Three thoughts

I suppose I'd be remiss if I appeared to ignore the latest bin Laden audiotape, so I offer these three thoughts, the sum total of my reaction:

1) bin Laden is a dangerous international criminal, who needs to be hunted down and brought to justice. Period. His orchestrated attacks on 9/11 were a heinous act that cannot be forgiven or forgotten. This new threat should not be tolerated, nor should his offer of a "truce" be considered. I for one would not shed a tear over news of his death, and I've consistently supported any plan or action directly related to ending his freedom, and that of his scattered operatives, for good.

2) Unfortunately, the plans and actions taken by the Bush Administration in response to this madman have left me very little to support. And the fact remains that this deadly fanatic who should be the focus of American anti-terrorist efforts has been ignored by our leaders in favor of their long-standing bloodlust for Baghdad.

Let's face it, the tape only verifies that bin Laden is still roaming free, still communicating to his followers with impunity, still running a terrorist network that grows in size with each errant U.S. missile attack and military offensive, still threatening to grievously harm this nation. Do we need any more proof than bin Laden's continued existence that Mr. Bush's "war on terror" is a sham of willful misdirection?

3) Sadly, I foresee that the emergence of this audio tape will be used in the days and weeks ahead as a shameless prop in the White House spin campaign for expansion of Executive power. I can hear the arguments now:

"The enemy is real. Osama bin Laden issued another threat to our people just the other day, which is why we must continue to fight in Iraq, don't ya see. And we're gonna get him, we're workin' hard, and makin' progress, and we've gotta keep wiretappin' Americans in case Osama calls for any more poll results. 'Cause it's about freedom, and this new threat just proves what I've been sayin' all along, that we're winnin' the war on terror because Osama's on the run. Well, he's on the run but we've still gotta raise the terror alert level so y'all should stay afraid and support what we're doin' even if it's not really legal 'cause I've been takin' steps to make America safe and we're winnin'. And I welcome a serious debate, so you're either with me or against me on this. Did I mention that we're makin' progress?"

Blah, blah, blah. We should give the bin Laden tape the attention it deserves - which isn't much - and move on. It's not really news, is it, that bin Laden and his followers want to attack America? He has remained a consistent threat for years, audio tape or not, especially since his capture hasn't really been a priority of this duplicitous Administration. Nothing new here.

So stay smart, America. Resist the impending hype. Don't let this latest prop be used as an excuse for a further erosion of our Constitutional freedoms by a White House that will take advantage of any opportunity to increase its imperial power, and its immunity from accountability to the people.

And if we have any sustained reaction to this tape, let it be a demand that the President finally train his attention where it should have been focused from the start.