In the company of Bush haters

Victor Davis Hanson:

...

Finally, there is at least one group whose hatred of Bush is more than welcome: bin Laden and his al-Qaida terrorists.

Now, if you were to believe the criticisms of the president by many of the groups outlined above, it would follow that bin Laden would actually be delighted by Bush's "war on terror."

After all, Bush supposedly waged an unnecessary and divisive war that only empowered his enemies. The administration supposedly drove "moderates" into bin Laden's camp, divided the American public over Iraq, and turned off allies with Guantanamo and wiretaps. We are surely less safe, it is argued, post-9/11.

But why then does bin Laden hate George Bush so passionately? He serially rants about the president. In October 2004 he even released a pre-election video addressed to Americans, lambasting Bush in hopes that he would lose the election.

The truth is that, thanks to Bush, bin Laden's original bases in Afghanistan are lost. His al-Qaida followers in Iraq are being systematically decimated - with the help of Sunni tribesmen repulsed by jihadist atrocities. A recent poll from the Pew Research Center revealed a precipitous drop in support among Middle Easterners for the tactics of suicide bombing, and a growing unpopularity for bin Laden himself.

Al-Qaida terrorists no doubt hate every American president. But bin Laden's venom for feisty George Bush is special, galvanized by the president's success in eroding al-Qaida militarily while trying to foster enough reform to ruin the terrorist organization politically.

George Bush's war on radical Islamic terrorists and their sponsors apparently makes a lot of widely different people uncomfortable. But the irony here is that bin Laden's dislike for the president should show Bush-haters here and abroad that he deserves some praise. Their common enemy is as enraged as he is reeling.

Those who hate the President should consider the company they are keeping. However, the Bush haters on the left have become the best hope of the people who want to kill them. In Iraq, the only hope to save al Qaeda's failed war lies with Democrats in Congress who are being torn a part by the haters who obviously hate the President more than they love this country.