Adam's blogbox: Bush and Bin Laden - an odious comparison

If there is a God, he’s into the blackest humor. Consider this: the agenda of the entire world over the past six years has been driven by two black-sheep sons of two prominent families whose fathers have been in business together.

To wit, George Bush and Osama Bin Laden.

Here’s what they have in common:

1. They were born extremely privileged, and come from rich, elite families in their societies.

2. Their dads are friends and were in business together in the Carlyle Group.

3. They have Oedipal issues with their Dads; both of them are not the favorite sons of their Dads, and their actions can be interpreted as rebellions against their Dads by wayward sons.

4. They’re extremely arrogant.

5. They’re extremely stubborn.

6. They both have a strong #2 man, who acts as their mentor -- Dick Cheney for Bush; for Bin Laden, the Egyptian Islamic Jihad eye doctor Ayman al-Zawahiri.

7. They had black-sheep youths, but were converted to a new life.

8. They are fundamentalist believers. They believe they are on a mission from God, and have a direct line with the Almighty. They see the world in black and white, divided between good and evil, and they’re the good fighting the evil. They believe the world should be like them. In fact, they believe the world wants to be like them.

9. They were up-and-down in business, but after spotty business careers, they became extremely successful at the jihad and killing business. Number of Americans killed by Osama: over 4,000. Number of Americans sent to their death by Bush: over 4000 – that’s soldiers plus US mercenaries killed in Iraq. Number of Arab deaths caused by Bin Laden: between 5,000 and 20,000. Number of Arab deaths caused by Bush – between 100,000 and 700,000. These guys believe in violence as an instrument of policy. They will use any means to achieve their ends. Calling the one a terrorist and the other a fighter for freedom is pretty meaningless: they both kill to prevail.

10. They deserve each other. Only problem: Bin Laden is now holed up in a cave somewhere in Pakistan, with nary a peep out of him, but Bush is stilll very much with us.

The big question is: does the world deserve these two black sheep gone crazy? Unfortunately, given the world’s sheep-like adherence to both their violent agendas, in America and in the Arab world, we do.