO once. On about the same level of reality.
posted by
WriterofLight
on April 15, 2006 at 5:26 PM
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hmmmm
so the president's warrantless wiretapping is constitutional?
what happened to
Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
all you have to do is show where the president is not violating this.
posted by
Xeno-x
on April 3, 2006 at 3:30 PM
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Bin Laden??????
Are you saying the president is interested in finding Bin Laden again????? I saw a clip where he said he doesn't think of Osama much anymore!
posted by
fwmystic
on April 2, 2006 at 9:25 PM
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