A status report on Bush's war on terrorism

by Mary

Remember how one of the ways that Bush was fighting the war on terrorism was to have Karen Hughes sell the American brand in the Arabic world? Well, how effective has that been? After all, her strategic goals were:

"to foster a sense of common interests and values between Americans and people of other countries, to isolate, marginalize and discredit the violent extremists and to foster a positive vision of hope and opportunity that is rooted in our values."

Based on the State Department report that the number of terrorist incidents in the world were up 29% in 2006, it would appear the answer is not so good.

Then there is that report from McClatchy today that the Saudis are unhappy to find that the detainees emerging from Gitmo are more extreme than when they went in. Enough so that the Saudis are providing them extensive help including counseling, financial aid and even match-making in order to woo them away from their attachment to terrorism.

To keep the former detainees from deep-pocketed militant recruiters, Saudi officials have treated them to perks that have included new cars, resort stays, job placement and help in finding brides. They've also exposed them to moderate clerics and reminded them of Islam's restrictive rules for waging holy war, or jihad.

Saudi officials said the goal is to stop the proliferation of radical ideology that they said is bred in prisons and on the Internet. The ideology has flourished at Guantanamo and is evident among the returning Saudi detainees - even those who were moderates before they were imprisoned, Saudi officials said.

...snip...

The U.S.-led war in Iraq is the biggest factor in radicalizing Saudi youths, according to a Saudi government report.

"In Saudi Arabia, al-Qaida has been destroyed as an organization," said Abdulrahman al Hadlaq, the chairman of the committee that oversees the rehabilitation program. "What is happening now is a battle, a war, of ideas."

Thus is Bush's legacy: doing a great job in creating more terrorists who hate America which is exactly what Osama hoped he would do. Heckavajob, Shrub.