Bush's response to Osama and vision for a free and democratic Iraq:
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Bush replies to bin Laden
By David E. Sanger The New York Times
Thursday, December 30, 2004
He derides call for boycott of Iraq election
CRAWFORD, Texas President George W. Bush took the unusual step Wednesday of responding to one of Osama bin Laden's taunting tape recordings, declaring that the Qaeda leader's calls for Iraqis to boycott the elections in January "make the stakes of this pretty clear to me."
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"His vision of the world is where people don't participate in democracy," Bush said of bin Laden, who has eluded capture for more than three years. "His vision of the world is one in which there is no freedom of expression, freedom of religion, and/or freedom of conscience. And that vision stands in stark contrast to the vision of, by far, the vast majority of Iraqis."
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Bush's comments were unusual because in recent years, after once declaring he wanted bin Laden "dead or alive," the president has usually avoided most mention of him. His aides have said that it would be a strategic error to respond to every one of bin Laden's tape-recorded threats, or to seem to elevate his status by putting him in a long-distance debate with the president.
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But bin Laden clearly hit a nerve with his latest message, which appeared to be an effort to further undermine the possibility that the outcome of the Jan. 30 election would be considered legitimate. Bush and his aides have said they think that Iraqis have a deep desire to vote and that the mere act of voting, regardless of the outcome, will make them feel both empowered and invested in the outcome of a new government.
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"So the stakes are clear in this upcoming election," Bush said in a helicopter hanger on his Texas ranch, where he held a short news conference to express his sympathies to the victims of the tsunami in Asia. "It's the difference between the ability for individuals to express themselves and the willingness of an individual to try and impose his dark vision on the world, on the people of Iraq and elsewhere. And it's very important that these elections proceed."
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The comments were among the most extensive Bush has made about bin Laden in some time. He has periodically referred to him, as he did just days before the presidential election early last month, when another bin Laden tape was released. But Bush used that tape to make the case that the world was still a dangerous place and that his strategy for pursuing the Qaeda leader should remain unchanged.
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On Wednesday, Bush was responding to a question about a Sunni party backing out of the elections. He first said that "the task at hand is to provide as much security as possible for the election officials, as well as for the people inside cities like Mosul." Then he turned to bin Laden's tape and debated the merits of holding elections. "I haven't heard him do this before," one senior American diplomat said. "But we haven't faced an election in Iraq before, either." |
