The Bush administration has yet to provide a convincing, detailed response to EITHER of Clarke's key points:
1. The Bush administration did not view terrorism in general and Al Qaeda in particular as the #1 national security priority.
2. The Bush team's fixation with and later invasion of Iraq has seriously undermined the U.S. war against terror in terms of forces in Afghanistan (and elsewhere), domestic security resources, and a disasterous backlash against in the U.S. among Muslim, non-aligned and allied nations.
Clarke's revelations aside, there is, however, a powerful and persuasive case to be made that the United States is now more vulnerable to attack at home and abroad under President Bush’s guidance. Bush’s wartime leadership has left America’s military overstretched, its network of alliances weakened, its credibility diminished, its international appeal in tatters and homeland defense in chaos. While the U.S. is bogged down in Iraq and an undersized American force hunts for Bin Laden, the Madrid bombings show Al Qaeda is still capable of delivering lethal blows. And all the while, festering threats and conflicts in Israel, North Korea, Taiwan, remain on a short fuse. |
