Understanding Osama

Once upon a time (1998) a guy named Osama bin Laden declared war on the United States of America. He was ridiculed, as he didn't have a country or an army or even a large following. He was a "lunatic", a "madman", and "an Extremist". When the president of the USA tried to stop him, it was called "wag the dog". There was oral sex involved, so the media knew what mattered (not that I'm against oral sex).
The nice thing about blogs (because history is written by the victors) is that we can call 'em as we see 'em. The following is only my opinion, so it's not worth much.
When Osama bin-Laden declared a fatwa against America most everybody ignored it. Few noticed that he had recently defeated the Soviet Union. Yes, we helped him in that war. Osama learned. He understands how to manipulate America, and thereby bleed us dry.
Osama bin Laden is very smart (degree in engineering), very rich (roughly $500mil), and totally fanatical. His long battle with the Soviets left him as an expert at asymetrical warfare, and how to use small groups to achieve maximum impact. He knows exactly what he's trying to do. And he has the resources.
The right-wing wants you to be afraid of him. I understand the real threat, and while I believe it is real, I'm not going to be afraid.
The left-wing is saying that the timing of the threat is too convenient. True, but easy to understand. This leads to questions about motivations.
Our shrub (I can no longer type "bush" without "lilac") uses al-Qaeda as a propaganda tool. Osama uses "lilac bush" as a propaganda tool. That part is very predictable. It's also wrong.
Osama will hit us again. He's told us so before. The goal is to slowly bleed us to death. To keep us afraid. To draw us into wars that we cannot win. Shrub has been playing right into Osama's hand. By invading Iraq, shrub strengthened bin Laden's position. Prior to the invasion of Iraq, bin Laden's fiery rhetoric had only a fringe appeal. Now he is able to portray it as a war between America and Islam.
This is what we face. In my next post, I plan to offer my suggestion on what we should do.