Al Qaeda Strikes Again

Hi, I'm Bill O'Reilly.  Thank you for watching us tonight.

Al Qaeda strikes again.  That is the subject of this evening's Talking Points Memo.

Here's how it shakes down.  Some of us believe we're right in the middle of World War III, and that we have to confront Al Qaeda (search) and other terrorists no matter where they are.  Other Americans believe the world must confront the situation that America has no right to go on the offensive against terrorism without the support of other countries.  They reject the World War III theory.

This weekend, Al Qaeda attacked Saudi Arabia (search), killing at least 17 people, most of them Muslims, five killed and also perished.  Predictably the Saudis are angry and vow to track down the terrorists.

Talking Points feels sympathy whenever innocent people are killed, but Saudi Arabia is getting hit with some karma, I believe.  For years, it bought off Al Qaeda, allowing [Usama] bin Laden and his killers to access money and to stage operations as long as they weren't against the Saudis.

Now it's no accident most of the 9/11 killers were Saudi citizens.  And the kingdom still allows violent Muslims to peddle their wares within the school system.  Al Qaeda itself is completely over the top, calling for the death of all Jews and Christians worldwide.

So the question becomes -- why isn't the entire world united against Al Qaeda?  The Bush administration wants to be aggressive in fighting worldwide terrorism.  That's why the USA removed Saddam.  He was a terrorist enabler, no  question.  And he violated the first Gulf War treaty.

But now President Bush is on the defensive because the occupation has not gone well.  Meantime, his global strategy is foggy because America is bogged down on the frontlines.

The truth is that if Saudi Arabia, Egypt, France, Germany, and Russia would help out in Iraq, there would be no problem there. -- And Al Qaeda would be on the defensive.  Instead, it's continuing offensive operations all over the world and killing innocent people.

There's no question and no excuse for the nations of the world not uniting behind the United States to root out brutal dictators who support terrorism and the terrorists themselves.  No excuse at all.

Now you can disagree with the Bush strategy vis-a-vis Iraq because it has not worked as planned, but it is hard to disagree with the fact that the world is not  yet aggressively united against terrorism.  Perhaps Saudi Arabia has learned a lesson over the weekend.  The world's big hope to defeat Al Qaeda is America and every nation should be supporting that hope.

And that's The Memo.

The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day

Time now for "The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day."

The result of our billoreily.com poll on pot-smoking politicians.  We asked the question: Would the fact that a presidential candidate once smoked pot influence your vote?   Seventy percent of the 30,000 or so who responded said no.  Only 30 percent said yes.  Nobody was undecided, which is a good thing.

Now the new poll question on billoreilly.com is: Has the Smart family exploited their daughter, Elizabeth?  Yes or no.  All right.  That will be an interesting poll.

And while I have your undivided attention... Hello!  Some rare personal appearance news.  Tomorrow, I'll be signing copies of "Who's Looking Out for You?" at the Barnes & Noble bookstore here in Manhattan, 48th and 5th, at 1:00 p.m. -- Sneak out on that lunch hour. -- This is the first of just four signings this year.

Also on Friday, a big event.  We'll be doing The Radio Factor at Faneuil Hall (search) in Boston from 12:00 to 2:00 sponsored by 96.9 FM there.  And we're looking forward to that.  Boston is never ridiculous, always a great town.  All right.  See you in Boston or Manhattan.

--You can watch Bill O'Reilly's Talking Points Memo and "Most Ridiculous Item" weeknights at 8 & 11p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com