Bush's speech

So I'm a little late on this, but it looks like Bush is finally making some progress on an effective message regarding the war on Islamic extremism.  Frum liked the speech, but noted how long overdue it is.  The NR editors are also positive:

 

Bush has given concrete details about how the program has kept us safe. To take one example: Al Qaeda was planning a monstrous follow-up to the 9/11 attacks, under the direction of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. But interrogation after the capture of a bin Laden intimate led to the apprehension of Mohammed's 9/11 sidekick, Ramzi bin al-Shibh; and the questioning of both terrorists then led to the capture of Mohammed before the attack could be carried out. More broadly, the program has resulted in, among other things, the revelation of plots to kill large numbers of Americans in domestic bombings; the identification of terrorist operatives dispatched to carry them out; the arrest of Riduan Isamuddin, a.k.a. Hambali, the Jemmah Islamia architect of the Bali bombings that killed 202 people; and the smashing of a 17-member Jemmah Islamia cell. The CIA's interrogations have also exposed al Qaeda's transportation channels and safe harbors, and compromised its communications. In short, they have probably saved thousands upon thousands of lives. To make sure they continue to do so, the president has proposed legislation that would do two things.

 

The central question of this decade is: is the west at war with radical Islam?  The answer to that question is a pretty clear indication of how you see the world, history, and politics.