George W. Bush on Osama bin Laden, Sept. 15, 2006: "There's kind of an urban myth here in Washington about how this administration hasn't stayed focused on Osama bin Laden. Forget it. It's convenient throwaway lines when people say that."
George W. Bush on Osama bin Laden, March 13, 2002: "You know, I just don't spend that much time on him, Kelly, to be honest with you ... And I wouldn't necessarily say he's at the center of any command structure . I'll repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him."
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I remember when Pres. Bush made those comments in 2002, and I took him to be telling the world that Osama Bin Laden was "irrelevant". A "has been". Much in the way one refers to an old flame publicly that is still pined for.
I think he was trying to lessen Bin Laden's appeal to would be joiners by appearing to not care about him, or perhaps trying to give Osama some comfort in the hopes he would relax a bit and make a mistake. I don't think he meant one word of that sentiment privately.
I remember the first Bush mispronouncing Saddam Hussein's name with the accent on the first syllable and he was criticized for doing so. It turned out that Pres Bush Sr. knew his remarks were being broadcasts in Iraq and that his pronunciation translated to Dog poop, or something disrespectful along those lines.
Sometimes Presidential messages are meant for the rest of the world rather than us alone.
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