I would like to take issue with the obvious theme of the 2004 Republican National Convention–that President Bush is a strong and decisive leader in the war against terrorism. I contend that his response to the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, can only be described as misleading, and wrong. He apparently is trying to mislead us again. While I commend the president for his service immediately after the attacks, I abhor the bait-and-switch tactics he used in the months following and is using now. Sept. 11 and its perpetrators are one thing while the Iraqi war is something different. I find it amazing that even now Republicans can mention Sept. 11 in one breath then Saddam Hussein in the next. It is no wonder that so many Americans still believe that Iraq was involved in the attacks.
It is unbelievable that a convention held in New York dares to showcase Bush’s promise that soon “the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us,” but then not mention that three years later the true culprits are still at large.
Let us not be distracted or deceived. The group that attacked us on Sept. 11 is Al Qaeda and its leader is Osama bin Laden and he is still out there. It is no wonder that Bush doesn’t think we can win the war on terror. You can’t win a war if you can’t remember who the enemy is.
