If Bush and Tommy Franks had finished the job in Afghanistan instead of foolishly leading us into the unnecessary debacle in Iraq, Zawahiri would not be able to be taunting us now. This is just another clear example of what a miserable failure Bush has been.
In Video, Al Qaeda's No. 2 Tells Bush to Admit Defeat in Iraq
Al Qaeda's second-in-command said President Bush had admitted defeat in Iraq by announcing plans to reduce the American troop presence in the country, saying the move would be a victory for Islam.
Ayman Zawahiri's videotaped remarks, broadcast on al-Jazeera television Friday, came after two days of suicide bombings in Iraq killed almost 200 people, 11 of them U.S. soldiers. Al Qaeda's affiliate in Iraq is widely believed to have been behind the deadliest of the attacks.
"Bush, you must admit that you have been defeated in Iraq and that you are being defeated in Afghanistan and that you will soon be defeated in Palestine," Zawahiri said, according to a translation of his statement by the Washington-based SITE Institute.
Zawahiri, an Egyptian who is al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's top lieutenant, warned Americans that "as long as you do not deal with Muslim nations with understanding and respect, you will still go from one disaster to another. And your calamity will not end, unless you leave our lands and stop stealing our resources and stop supporting the bad rulers in our countries."
News services quoted U.S. officials as saying the tape was probably authentic.
If Bush and Tommy Franks had finished the job in Afghanistan instead of foolishly leading us into the unnecessary debacle in Iraq, Zawahiri would not be able to be taunting us now. This is just another clear example of what a miserable failure Bush has been.
