For years we on the left have been saying that George W. Bush was a valuable asset to al Qaeda. His policies and tone alone provided a great tool for al Qaeda to use when it comes to recruiting. Now the terrorist group is facing a new challenge:
With Obama, al-Qaeda faces an entirely new challenge, experts say: a U.S. president who campaigned to end the Iraq war and to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and who polls show is well liked throughout the Muslim world.
Whether the pro-Obama sentiment will last remains to be seen. On Friday, the new administration signaled that it intends to continue at least one of Bush’s controversial counterterrorism policies: allowing CIA missile strikes on alleged terrorist hideouts in Pakistan’s autonomous tribal region.
But for now, the change in Washington appears to have rattled al-Qaeda’s leaders, some of whom are scrambling to convince the faithful that Obama and Bush are essentially the same.
Imagine if Obama had been the President on 9/11. We could be looking at a much different world today. Sure Saddam would still be in charge of Iraq, but we would have never had a “war on terror”, but rather a “war on al Qaeda”. Our focus would have been to capture and/or kill those who actually attacked us, not going on some personal vendetta. It’s also safe to say that our economy wouldn’t be in the trouble it is today.