THE CURIOUS CASE OF AL QAEDA
DATELINE: Cluessville, Jan 21 – In 2008 Paramount Pictures and Warner Brothers distributed “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, a movie starring Brad Pitt. In it, the title character is born an old man who regresses in age for 84 years and dies an infant. This month, President Obama eluded to a similar Al Qaeda regression in an interview with the New Yorker Magazine. In referring to Al Qaeda the President said:
“The analogy we use around here sometimes, and I think is accurate, is if a jayvee team puts on Lakers uniforms that doesn’t make them Kobe Bryant.”
Indisputably, on September 11, 2001, Al Qaeda was the Kobe Bryant of professional terrorist organizations, the group that fell the towers. But, according to Obama, it has now reverted to the junior varsity level, strictly amateur hour. If he’s right, soon it will be playing in intramural leagues in high school, then middle school and, finally, elementary school. Before long, the former global militant force will die a borning.
The reduction of Al Qaeda to nothingness has been one of the President’s recurring themes. In less than fourteen months after the Benghazi massacre, Obama claimed 32 times that Al Qaeda was, in essence, defeated. His repeated assertions used the terms “decimated”, “on the path to defeat” and “on the run”.
The President does not substantiate his claims although he always mentions Osama bin Laden’s demise in conjunction with them. The juxtaposition strongly implies that bin Laden’s death cut off the head of the rattler and it has been slowly regressing into non-existence since then.
The reason for making the claims is no mystery, of course. Obama wants to increase his stature. He takes credit, not just for defeating a terrorist force, but the force that caused so much destruction on his predecessor’s watch. The problem is, there’s no reason to believe him. He does have a history of self-serving falsehoods. His fictions like the motivation for the Benghazi attack and the keep-your-doctor-and-policy Obamacare claims are not soon forgotten.
But, there’s something worse than mere political perfidy in the President’s flippant remarks to the New Yorker interviewer. They amount to a taunt to Al Qaeda delivered with an exceptional immaturity, especially on the eve of Sochi. In the same utterance he also reduces his White House staff to shallow locker room jockeys. Hardly what we hope for in our White House resident.
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” was nominated for 13 Academy Awards and won 3. It is very doubtful that the President’s performance will garner anything but scorn, especially on the international stage.