The Orbis

Photo courtesy of http://www.unomaha.edu/ [Click to enlarge]

Finally the globe of mist is clear and the verdict is out. The People have spoken on the millions of dollars spent and the long hours of campaigning done by both the Democrats and the Republicans. An election focused on foreign policy and on America's global role is finally over. The Republican Party under George W. Bush has emerged victorious by more than 3 million votes.

 Even though both parties made a conscious effort to involve domestic issues in their campaign, the presidential debates often tilted more toward the war on terrorism.

One name which never failed to surface was that of Osama bin Laden and his notorious terrorist organization. Al-Qaeda. Throughout their campaign, the Democrats heavily criticized the Bush administration for its inability to capture bin Laden, the mastermind behind the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Osama bin Laden burst himself into the election scene on Oct. 30, after more than a year of silence, by releasing a video to deride the elections and to warn Americans of another attack. “Despite entering for the fourth year after Sept. 11, Bush is still deceiving you and hiding the truth from you and therefore the reasons are still there to repeat what happened,” said bin Laden in his tape. Taking full responsibility of the 9/11 attacks, bin Laden said that the fact that America directly permitted and helped Israel to attack Lebanon in 1982 was the reason he carried out the attacks on America. Osama bin Laden finished by saying, “In conclusion, I tell you the truth, that your security is not in the hands of Kerry, nor Bush, nor Al-Qaeda. No. Your security is in your own hands. And every state that doesn’t play with our security has automatically guaranteed its own security.”

As soon as the tape was released, both rivals, Sen. Kerry and President Bush, stormed across the Midwest making sure the new video did not harm their campaign. Sen. Kerry revived his claim by stating “When Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden was cornered in the mountains of Tora-Bora (in Afghanistan), it was wrong to outsource the job to Afghan war lords, who a week earlier were fighting against us, instead of using the best-trained troops in the world who wanted to avenge America for what happened on September 11. "On the other hand, President Bush said, “In less that 72 hours, the American people will be voting and the decision comes down to, who do you trust more? I offer leadership and results for a time of threat and a time of challenge.”

Both rivals also made some strong and united statements to the American public to not be intimidated by bin Laden’s latest messages.

Kerry told reporters in West Palm Beach, Florida: “Let me make it clear, crystal clear: as Americans, we are absolutely united in our determination to hunt down and destroy Osama bin Laden and the terrorists.” Bush told reporters as he was boarding Air Force One for Columbus, Ohio, “Americans will not be intimidated or influenced by an enemy of our country. I’m sure Sen. Kerry agrees with this ... We are at war with these terrorists, and I am confident we will prevail.”

The media also played more mature role by not hyping the situation. This helped ensure that Bin Laden had no say in this democratic election and would not be allowed to suddenly influence American voters in a time of election.

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