By Joseph Farah
President Bush faced one of the greatest challenges of any leader in American history – and came up short.
Not since 1812 had the mainland of the U.S. been attacked by a foreign enemy – and never before Sept. 11, 2001, were so many civilians killed in such an attack.
Nearly seven years later, despite invasions of two foreign countries, the mastermind of the attack has not been caught or killed. Half of America doesn't even remember why we're engaged in those seemingly endless wars. And Americans have still not been enlisted in what the president himself has characterized as one of the gravest threats to the nation's security it has ever faced.In fact, the enemy has not even been defined.
Well, that's not quite true.
It has been defined, redefined, misnamed, changed, mischaracterized, misunderstood and mislabeled.
First, the enemy was "terrorism." Then those we battled were "cowards." Then Bush got closer by referring to "Islamo-fascists." Later, his State Department prohibited the use of that term as well as "jihadists."
From the beginning, Bush made it clear this was a war the government would handle. Washington didn't need any help from the people. Famously, Bush told Americans the best thing they could do after the 9/11 attacks was to go back to business as usual – go to work, go shopping, engage in commerce.
Likewise, we've been hearing for years now that their leadership is hiding in caves, using primitive forms of communication. They're on the run. Bush says he doesn't even worry about Osama bin Laden any more.
In other words, what Bush did – and continues to do today – was to denigrate the potential of our enemy. His statements show a lack of respect for the murderous designs and abilities of our enemy. They suggest our enemy is not really much of a threat to Americans. In a thousand ways, the president and his minions have said the enemy we face is more of a long-term nuisance than one that can defeat us if we are not careful.
This is not the way to rally support in a life-and-death struggle.
This is why Bush lost Congress in 2006. This is why he is one of the most unpopular presidents in the history of the republic.
Americans are tired of a war in which we fight only cave-dwellers and cowards. Americans wonder why this war continues even though they did what the president asked – went back to work and went shopping.
I don't think there's ever been a serious war fought that didn't require real sacrifice on the part of citizens back home. But no one asked Americans to buck up and play a part in this conflict. Therefore, how serious could this enemy be?
Honestly, I could see this coming within weeks of Sept. 11. Other presidents leading other armed conflicts had called for Americans to pitch in – to be prepared for the fight of their lives. Americans were urged to sign up for military service. They were asked to buy war bonds. They were instructed to save scrap metal and recycle tires.
But Bush never asked American citizens to lift a finger to help. In fact, as I mentioned, he did the opposite, virtually telling them there was nothing more productive they could do than keep the economy moving along. Go shopping, he said. I heard it with my own ears.
I swear a part of me knew this war against Islamo-fascism was going to go badly right then and there.
I knew what this enemy was capable of doing. I knew more would be required of U.S. citizens than to shop. I knew the president was not sending the right signals to Americans.
From the too-little-too-late department comes this news: The Bush administration is now asking America's 80 million recreational boat owners to help the Coast Guard protect the homeland from a potential attack by a small craft that could easily deliver a nuclear or radiological bomb somewhere along the 95,000 miles of U.S. coastline and inland waterways.
This is hardly the call to shared sacrifice and commitment I expected when I saw the World Trade Center crumble before my eyes. And it took seven years to present even this modest, low-key, common-sense request for help from the American people.
President Bush's term is coming to an end. But this war is not over. Make no mistake about that. I don't expect the next occupant of the White House to do much better than Bush in mobilizing Americans for what lies ahead.
So, I guess it's up to us, the people, to be smart – to be self-governing, discerning individuals who understand the shortcomings of government power and government leadership.
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