Five years of failure

Josh has a great post about the theme for this year. He points out that we have to get off the defensive and push our winning themes. In keeping with that idea, here are a couple of points.


1. Okay. Where's bin Laden?

I want justice," Bush said. "And there's an old poster out West… I recall, that said, 'Wanted, Dead or Alive.'"


"The handful of assets we have have given us nothing close to real-time intelligence" that could have led to his capture, said one counterterrorism official, who said the trail, despite the most extensive manhunt in U.S. history, has gone "stone cold."



What's happened in Afghanistan?

"The Afghan Taliban is better organized today than it was in 2001," says Gannon, "they have more recruits [and they] have been able to take advantage of the lawlessness, the criminal gangs, and the corruption in the government."



Taliban Resurgence Restricting Women’s Freedoms In Afghanistan




Bob Wright points out this week that even in these times it may be pretty hard for the extremists to convince people to blow themselves up to kill Americans. It might help if by our actions we can make it less, not more, likely that they will want to do so. Bush's crusade doesn't seem to be helping, does it?