Lynn C. Woolsey: “the more President Bush entangles this country of ours in the Iraq occupation, the less committed it seems he is to the…”

“the more President Bush entangles this country of ours in the Iraq occupation, the less committed it seems he is to the real national security threat we face, global terrorism, al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. Over the holiday weekend, when few people were paying attention, it was reported that the CIA has closed down ``Alec Station,'' its special unit that was charged specifically with tracking down and capturing Bin Laden. We've sure come a long way since the immediate aftermath of 9/11, when the President promised to get him, dead or alive. So much for Sheriff Bush. The tabloids are doing a better job of hunting down Tom Cruise's baby than this administration is at finding bin Laden. But this latest decision is of a piece with the Bush approach to bin Laden. In the fall of 2001, he had bin Laden cornered at Tora Bora, but the President let him get away by relying on local warlords rather than moving American troops in to finish the job. And a few months later, at a White House press conference, the President's cavalier approach to bin Laden was on full display. ``I don't know where he is,'' the President said. ``I just don't spend that much time on him.…”