Bush/al-Qaida symbiosis

Here's a piece by Robert Parry of consortiumnews.com, contending that Bush and al-Qaida have developed a symbiotic relationship, needing each other and feeding off one another. Remember in his recent speeches Bush has said that the main enemy in Iraq now is al-Qaida, "the same people who attacked us on 9/11." That's clearly incorrect. Al-Qaida in Iraq wasn't formed until after the U.S. invasion, and only later petitioned to be an al-Qaida affiliate. It's still unclear just what the relationship is with al-Qaida Central, if there is such a thing. But Bush obviously believes he can bolster support if he links the midbegotten war in Iraq with al-Qaida.

Parry argues that the National Intelligence Estimate released last week makes it clear that "Bush's repeated warnings that the United States must fight Islamic estremists in Iraq so 'we don't have to fight them here' or so 'they won't follow us home' turn out to be the opposite of the truth: because U.S. forces are occupying Iraq, al-Qaeda has more resources and more recruits determined to bring the war to the United States.

"The underlying reality is that Bush remains the perfect foil for al-Qaeda and other Islamic extremists. The surging anti-Americanism, which derives from a widespread hatred opf Bush, represents a recruitment boon for al-Qaeda, so much so that Osama bin Laden understand that Bush and his stubbornnessare indispensable assets to their cause."

Parry isn't always right -- he sometimes lapses into left-wing cliche -- but he's right often enough that I'm adding consortiumnews to my blogroll.