Filed by Trevor at 10:40 pm under Fightin' Words

Dear President Bush,

I can only assume that the sudden revelation that bin Laden sought to turn Iraq into a base for al-Qaeda — the implication being, of course, that he is still pursuing such a goal — was intended to bolster your defense for our continued presence in the Middle East. And right as our Congress eliminated timetables from the legislation you hate so much, too! Tell me, if this is truly a viable threat, and thus meant to strike fear in the hearts of American citizens, why have you kept a lid on this information for two years? Now, some will nevertheless interpret this as proof of an Iraq - al-Qaeda link, I have no doubt. But consider the date, if you will. We were attacked in 2001 and we’ve been at war with Iraq since 2003; do you think bin Laden would have turned to Iraq as a terror cell in 2005 had you not falsely led us into this war in the first place? Besides, wasn’t this the guy you swore you’d apprehend “dead or alive?” Whatever happened to that?

Conservatives who falsely assert that it was actually Clinton’s fault for letting bin Laden get away absolutely astound me. How blithely they ignore the fact that this man led the largest terrorist attack on our soil in the history of our country and was subsequently allowed to get away with it. This means, of course, that if Iraq truly does become an al-Qaeda terror cell, you are doubly to blame for it: once for disbanding a unit of the CIA that was for an entire decade (note: since the beginning of Clinton’s second term) dedicated to the mission of capturing bin Laden, and twice for leading us into a war against a sovereign nation in no way responsible for the Trade Center attack.

And yet, somehow you’ve managed to trump yourself. Sir, kindly explain why you’ve relegated the mission of tracking down bin Laden to Pakistan — with a price tag of a billion a year with absolutely no accountability? We’re all waiting.

You are not my president.