The Sharansky of Saigon

There’s been a lot of talk since September 11 about how President Bush’s war-lovin’ ways have galvanized terrorists, recruiting jihadis to the ranks. What’s increasingly evident, however, is that the character suffering the real blowback is Osama bin Laden, who, as it turns out, jolted the U.S. into a global recruiting drive for democrats. Faced with an unprecedented attack on American shores, Mr. Bush smashed the mold for Middle East policy, and with the invasion of Iraq lit a beacon for freedom-lovers in a part of the world that until quite recently was widely seen as having none.