The Hindu : International : U.S. campaign finale shaken up by Osama

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Oct 31, 2004

International

International

U.S. campaign finale shaken up by Osama

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

The United States President, George W. Bush, waves to supporters at a campaign rally in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday. — AP

WASHINGTON, OCT. 30. The Al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden, has shaken up the United States election scenario with his latest videotape threatening the country with more attacks, setting in motion a predictable course of events at the campaign trail.

Both Republicans and Democrats are trying to respond carefully to the comments of Osama even while trying to make the most of it for the benefit of their respective presidential candidates.

Something or the other to do with Osama was expected during the final stages of the campaigning. What would have really been the October surprise was if Osama had completely stayed away from the American presidential election scene. The question now is which one of the parties will `gain' most from the video footage.

"I can run a more effective war on terror," the Democratic candidate, John Kerry, remarked, reacting to the Osama video.

The Massachusetts politician went on to repeat his charge that the incumbent, George W. Bush, was responsible for letting Osama slip away.

Bush hits back

On Friday night, during a campaign rally in Columbus, Ohio, Mr. Bush shot back: "My opponent continues to say things he knows are not true. It is especially shameful in light of the new tape from America's enemy."

THE LAST LAP: The U.S. Democratic Presidential candidate, Senator John Kerry, and rock singer Bruce Springsteen greet the crowd at an election rally in Miami, Florida, on Friday. A taped threat by the Al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden, has put security on top of the campaign agenda just three days before voters cast their ballots. _ AP

Mr. Kerry has tried his best to make the point that in getting into a war in Iraq, Mr. Bush has taken the focus away from terrorism and Osama; and specifically with respect to Osama, the Democratic challenger has made the point that he escaped because the Bush administration had `outsourced' the job of catching him to the Afghan warlords.

"He (meaning Mr. Bush) did not choose to use American forces to hunt down Osama. He outsourced the job," Mr. Kerry remarked.

"How can this grotesque mass murderer be out there on worldwide television more than three years after 9/11.Why have not we captured him, if the Bush administration was going to be so effective in the war against terror," asked Richard Holbrooke, a former Clinton administration official and currently a senior foreign policy advisor to Mr. Kerry.

`Best of both worlds'

But a Republican strategist quoted in The Washington Post put it differently. "If you have got Osama back on the scene talking about 9/11 but not making an attack, it could be the best of both worlds," for Mr. Bush. "It is good for Bush, the fact that (Osama) has not been able to attack, except for verbally," remarked Jeff Bell.

On the surface, both Republicans and Democrats would want to make the point that Americans are not going to allow an `outsider' to influence the presidential election. But in an election so close as this one, even very small shifts are going to matter — and terrorism, security and foreign policy have high stakes on November 2. This is especially so in the key battleground States.

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