Those sixteen words should never have made it into the President's speech. The President's advisors should have known better; they should have been aware of the abundant evidence indicating that what the President said was false. The U.S. intelligence services should have been more aggressive in vetting the speech. By the time all is said and done, heads may roll for this.

It is obvious that President Bush should have never uttered those sixteen words about ... Afghanistan?

"Afghanistan today is a friend of the U.S. It's not a haven for America's terrorist enemies."

Just for good measure, Bush also added, "Afghanistan is no longer a haven for terror, the Taliban is history...."

Once again, George Bush has shown himself to be either woefully misinformed on matters of tremendous national and international importance, or willing to lie to the American public about them. Neither option is pleasant: He's either habitually ignorant or a habitual liar.

It is beyond dispute that Afghanistan is once again a haven for terrorists. Indeed, it has been for some time, as even a cursory review of recent history shows.

In just over two months, from late December 2002 through mid-February 2003, U.S. forces were forced to abandon five outposts along the Afghan-Pakistan border because of persistent attacks. In February 2003, Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar issued a call for a holy war against the U.S. and its allies. Robert Fisk reported in early February, "al Qaeda has a radio station operating inside Afghanistan which calls for a holy war against America." Shortly after these calls for holy war, U.S. military spokesman in Afghanistan, Colonel Roger King, remarked that there were "probably several hundred" and possibly more al Qaeda and Taliban forces either operating in Afghanistan or just across the border in Pakistan.

Colonel King knew about this, but apparently the President did not.

Or did he?

By the end of April 2003, Syed Saleem Shahzad of the Asia Times was able to report that there would likely be "a significant escalation of the country's ongoing guerrilla war," especially in the southeast. Opposition to U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan was becoming more organized and deadly, and posed a serious threat to the U.S.-backed government in Kabul. Attacks were being coordinated by a group named "The Sword of Muslims" consisting of warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's forces, the Taliban, members of Osama bin Laden's International Islamic Front, and members of al Qaeda. Shahzad concluded in early May 2003 that Afghanistan had once again become a "breeding point and a safe sanctuary for an international Islamic resistance front against U.S. interests."

Shahzad knew what was going on in southeastern Afghanistan, but apparently the President did not.

Or did he?

Right about the same time President Bush spoke those sixteen words, sixteen people were killed when a bus bomb went off in southeastern Afghanistan, and another died later from injuries. Associated Press reporter Noor Khan reported from Kandahar, "Officials were quick to blame al Qaeda insurgents and Taliban loyalists for the bus explosion...." Later that same day, heavy fighting between government and guerilla forces claimed the lives of dozens.

Khan knew that al Qaeda and the Taliban were being blamed for the attack, but apparently the President did not.

Or did he?

After Bush's speech, the attacks continued. Within the last day, there were two more guerilla attacks, each "attributed to the Taliban, al Qaeda and supporters of the warlord and former premier Gulbuddin Hekmatyar." In one of the attacks "a 300-strong gang burnt down a police station, killed three policemen and took four others hostage."

Anyone with an Internet connection could have easily made him or herself aware of the plentiful evidence that al Qaeda and the Taliban were operating in Afghanistan, with lethal effectiveness.

As I said earlier, either Bush is woefully ignorant or a liar. It is beyond belief that he was not briefed on the situation in Afghanistan. That eliminates the first option. So we are left only with the second: George Bush lied to the American public about what is happening in Afghanistan.

We have not dismantled al Qaida, the Taliban is not history, and Afghanistan is in no better shape today than it was a year and a half ago. Afghanis face more problems than the return of terrorist thugs. Afghanistan is once again the world's leading supplier of heroin; women still have no rights to speak of; torture and other human rights abuses are common; the country's justice system is either in shambles or sorely inadequate; and people are still being subjected to harsh restrictions and punishment at the hands of religious fundamentalists.

It is time for the administration to own up to the failure of U.S. foreign policy in Afghanistan.

And it's time the President started telling the truth.

John Turri is a Javits Fellow at Brown University

###