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New York Times columnist William Safire isn't just a splenetic armchair general, he's a senile, splenetic armchair general. In his column today, he urges Bush Junior to take out Saddam as part of the war against evil. As usual, Safire distorts facts, saying that Osama bin Laden demands an Israeli exit from Palestine and U.S. non-"interference" with Iraq.
Here's what yours truly posted on the NYT Safire chatboard (under a fake, "don't spam me" NYT sign-in name), and also sent in a non-pseudonymous email to the Times:
"In his October 8 column urging war to 'liberate' Iraqis from Saddam Hussein, William Safire misinterprets the demands stated in Osama bin Laden's October 7 videotaped speech. According to Safire, bin Laden requests 'the removal of Jews from Palestine and the end of America's interference with Iraq.' This is inaccurate. At the end of his speech, bin Laden says: 'I swear to God that America will not live in peace before peace reigns in Palestine, and before all the army of infidels depart the land of Mohammad.' Of course, the 'land of Mohammad' is Saudi Arabia, not Iraq. Bin Laden mentions Iraq a couple of times as an example of U.S. aggression, but he also mentions the bombing of Japan in WWII. It is clear he wants the U.S. to stop supporting Israeli territorial aggression, and to get our military bases out of Saudi Arabia. These demands seem quite reasonable to me."