Why Won't the Bush Administration Tell Us the Truth About Terrorism?

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

Why won't the Bush administration tell us the truth about terrorism?  That is the subject of this evening's "Talking Points Memo."

President Bush continues to believe that the fight in Iraq will  eventually make Americans safer.  And I think he's right, but I also think he doesn't make a strong enough case.  Let's keep it real simple so even the far left fanatics can understand it.

Does any clear thinking person believe that Usama bin Laden would not use a nuclear weapon to kill millions of Americans if he could?  Does anyone say he would not do that?  If you know someone who doesn't believe that, get away from them fast.  Bin Laden would use anything he could to kill as many American civilians as possible.

Here's another question for you.  How much do you know about Salman Pak (search)?  Today on NPR Radio (search), the host of a New York morning program didn't seem to know much about it.  Do you?

Salman Pak is located 15 miles southwest of Baghdad.  It was here that Saddam Hussein trained terrorists.  Both Iraqi and non-Iraqi Arabs learned how to hijack airlines, make and plant bombs, and stage assassinations, among other things.  According to Saba Khodada (ph), a terrorist instructor at Salman Pak who worked for Saddam, the camp was run by an international terrorist called "the ghost", who has yet to be identified.  When the Marines raided the camp last spring, they found vats of industrial chemicals, manuals on how to fool U.N. weapons inspectors, and mass graves.  They also found a passenger jet.

Here's another question for you.  How much do you know about Abu Musab al-Zarqawi?  He's a 37-year-old Jordanian terrorist who was wounded in Afghanistan while fighting for the Taliban.  He was shipped to Baghdad, where his leg was amputated.  He has direct ties to al Qaeda and is believed to have executed American Nicholas Berg.

So let's connect some dots here.  Bin Laden will murder any way he can.  That's a given.  Saddam was training terrorists and helped top Al Qaeda-linked guy Zarqawi, who continues to kill Americans.  That's what President Bush should have told the nation last night because those facts are solid and have a direct meaning to us all.

We are now fighting terrorism as a divided nation.  That's not going to cut it.  Bin Laden actually predicted America would falter in the face of his violence and sees us as decadent and cowardly.

While it is true that Iraq has been somewhat mishandled by the Bush administration, it's also true that this battlefield is necessary and vital.  All Americans should wake up and wise up.  Terror is terror.  We must defeat it totally.  Retreat is not an option.

And that's "The Memo."

The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day

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

Pope John Paul II (search) is calling for regulations to ensure that the media tell the truth, saying that reporters often distort visions of family and morality.  Well, with all due respect to the pontiff, short of God coming down and smiting us, which may happen, a free press is never going to be regulated.  And, of course, that leads to many distortions.  Thank God there's the No Spin Zone.

And on this subject we want you to vote on whether that distortionist, Michael Moore, should be invited on to The Factor?  Our new billoreilly.com poll asks that question, should The Factor invite Michael Moore on?  So far the voting is very close, and whatever you say goes.  If you vote him on the island, I'm going to invite him on here.  Ridiculous, we'll see.