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Bush Wars Title: Why is bin Laden breathing? this represents a fundamental failure of President Bush's "war on terror" Five years after the worst foreign attack on U.S. soil, why is the man who claimed responsibility for it still alive? I'm surprised by how few people are asking this question. Maybe it's just too disturbing for Americans to think about. In my view, the fact that Osama bin Laden is still alive today – still plotting and directing more attacks against America and her allies – represents a fundamental failure of President Bush's "war on terror." Or does it? Is it possible – is it conceivable – that President Bush doesn't really care about getting bin Laden? Someone needs to ask this question of the president and demand a straightforward public response. If no one else does it, I promise our White House correspondent will make the effort. Why does the question need to be asked? Because less than a year after Sept. 11, 2001, Bush said he didn't care about bin Laden. "I truly am not that concerned about him," is the way he put it. Reading those comments has troubled me – troubled my soul. I have many and profound disagreements with President Bush. Much of what he does and does not do as president mystifies me. But, until reading those words, one thing I was certain we had in common was our desire to "get bin Laden!" Immediately after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Bush said he wanted bin Laden "dead or alive." That was the right thing to say. That was the right objective to pursue. But less than a year later, perhaps discouraged by his inability to catch bin Laden, Bush's attitude had already undergone a pronounced shift. Asked by a reporter if he believed bin Laden continued to pose a threat, Bush responded: 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. So, according to Bush, only enemies running countries are important? I thought that, by definition, terrorists were considered stateless operators. If Bush is looking now for terrorists running countries, I can name a bunch. However, I am flabbergasted that the president's interest in bin Laden would drop after only six months simply because he had been apparently dislodged from power in Afghanistan. Somehow, I thought our commitment to get bin Laden for the murders of 3,000 Americans was not conditional. I didn't think our interest in him would ever wane. I didn't think U.S. officials would ever give up pursuing him because it was difficult, costly or even that he ceased to be a continuing threat. Silly me. Bin Laden remains a threat. In fact, I would say that for millions of Americans he is a bigger threat than ever before. But even if you don't perceive the threat I see, as a simple matter of justice, we must never take our eye off bin Laden. We must never forget. We must always remember 9-11. No matter what we achieve in Iraq or Afghanistan or any other front in this war on jihadist terrorism, unless we get bin Laden, we will never have closure over the events of Sept. 11, 2001. The longer it takes, the more we risk. It's time to refocus our efforts on eliminating this human plague from the planet. It's time to redouble our efforts to find him and smoke him. It's time to pull out all the stops – and if that means attacking him in Pakistan or Iran or any other nation, we do it. If we have to use bunker-buster bombs or tactical nuclear weapons, we do it. If we have to redeploy armed forces from elsewhere on the globe, we do it. It's time to use all our great technology and all our great manpower and American ingenuity to do something that will make America's day. I'm surprised no one else is saying this. It's been too long. I know there are many other threats in the world besides the monster known as bin Laden. I know the conflict is not over the day bin Laden assumes room temperature. I know this is about much more than one man. But without bin Laden, we've failed.
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