Bin Laden rears ugly head as U.S. gets ready for war

Despite President Bush's insistence that the United States is making "great progress" in the war on terrorism, Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, murderous attacks on America's mainland, not only has eluded capture, but could well be planning retaliatory strikes if the U.S. invades Iraq.
Administration officials are speculating that the voice on an audiotape message aired across the Arab world Tuesday is that of bin Laden's. If they're right, it means that the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan against Al-Qaida training camps and hideouts failed to garner the grand prize: bin Laden's head. The Saudi Arabian millionaire who has established Al-Qaida terrorist cells throughout the world remains the leading symbol of global terrorism and the leader of Muslim extremism. His being alive in the aftermath of the Afghanistan campaign is a victory for Al-Qaida. After all, President Bush proclaimed to the world after 9/11, which claimed more than 3,000 lives in New York, Washington and Western Pennsylvania, that the United States wanted bin Laden "dead or alive."
He went so far as to tell the Taliban rulers in Afghanistan that they had a deadline for handing over the world's leading terrorist. When the deadline passed, the U.S., with the backing of allies such as Britain and Pakistan, invaded. The result of that action was the ouster of the Taliban, the installation of a legitimate, democratic government and bin Laden's escape.
Against this backdrop, the president and his circle of close advisors have delivered a similar threat to Iraq's military dictator Saddam Hussein: Get rid of your weapons of mass destruction and permit United Nations' weapons inspectors unfettered access to your arms factories and warehouses or the United States will lead a coalition force to oust you.
Justified skepticism
On Wednesday, Saddam indicated that he was willing to accept the terms of the U.N. resolution, unanimously adopted by the Security Council, for weapons inspectors to be deployed shortly. But given Saddam's past history of erecting barriers to unfettered access and, in fact, expelling inspectors from Iraq, Bush remains justifiably skeptical.
He has made it clear that if Saddam resorts to his old tricks, the U.S. will launch an attack with the aim of bringing about a change in the regime that has ruled Iraq with a bloody sword. It is foolhardy, however, to expect the Iraqi government to go without a fight and, indeed, Bush administration officials have acknowledged that Iraq has been attempting to purchase massive quantities of smallpox vaccinations and antidotes for poisons for distribution to Iraqi soldiers. The speculation is that Saddam would unleash biological and chemical weapons against American and allied troops, if his country were attacked.
But with bin Laden now in the picture, the Bush administration faces another deadly enemy. Al-Qaida cells exist in 60 countries, so there could be a global call to arms. In addition, with America still vulnerable to terrorist attacks, bin Laden's warnings must be taken seriously.
The president should explain to the American people in some detail how the United States intends to deal with a possible biological and chemical war in Iraq and how it will guard against another bin Laden assault on innocent Americans and others.