THERE IS much to be learned from Osama bin Laden's recently released audiotape, including, most importantly, the nature of the ongoing war on terror and what is necessary for victory. From events over the last several years and from the politically-tinged timing of the tape's release, it is clear that the United States and our allies have made tremendous progress in combating al-Qaeda, yet nonetheless there is more to be done if we are to make the world a safe place. This involves taking a wider and more long-term look at the nature of our struggle, including the effects of the homefront as well as the battlefield.
On the tape, bin Laden made several comments about the war on terror. The first, according to The Washington Post, was a comparison of the current war with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s, with bin Laden saying that his organization's "patience and steadfastness are much better" than advanced technology and weaponry. Though the Soviet-Afghanistan analogy is a little off-base -- after all, the United States quickly took over both Afghanistan and Iraq -- there is still much to be gained from a close reading of bin Laden's statement.
The American and global public simply cannot afford to be impatient and demand immediate results in a struggle such as this. Fighting terrorists is unlike any war we have ever endured because the enemy exists in the shadows, next to and among the innocents. In an interview with Fox News' Neil Cavuto, Vice President Dick Cheney noted that the al-Qaeda network is not centrally controlled, and that even the death or capture of a noted leader like bin Laden would not completely end the terrorist threat. In addition, there is no enemy political capital to seize and there can be no negotiating with such a fanatical enemy, despite bin Laden's offer of a supposed "truce." Cheney called the offered truce "some kind of a ploy," and said he doesn't "think it's possible to negotiate any kind of a settlement with terrorists like this." He went on to note that although the United States has greatly weakened al-Qaeda's leadership, the threat they pose is by no means gone.
Bin Laden himself has pointed out the importance of patience and perseverance, and analysis of the timing of the tape's release shows that this can work against him as much as for him. According to The Washington Post, "counterterrorism analysts said [that the tape shows] bin Laden was under pressure to demonstrate that he remained in control." This is because in recent months, other al-Qaeda leaders such as Ayman al-Zawahiri and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi have been growing in prominence while bin Laden has been silent.
This and previous tapes also provide an important political lesson. Bin Laden's last tape, which was released just prior to the 2004 U.S. presidential election, showed his recognition of the importance of our homefront politics and the conflict between Republicans and Democrats. This tape continues that trend, with bin Laden noting "antiwar sentiment in the United States" and calling on antiwar groups to apologize and remove the U.S. from world affairs.
These statements send a simple, yet critically important message: The terrorists see and are inspired by the fact that the United States does not present a unified front in the war on terror. The very fact that the media frequently highlights antiwar protests and harps on condemning opinion polls can only hurt our efforts to curb terrorism. These protests and polls do not fully portray the breadth of American public opinion, and they confuse current events and policy with the war on terror's larger aims. The "patience and steadfastness" bin Laden said was so important makes him believe that in time the terrorists will win because American resolve will crumble under a popular demand for peace. This slow sapping of lives and resources is what happened to the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.
What the United States must do is to show the terrorists that we will not back down, and that we will remain committed to safeguarding the peace and freedom of both our own citizens and the innocents of the world. Bin Laden's tape shows that we must stay the course and see this struggle through to the end, and the nature of the enemy we face means that only the total destruction of al-Qaeda can bring a complete victory and an end to the terrorist threat. To affirm our resolve we must set aside our political differences in recognition of the greater cause of freedom and the enemy which threatens all people. We fight an honorable and just battle, and united we can see it through to victory.
Allan Cruickshanks' column appears on Tuesdays in the Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at acruickshanks@cavalierdaily.com.
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