Osama bin Ladens mål er slå en kile mellom folkene i vestlige demokratier og regjeringene. En effektiv måte er å legge skylden for terroren på Blair og Bush. De vestlige opionionsdannere som sier det samme, bør tenke over konsekvensene.
William Saletan har gjort en analyse av bin Ladens uttalelser som viser at han over tid har henvendt seg til folket i vestlige land. Nå er det britenes tur. Kanskje de vil reagere som spanierne, og kreve tilbaketrekning fra Irak? Det er svært lite sannsynlig. Om noe, vil oppslutningen om Blair vokse.
Now comes the message to “the British people” that “the British government” has brought more death on them. It’s Blair’s fault. It’s Bush’s fault. Turn against them, and the pain will stop. But it won’t. As yesterday’s message made clear, the bombers want us out of Afghanistan as well as Iraq.
Bin Laden’s whole game plan is to turn the people of the democratic world against their governments. He thinks democracies are weak because their people, who are more easily frightened than their governments, can bring those governments down. He doesn’t understand that this flexibility—and this trust—are why democracies will live, while he will die. Many of us didn’t vote for Bush’s government or Blair’s. But we’re loyal to them, in part because we were given a voice in choosing them. And if we don’t like our governments, we can vote them out. We can’t vote out terrorists. We can only kill them.
The terrorist plot to destroy democracy from within.
By William Saletan