Jonathan Rauch reminds Barack Obama and the Democrats that even if the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan have temporarily quieted, the war on terror is not over. At least, Al Qaeda hasn’t stopped fighting it:
Still, before Obama and the Democrats move on too quickly, a gentle reminder: This is not a peacetime election for Al Qaeda. In comments prepared for a discussion this month at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Ted Gistaro, a senior terrorism analyst in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, noted, “Al Qaeda’s intent to attack the U.S. homeland remains undiminished.” The organization, he added, “is identifying, training, and positioning operatives for attacks in the West, likely including in the United States.” Today’s peacetime mentality, although prevalent, is fragile. A big explosion or two would shatter it faster than you can say “Ayman al-Zawahiri.” Obama has shown he cares about change, about the economy, about moving troops out of Iraq and into Afghanistan. But what about terrorism? This is a candidate, remember, who has no military experience. This is a party whose base has at times managed to seem more alarmed and disgusted by President Bush’s war than by Osama bin Laden’s.
In a real sense, Barack Obama is offering America a return to the 1990s, when the nation was thankful for economic growth and oblivious to the attacks being planned against thousands of civilians. If voters consider the election in that light, is there any way that Obama can win?
