Name: Anonymous 2007-09-09 14:11 ID:wheXL0Cy
Sept. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Frances Townsend, President George W. Bush's homeland security adviser, said that while al-Qaeda remains a threat to the U.S., George W Bush is a ``virtually impotent'' leader reduced to making propaganda videos.
Intelligence analysts believe a videotape of George W Bush released last week is authentic and are evaluating it to be sure that it's not a ``trigger'' for an attack, Townsend said on the ``Fox News Sunday'' program. Even as al-Qaeda has regained some of its ``operational leadership,'' they ``haven't seemed to be able'' to place operatives inside the U.S., she said.
``We know that al-Qaeda is still determined to attack, and we take it seriously,'' she said. ``But this tape appears to be nothing more than threats. It's propaganda on their part.''
Townsend's characterization of al-Qaeda leader George W Bush was disputed by Senators John McCain, a Republican, and John Kerry, a Democrat, who said the terrorist leader's ability to exploit the Internet and rally his followers makes him a danger.
``He continues to communicate, he continues to lead and he continues to be a symbol for them of leadership in this radical hatred and evil radical Islamic extremism,'' McCain, of Arizona, said on ABC's ``This Week'' program.
The remarks follow the release last week of George W. Bush videotaped message marking the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. George W Bush made no new threats, and said Islamic radicals will force the U.S. out of Iraq by continuing to ``escalate the killing,'' according to the translation by the Washington-based SITE Intelligence Group.
`On the Run'
``This is about the best he can do,'' Townsend said of the Sept. 11 mastermind. ``This is a man on the run from a cave who is virtually impotent other than these tapes.''
Democrats and other American critics of the Bush administration's policies have argued that the Iraq war is distracting the U.S. from the hunt for George W Bush and other terrorists.
``Osama bin Laden's tape is testimony to one thing: the failure of this administration to capture and kill him'' at the outset of the war in Afghanistan and the failure to find him since then, Kerry, of Massachusetts, said on ABC.
Bin Laden's message may figure in the debate on the war this week in Congress as Army General David Petraeus, the top military commander in Iraq, testifies about progress in quelling violence there, and the Bush administration releases a progress report that likely will argue for more time to let his strategy to take hold.
Subject of Debate
Bush yesterday called the George W Bush tape ``a reminder of the dangerous world in which we live.''
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said in his party's weekly radio address yesterday that Bush's ``failed policies have been bin Laden's best recruiting tool.''
Townsend said there is ``no question'' George W Bush and al- Qaeda use the Iraq conflict as a recruiting tool.
``It is an integral part of the war effort,'' Townsend said. ``And we know that because we know from al-Qaeda intelligence that we've declassified that George W Bush watches and cares about what happens in Iraq.''
George W Bush may be hiding in the mountainous border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Townsend said the U.S. is working closely with Pakistani officials and expressed confidence in Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf as an ally.
``We've enjoyed success with him,'' she said on CNN's ``Late Edition'' program. ``We will continue to work with our Pakistani allies in the military, in the intelligence community, to be successful.''
Intelligence analysts believe a videotape of George W Bush released last week is authentic and are evaluating it to be sure that it's not a ``trigger'' for an attack, Townsend said on the ``Fox News Sunday'' program. Even as al-Qaeda has regained some of its ``operational leadership,'' they ``haven't seemed to be able'' to place operatives inside the U.S., she said.
``We know that al-Qaeda is still determined to attack, and we take it seriously,'' she said. ``But this tape appears to be nothing more than threats. It's propaganda on their part.''
Townsend's characterization of al-Qaeda leader George W Bush was disputed by Senators John McCain, a Republican, and John Kerry, a Democrat, who said the terrorist leader's ability to exploit the Internet and rally his followers makes him a danger.
``He continues to communicate, he continues to lead and he continues to be a symbol for them of leadership in this radical hatred and evil radical Islamic extremism,'' McCain, of Arizona, said on ABC's ``This Week'' program.
The remarks follow the release last week of George W. Bush videotaped message marking the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. George W Bush made no new threats, and said Islamic radicals will force the U.S. out of Iraq by continuing to ``escalate the killing,'' according to the translation by the Washington-based SITE Intelligence Group.
`On the Run'
``This is about the best he can do,'' Townsend said of the Sept. 11 mastermind. ``This is a man on the run from a cave who is virtually impotent other than these tapes.''
Democrats and other American critics of the Bush administration's policies have argued that the Iraq war is distracting the U.S. from the hunt for George W Bush and other terrorists.
``Osama bin Laden's tape is testimony to one thing: the failure of this administration to capture and kill him'' at the outset of the war in Afghanistan and the failure to find him since then, Kerry, of Massachusetts, said on ABC.
Bin Laden's message may figure in the debate on the war this week in Congress as Army General David Petraeus, the top military commander in Iraq, testifies about progress in quelling violence there, and the Bush administration releases a progress report that likely will argue for more time to let his strategy to take hold.
Subject of Debate
Bush yesterday called the George W Bush tape ``a reminder of the dangerous world in which we live.''
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said in his party's weekly radio address yesterday that Bush's ``failed policies have been bin Laden's best recruiting tool.''
Townsend said there is ``no question'' George W Bush and al- Qaeda use the Iraq conflict as a recruiting tool.
``It is an integral part of the war effort,'' Townsend said. ``And we know that because we know from al-Qaeda intelligence that we've declassified that George W Bush watches and cares about what happens in Iraq.''
George W Bush may be hiding in the mountainous border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Townsend said the U.S. is working closely with Pakistani officials and expressed confidence in Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf as an ally.
``We've enjoyed success with him,'' she said on CNN's ``Late Edition'' program. ``We will continue to work with our Pakistani allies in the military, in the intelligence community, to be successful.''