We currently have special ops in Iran doing whatever Bush wants them to do to hurt the Iranian regime. You know, the folks who didn’t attack us on 9/11. But when given the option of employing special ops forces to track down Osama bin Ladin, what did Bush do? Well, exactly what he has been doing:

Late last year, top Bush administration officials decided to take a step they had long resisted. They drafted a secret plan to make it easier for the Pentagon’s Special Operations forces to launch missions into the snow-capped mountains of Pakistan to capture or kill top leaders of Al Qaeda. […]

The new plan, outlined in a highly classified Pentagon order, was intended to eliminate some of those battles. And it was meant to pave a smoother path into the tribal areas for American commandos, who for years have bristled at what they see as Washington’s risk-averse attitude toward Special Operations missions inside Pakistan. They also argue that catching Mr. bin Laden will come only by capturing some of his senior lieutenants alive.

But more than six months later, the Special Operations forces are still waiting for the green light. The plan has been held up in Washington by the very disagreements it was meant to eliminate. A senior Defense Department official said there was “mounting frustration” in the Pentagon at the continued delay.

The story of how Al Qaeda, whose name is Arabic for “the base,” has gained a new haven is in part a story of American accommodation to President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan, whose advisers played down the terrorist threat. It is also a story of how the White House shifted its sights, beginning in 2002, from counterterrorism efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan to preparations for the war in Iraq.

And why exactly Republicans are stronger on matters of national security? 9/11 occurred on their watch. They bungled the war in Afghanistan and let the Taliban and Al Qaeda regain the former strength. They attacked a country (Iraq) that was no threat to us, and wasted billions of dollars degrading our military readiness and running up massive debts, while creating instability in the Middle East that contributed to crude oil prices in excess of $140 a barrel, two of the main reasons our economy is in the tank. They allowed North Korea to develop nukes. They failed to accept a deal with Iran in 2003 that would have ended Iran’s nuclear program and its support for Hamas and Hezbollah. And now they are using our special forces to provoke a war in Iran while refusing to go after the criminals that actually attacked our country.

Does any rational person see this record of failure as evidence of competence, much less a strength, when it comes to protecting America?