Quote:
Originally Posted by kutulu
Umm, yes he is. Otherwise we'd have a lot more than two attacks that happened in the last, well forever.
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Two attacks?
1. Iranian hostage crisis
2. Beirut barracks bombing
3. World Trade Center bombing
4. U.S.S. Cole bombing
5. African Embassy bombings
6. World Trade Center collapse/Pentagon attack/Pennsylvania field crash
7. Foiled Los Angeles hijack plot of 2002
8. Madrid train attack
9. London subway/bus attack
10. Failed second London subway/bus attack
That's off the top of my head. No doubt, I have forgotten some of them.
Your point still stands: Bush's talk about the danger of Islamic Extremism doesn't work on people who can't even remember the large number of conflicts we have had with people who adhere to that ideology. Honestly, though, 9/11 made it clear to everyone, even those who are totally ignorant of history, that Al Qaida and its associates are a threat to the United States.
This empirical fact has been used to good effect (exploited, if you prefer) by Bush to arouse public support for his platform. The Iraq War, the USA PATRIOT Act, the wiretaping, etc. were all possible because of his use of the entirely legitimate fear of Muslim extremists.