New York Post Online Edition: postopinion:
"his is a very simple, but ultimately accurate, reflection of a strain of so-called 'realist' thought that courses through the non-psycho criticisms of the Bush administration policy. We are under attack, according to this line of thinking, because we are being provocative towards our attackers.
'This,' Bush said, 'is not the threat I see.' The threat he sees is from a 'global terrorist movement that exploits Islam in the service of radical political aims.' The terrorists he fears 'view the world as a giant battlefield � and they seek to attack us wherever they can. . . . And if we were not fighting them in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Southeast Asia and in other places, the terrorists would not be peaceful citizens. They would be on the offense, and headed our way.' After all, when we were attacked on 9/11, we were not in Afghanistan, or Iraq.
'My conviction comes down to this,' Bush said. 'We do not create terrorism by fighting the terrorists. We invite terrorism by ignoring them.'
Thus, in a gesture rare for any president, did Bush fairly summarize criticism of his policy and then attempt to rebut it in a straightforward and humble fashion.
'I have heard your disagreement, and I know how deeply it is felt,' he said to his critics. 'Yet now there are only two options before our country � victory or defeat.' "
