Terrorism Is War: Newt Is Right

From last nights debate: Newt is right.

Questions On Saudi Government Involvement on 911

Investors Business Daily asks some VERY pertinent questions on the involvement of the Saudi Arabian government in the hijackings of 911.

• Why was the section of Congress' Joint Inquiry into 9/11 dealing with "sources of foreign support for some of the Sept. 11 hijackers" kept secret from the public on the orders of President Bush?
• Almost 27 full pages were blanked out — an amount equal to the entire U.S. Constitution. The section, which remains sealed, reportedly quotes from a CIA memo that concludes there's "incontrovertible evidence" that Saudi government officials supported the hijackers. Why the cover-up?
• And why were the first two hijackers who entered the country received by a Saudi government agent who secured and paid for their housing and arranged flight lessons? Was he acting on his own, or on official orders? Was he, as some investigators suspect, part of an advance team sent by the Saudi consulate to meet the hijackers as they arrived in Los Angeles?
• Was it coincidence or something more that the Saudi agent's salary was increased while settling the hijackers in San Diego? Or that he was able to tap into a $130,000 "welfare" account funded by the kingdom's ambassador to the U.S.? Was money funneled through official Saudi channels to the hijackers?
• Was another Saudi agent from New Jersey, who handled the hijackers on the East Coast, also tasked by the Saudi government?
• Who ordered the massive post-9/11 evacuation of Saudi VIPs — including two dozen bin Ladens, at least one of whom had an open terror file at the FBI — without proper investigations? Why was such a request granted, given the Saudi nationality of 15 hijackers?
• Did Saudi envoy Prince Bandar make the request while he and Bush shared cigars on the Truman Balcony of the White House on Sept. 13, 2001? Did Bush's father or James Baker, who on Sept. 10 had attended a Carlyle Group conference in Washington with bin Laden's brother, intervene? What about Bandar's old racquetball partner Secretary of State Colin Powell, whose wife once received a Jaguar as a Bandar gift?
• Similarly, why was the Saudi minister of mosques allowed to escape interrogation after feigning a heart attack when FBI agents learned he'd left his Washington hotel to check into the same budget hotel near Dulles airport as the hijackers the night before they attacked the Pentagon?
• Why was an arrest warrant for the hijackers' confidante, Anwar Awlaki — who'd worked for the Saudi Embassy as a lecturer and hajj tour guide — suddenly pulled back the day before he re-entered the U.S. on a Saudi airliner? Why was this dangerous al-Qaida recruiter allowed to leave the country for good?
• Why was the Pentagon attack staged out of a mosque built by the Saudi Embassy? The fax number to the D.C. mosque, where Awlaki preached and the hijackers worshiped, turned up in a key 9/11 planner's German flat.

 Why has the government kept this information secret?  These questions are very pertinent to the Long War, or Great War on Terror.  They are, at the very least troubling to those of us who have never seen them before.  I think we need to get some answers NOW. 

 

Just what connection does the Saudi government have here?  Mr. Obama, at the very least, you owe us answers.  Mr. Bush, if you have concealed the involvement of another government on acts of war against this country, you have questions to be answered as well.

 

 

10 Years Later

I started the best job I've ever had on September 10, 2001. I was working as an apprentice for a master furniture maker named Larry Crossan. He has a small cabinet shop, L W Crossan, Cabinetmaker in southeastern Pennsylvania outside of a town called Lyndell.  His shop is in an early 18th century barn on some property that Jim Croce used to own.  It's the only job I've ever looked forward to every single day...because I learned something new every day.

On Tuesday, listening to NPR, we heard that a plane had struck the WTC.  My first thought was what was the weather like in NYC?  During WW2, a B25 bomber hit the Empire State Building in a rainy, overcast day...and I figured that this was something like that.

Obviously that wasn't the case. What enraged me though were videos like this one from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Then we have a hand-wringing appologist named David Cole, who wants the Obama administration to pursue war crimes charges against Bush administration officials.  Personally, my belief is that if you're caught outside of the US, waging a terrorist war against America, you can be held for the rest of your life.  You don't have priviledges of the protections of the US Constitution, nor do you have the protections of the Geneva Conventions.  But I digress.

This Long War we're involved in is a conflict between civilizations.  One, based upon a religion begun in the Dark Ages, that seeks to keep women and Kafirs in the chains of slavery, and the other that believes in openness and freedom.  It's a clash of cultures, that will take decades to defeat.  We CAN win, but only if we don't lose eithe interest, or courage.

USS New York (LPD 211) Sails Past 9-11 Memorial

The Team Who Got bin Laden

Here's a picture of the team, according to Mr. Obama's speech on the subject, who "got Osama bin Laden."

Ron Paul to TSA: Enough is Enough!

I don't often agree with Ron Paul...but once in a while he does get it right.

The Next Terrorist Attack on America?

An interesting bit of information:

________________________________________________________


Juval Aviv was the Israeli Agent upon whom the movie 'Munich ' was based. He was also Golda Meir's bodyguard, and she appointed him to track down and bring to justice the Palestinian terrorists who took the Israeli athletes hostage and killed them during the Munich Olympic Games.


In a lecture in New York City he shared information that EVERY American needs to know -- but that our government has not yet shared with us..

He predicted the London subway bombing on the Bill O'Reilly show on Fox News stating publicly that it would happen within a week. At the time, O'Reilly laughed, and mocked him saying that in a week he wanted him back on the show. Unfortunately, within a week the terrorist attack had occurred.

Juval Aviv gave intelligence (via what he had gathered in Israel and the Middle East) to the Bush Administration about 9/11, a month before it occurred. His report specifically said they would use planes as bombs and target high profile buildings and monuments. Congress has since hired him as a security consultant.

Now for his future predictions. He predicts the next terrorist attack on the U.S. will occur within the next few months.

Forget hijacking airplanes, because he says terrorists will NEVER try and hijack a plane again as they know the people onboard will never go down quietly again. Aviv believes our airport security is a joke -- that we have been reactionary rather than proactive in developing strategies that are truly effective.

For example:

1) Our airport technology is outdated. We look for metal, and the new explosives are made of plastic.
2) He talked about how some idiot tried to light his shoe on fire. Because of that, now everyone has to take off their shoes. A group of idiots tried to bring aboard liquid explosives. Now we can't bring liquids on board. He says he's waiting for some suicidal maniac to pour liquid explosive on his underwear; at which point, security will have us all traveling naked. Every strategy we have is reactionary.
3) We only focus on security when people are heading to the gates.

Aviv says that if a terrorist attack targets airports in the future, they will target busy times on the front end of the airport when/where people are checking in. It would be easy for someone to take two suitcases of explosives, walk up to a busy check-in line, ask a person next to them to watch their bags for a minute while they run to the restroom or get a drink, and then detonate the bags BEFORE security even gets involved. In Israel, security checks bags BEFORE people can even ENTER the airport.

Aviv says the next terrorist attack here in America is imminent and will involve suicide bombers and non-suicide bombers in places where large groups of people congregate. (i..e., Disneyland, Las Vegas casinos, big cities (New York, San Francisco, Chicago, etc.) and that it will also include shopping malls, subways in rush hour, train stations, etc., as well as, rural America this time. The interlands (Wyoming , Montana, etc.).

The attack will be characterized by simultaneous detonations around the country (terrorists like big impact), involving at least 5-8 cities, including rural areas.

Aviv says terrorists won't need to use suicide bombers in many of the larger cities, because at places like the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, they can simply valet park a car loaded with explosives and walk away.

Aviv says all of the above is well known in intelligence circles, but that our U. S. Government does not want to 'alarm American citizens' with the facts. The world is quickly going to become 'a different place', and issues like 'global warming' and political correctness will become totally irrelevant.

On an encouraging note, he says that Americans don't have to be concerned about being nuked. Aviv says the terrorists who want to destroy America will not use sophisticated weapons. They like to use suicide as a front-line approach. It's cheap, it's easy, it's effective; and they have an infinite abundance of young militants more than willing to 'meet their destiny'.

He also says the next level of terrorists, over which America should be most concerned, will not be coming from abroad. But will be, instead, 'homegrown', having attended and been educated in our own schools and universities right here in the U.S. He says to look for 'students' who frequently travel back and forth to the Middle East. These young terrorists will be most dangerous because they will know our language and will fully understand the habits of Americans; but that we Americans won't know/understand a thing about them.

Aviv says that, as a people, Americans are unaware and uneducated about the terrorist threats we will inevitably face. America still has only a handful of Arabic and Farsi speaking people in our intelligence networks, and Aviv says it is critical that we change that fact SOON.

So, what can America do to protect itself? From an intelligence perspective, Aviv says the U..S. needs to stop relying on satellites and technology for intelligence. We need to, instead, follow Israel 's, Ireland 's and England 's hands-on examples of human intelligence, both from an infiltration perspective as well as to pay attention to, and trust 'aware' citizens to help. We need to engage and educate ourselves as citizens; however, our U. S. government continues to treat us, its citizens, 'like babies'. Our government thinks we 'can't handle the truth' and are concerned that we'll panic if we understand the realities of terrorism. Aviv says this is a deadly mistake..

Aviv recently created/executed a security test for our Congress, by placing an empty briefcase in five well-traveled spots in five major cities. The results? Not one person called 911 or sought a policeman to check it out. In fact, in Chicago, someone tried to steal the briefcase.

In comparison, Aviv says that citizens of Israel are so well 'trained' that an unattended bag or package would be reported in seconds by citizen(s) who know to publicly shout, 'Unattended Bag' The area would be quickly & calmly cleared by the citizens themselves.

Unfortunately, America hasn't been yet 'hurt enough' by terrorism for their government to fully understand the need to educate its citizens or for the government to understand that it's their citizens who are, inevitably, the best first-line of defense against terrorism.

Aviv also was concerned about the high number of children here in America who were in preschool and kindergarten after 9/11, who were 'lost' without parents being able to pick them up, and about our schools that had no plan in place to best care for the students until parents could get there. (In New York City, this was days, in some cases!)

He stresses the importance of having a plan, that's agreed upon within your family, of how to respond in the event of a terrorist emergency. He urges parents to contact their children's schools and demand that the schools too, develop plans of actions, just as they do in Israel .

Does your family know what to do if you can't contact one another by phone? Where would you gather in an emergency? He says we should all have a plan that is easy enough for even our youngest children to remember and follow.

Aviv says that the U. S. government has in force a plan, that in the event of another terrorist attack, EVERYONE's ability to use cell phones, blackberries, etc., will immediately be cut-off, as this is the preferred communication source used by terrorists and is often the way that their bombs are detonated.

How will you communicate with your loved ones in the event you cannot speak to each other?  You need to have a plan.  If you understand, and believe what you have just read, then you must feel compelled to send this to every concerned parent, guardian, grandparents, uncles, aunts, whomever. Don't stop there. In addition to sharing this via e-mail, contact and discuss this information with whomever it makes sense to. Make contingency plans with those you care about. Better that you have plans in place, and never have to use them, then to have no plans in place, and find you needed them.  If you choose not to share this, or not to have a plan in place, and nothing ever occurs -- good for you. However, in the event something does happen, and even more so, if it directly affects your loved ones, then this message will haunt you forever.

Mike Monsoor, MAA2, USN

From Wikipedia

Michael Anthony Monsoor (April 5, 1981 – September 29, 2006) was a U.S. Navy SEAL killed during the Iraq War and posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. Monsoor enlisted in the United States Navy in 2001 and graduated from Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training in 2004. After further training he was assigned to Delta Platoon, SEAL Team Three.


Delta Platoon was sent to Iraq in April 2006 and assigned to train Iraqi Army soldiers in Ramadi. Over the next five months, Monsoor and his platoon frequently engaged in combat with insurgent forces. On September 29, 2006 an insurgent threw a grenade onto a rooftop where Monsoor and several other SEAL and Iraqi soldiers were positioned. Monsoor quickly smothered the grenade with his body, absorbing the resulting explosion and most likely saving his comrades from serious injury or death. Monsoor died 30 minutes later from serious wounds caused by the grenade explosion.

On March 31, 2008, the United States Department of Defense confirmed that Michael Monsoor would posthumously receive the Medal of Honor from the President of the United States, George W. Bush. Bush presented the medal to Monsoor's parents on April 8, 2008. In October 2008, United States Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter announced that DDG-1001, the second ship in the Zumwalt class of destroyers, would be named Michael Monsoor in honor of Monsoor.

It's Good That They Fear...

via Instapundit & Strategy Page,  

April 7, 2010: In North Waziristan, a section of Pakistan's tribal territories that borders Afghanistan, there is growing fear among the Islamic militants who have long used the area as a base area and refuge. So far this year, there has been at least one missile attack a week, leaving more al Qaeda or Taliban, usually leaders, dead. American UAVs, often operating in pairs, or packs of four, roam the skies almost constantly. Terrorist leaders are now terrorized, and have cut back on travel, and use of satellite phones. When terrorist leaders do travel, they use public transport, surrounded by women and children. The terrorists know that American ROE (Rules of Engagement) discourage "collateral damage" (civilian casualties), so the terrorists try to have women and children around at all times. But the locals know that the ROE doesn't absolutely forbid civilian casualties, and either refuse to rent rooms in their compounds to al Qaeda or Taliban leaders, or flee if the terrorists insist on staying.


The Arabs and Afghan tribesmen have long been impressed by Western technology, and tend to exaggerate its capabilities. After you've handled an iPhone for a few minutes, that's not hard to do. So the continuing accurate missile attacks have the terrorists imagining all manner of capabilities for the UAVs and missiles

According to Strategy Page the Pakestani's are reinforcing the Infantry Division that has been leading the assault on North Waziristan...but more importantly, the locals are evidently getting pissed that Al Qaeda  and the Taliban are using them as shields and their dead are directly related to that...

This Hellfire campaign is hitting al Qaeda at the very top, although only a quarter of the attacks so far have taken out any of the most senior leaders. But that means over half the senior leadership have been killed or badly wounded in the last two years. Perhaps even greater damage has been done to the terrorist middle management. These are old and experienced lieutenants, as well as young up-and-comers. They are the glue that holds al Qaeda and the Taliban together. Their loss is one reason why it's easier to get more information on where leaders are, and why rank-and-file al Qaeda and Taliban are less effective of late. The deaths of so many bodyguard and aides has rank-and-file terrorists thinking that the Hellfire missiles are actually being fired at any al Qaeda or Taliban, no matter what their rank.

This has led the local Al Qaeda and Taliban leadership to the belief that local Pakistanis are now "informing" on their location...which leads to more missiles. 

The U.S. and the new civilian Pakistani government agreed that it was now open season on al Qaeda. The new Pakistani government asked the Americans to be as discreet, and accurate, as possible, and then hunkered down for the public outrage over this American "attack on Pakistan." But in fact, the Hellfire attacks were killing men who were responsible for terrorist attacks that had killed thousands of Pakistanis. 

Pakistani officials believe that the multimillion dollar rewards on bin Laden and other al Qaeda leaders may now actually work. The problem has always been that you can't capture an al Qaeda big shot without the assent of local tribal leaders. For a large chunk of that reward, that assent may now be had from some chiefs, and bin Laden knows it. He also knows that he has lost an irreplaceable number of veteran leaders (and allies), to U.S. Hellfire missiles, in the last two years. Rumor has it that big money was paid for the information that made some of these attacks possible. It's bad enough that al Qaeda is losing senior people, it's worse that they are now seen, by local tribesmen, as a way to get rich. Al Qaeda leaders now know what it's like to be terrorized.

Sometimes the government actually get things right.

Fort Jackson Poisonings

One thing to keep in mind as we review the events at Fort Jackson, South Carolina....is that Islam, and it's followers are lovers of peace and wouldn't ever hurt anyone on purpose...at least, that's what the MSM would have you believe.

None of the networks has yet, other than Fox, mentioned that the Arabic translators....are muslims.

Shoe Bomber's Is Sentenced

Richard Reid, the "shoe bomber" who was apprended attempting to blow up, in flight, a commercial aircraft flying to the US from the United Kingdom.  His trial ended recently...where are the reports trumpeting that fact....[crickets chirping]...here is what the Judge who sentenced him had to say:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ruling by Judge William Young, US District Court, New York, NY

Before sentencing Mr. Reid, the judge, as judges are want to do, asked him if he had anything to say for himself,  Mr. Reid's response:

After admitting his guilt to the court for the record, Reid also admitted his 'allegiance to Osama bin Laden, to Islam, and to the religion of Allah,' defiantly stating, 'I think I will not apologize for my actions,' and told the court 'I am at war with your country.'

Judge Young then delivered the statement quoted below:

January 30, 2003, United States vs. Reid.

Judge Young:

'Mr. Richard C. Reid, hearken now to the sentence the Court imposes upon you.

On counts 1, 5 and 6 the Court sentences you to life in prison in the custody of the United States Attorney General. On counts 2, 3, 4and 7, the Court sentences you to 20 years in prison on each count, the sentence on each count to run consecutively. (That's 80 years.)

On count 8 the Court sentences you to the mandatory 30 years again, to be served consecutively to the 80 years just imposed. The Court imposes upon you for each of the eight counts a fine of $250,000 that's an aggregate fine of $2 million. The Court accepts the government's recommendation with respect to restitution and orders restitution in the amount of $298.17 to Andre Bousquet and $5,784 to American Airlines.

The Court imposes upon you an $800 special assessment. The Court imposes upon you five years supervised release simply because the law requires it. But the life sentences are real life sentences so I need go no further.

This is the sentence that is provided for by our statutes. It is a fair and just sentence. It is a righteous sentence.

Now, let me explain this to you. We are not afraid of you or any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid. We are Americans. We have been through the fire before. There is too much war talk here and I say that to everyone with the utmost respect. Here in this court, we deal with individuals as individuals and care for individuals as individuals. As human beings, we reach out for justice.

You are not an enemy combatant. You are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war. You are a terrorist. To give you that reference, to call you a soldier, gives you far too much stature. Whether the officers of government do it or your attorney does it, or if you think you are a soldier, you are not----- you are a terrorist. And we do not negotiate with terrorists. We do not meet with terrorists. We do not sign documents with terrorists... We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice...

So war talk is way out of line in this court. You are a big fellow. But you are not that big. You're no warrior. I've known warriors. You are a terrorist. A species of criminal that is guilty of multiple attempted murders. In a very real sense, State Trooper Santiago had it right when you first were taken off that plane and into custody and you wondered where the press and the TV crews were, and he said: 'You're no big deal.'

You are no big deal.

What your able counsel and what the equally able United States attorneys have grappled with and what I have as honestly as I know how tried to grapple with, is why you did something so horrific. What was it that led you here to this courtroom today?

I have listened respectfully to what you have to say. And I ask you to search your heart and ask yourself what sort of unfathomable hate led you to do what you are guilty and admit you are guilty of doing? And, I have an answer for you. It may not satisfy you, but as I search this entire record, it comes as close to understanding as I know.

It seems to me you hate the one thing that to us is most precious. You hate our freedom. Our individual freedom. Our individual freedom to live as we choose, to come and go as we choose, to believe or not believe as we individually choose. Here, in this society, the very wind carries freedom. It carries it everywhere from sea to shining sea. It is because we prize individual freedom so much that you are here in this beautiful courtroom, so that everyone can see, truly see, that justice is administered fairly, individually, and discretely. It is for freedom's sake that your lawyers are striving so vigorously on your behalf, have filed appeals, will go on in their representation of you before other judges.

We Americans are all about freedom. Because we all know that the way we treat you, Mr. Reid, is the measure of our own liberties. Make no mistake though. It is yet true that we will bear any burden; pay any price, to preserve our freedoms. Look around this courtroom. Mark it well. The world is not going to long remember what you or I say here. The day after tomorrow, it will be forgotten, but this, however, will long endure.

Here in this courtroom and courtrooms all across America , the American people will gather to see that justice, individual justice, justice, not war, individual justice is in fact being done. The very President of the United States through his officers will have to come into courtrooms and lay out evidence on which specific matters can be judged and juries of citizens will gather to sit and judge that evidence democratically, to mold and shape and refine our sense of justice.

See that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of America . That flag will fly there long after this is all forgotten. That flag stands for freedom. And it always will.

Mr. Custody Officer. Stand him down.

I think that this should be required reading to many of those in the Obama Administration, to remind them what they are supposed to be doing.   I think that they've forgotten what its all about.

Obama Sign's Order Closing Gitmo

Mr. Obama, in a misguided attempt to appease Al Qaeda, has signed the order closing the detention centre in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. This is a terrible idea as that is one of the most secure areas in the world. Now Mr. Obama is setting up American cities that are forced to host these terrorists to attacks. I am betting that within a year, there will be at least one attempt to attack the prison that will hold these terrorists.

Courting Disaster

here's part 2 of the interview...it's in adobe flashplayer, so i can't upload it. Hit the link...and you'll see it.

It’s War, not a Crime Spree

From facebook.com

Sarah Palin

It’s War, not a Crime Spree

President Obama’s meeting with his top national security advisers does nothing to change the fact that his fundamental approach to terrorism is fatally flawed. ...
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Now if only Obama would figure this out!

To Waterboard Or Not To Waterboard

That is the question.

Personally, I think that whenever we catch a member of Al Quiada, we need to use the most vigourous techniques possible to learn whatever we can from them. If it takes pulling out finger nails, then so be it.

The truly dismal news is that now Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab is going to be tried in civilians courts, he's "lawyered up"...which means we aren't going to get another jot of information out of him. This man isn't an American citizen, and he committed an act of war against this country...we need to know what he knows and we need it now. Not 4 years from now when his attorney, having put off his trial for an interminable period, wants to make a plea deal...so the choice of trying terrorist on our court system is stupid beyond belief.

Mr. Obama is far worse for this country than James Earl Carter ever was.

Transportation Security Agency: More Failures To Come

The time has come for our politically correct liberal "elite" to recognize that the nature of the threat that we nationally and civilizationally are under from Islamic Jihadists. The time has come for our politically correct liberal "elite" set aside their PC outlook and allow our transportation security personnel to do the unspeakable...to literally begin to profile those who commit terrorist attacks and to target those people fit that profile.

Israel and Saudi Arabia haven't had a significant terrorist attack on their transportation infrastructure in quite some time. Why? Because they understand the threat they face and attack that problem head on. They do so by vigorously targeting those who fit the profile of a terrorist and pursue them relentlessly. We on the other hand deny pillows to [possible] child terrorists. Which is, patently ridiculous. We target grandmothers and force them to frisking...our transportation security is ridiculous. Silly also fits the bill. But serious, certainly doesn't.

Instead of targeting "muslim" men...we harrass our domestic travelers for hours. Once upon a time, you could arrive at the airport 30 minutes before your flight was to depart...then after Sep 11, 2001, "security" demanded 2 hours. Now? 4-6. That is rediculous. How so? Because TSA couldn't figure out that a man traveling from Yemen without baggage, paying cash for a one way ticket MIGHT just be a terrorist.

Most American Support Aggressive Questioning of Terrorists

Rasmussen Reports' recent poll on "aggressive questioning", personally, I prefer torturing the bastards, says that a strong majority of Americans support such tactics to get information.

Fifty-eight percent (58%) of U.S. voters say water boarding and other aggressive interrogation techniques should be used to gain information from the terrorist who attempted to bomb an airliner on Christmas Day.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 30% oppose the use of such techniques, and another 12% are not sure.

We know that much of the early intel that was obtained in Afghanistan was through water boarding KSM, and others who were caught early. The information obtained prevented a number of terrorist attacks...yet weak sister's in Congress has forbid en such interrogation from being used. It's a shame, really, these people have chosen to wake total war on America and we have limited ourselves in the ability to obtain information. Not only that, the New York Times has gone so far as to reveal secret methods to obtain information through tracking terrorists emails, money transfers, and other methods. Yet, this "newspaper" decided to give away those methods...without being punished. Obviously, they don't desire us to win.

This conflict with jihadis will last at least a generation, if not longer, it won't go away in the next 10 years, perhaps not for 30 or 40...but we need information in order to inflict damage upon them, and obtaining that information is becoming more and more difficult with each passing day with the idiotic limits that we have placed upon ourselves.

What We Can Expect This Year

I expect the coming year to be a bad year on the Long War front...because this Administration has a history of weakness and dithering, I can see our Jihadist enemies to begin a vigorous assault upon America. I suspect that we'll begin to have multiple attacks or waves of attacks. Last week was only the beginning. Eventually some are going to succeed...and then we'll see Mr. Biden's prediction, this adminstration will do...nothing. That deosn't bode well for America.

Jimmy Carter Redux is a BEST CASE senario...at this point. I suspect that since 90% of our problems in the middle east stem from Mr. Carter's inability to actually DO anything against our enemies 30 years ago, this president won't do anything either...but we'll continue to be attacked while Mr. Obama ineffectually attempts to answer...and that will eventually result in another spectacular failure (i.e. the commando raid to free the hostages in Iran).

Obama Administration Priorities?

It took the Obama Administration four days to respond to the Christmas Day terrorist attack, but mere hours to respond to criticism from former Vice President, Dick Cheney! Where in the world are this administration's priorities? I mean, come on!

Earlier this year, the Obama Administration rescheduled a press conference in order to coincide with a speech Mr. Cheney was giving. Now they are responding within hours of a statement of his. Additionally, accusing Mr. Cheney of not being tough enough on the terrorist is on it's face a ridiculous charge. Really, here is a man who (like me) urges that all captured terrorists be vigorously question under the most stringent rules available, then accusing him of being "soft" on terrorism makes one question just where this administration's priorities are.

As Jim Geraghty quipped, "He's [Mr. Cheney is] beyond condemning [bomber Abdulmutallab]; he wants to waterboard him until his lungs qualify for a federal wetlands status." We all agree al Qaeda's attempts to blow up airplanes are bad -- the question is what is the current occupant of the White House going to do about it?

If his prior actions are any measure...NOT MUCH! How about a civil trial? After all, this terrorist surely deserves exactly the same rights as an American citizen!

War: Making The Hard Decision.

In the present Great War On Terror (GWOT), there is a certain parallel between Mr. Obama and the man he is often measured against, FDR. During the second world war, FDR often was placed in the position to make difficult decisions, as was his British counterpart, Winston Churchill.

Very early in the conflict, Mr. Churchill was given information that came from Enigma, their code breaking effort against the Germans. Mr. Churchill had the choice to allow the English city of Coventry without defending it...or to defend it and give the enemy notice that they were "reading the mail." Mr. Churchill chose the difficult, if correct path of not defending the city from ariel bombardment. That paid huge dividends later in the war. There are parallels to today...we were reading terrorist emails and intercepting cell phone calls as well as tracking money...until the NY Times decided that this was terrible and published stories that highlighted these tactics. Now we can no longer do any of these things because our enemies have altered the way they do things so we no longer have the ability to track them nearly as well as formerly.

Another difficult decision was made by FDR after German saboteurs were landed by submarines at various points of the east coast from NW Florida to Long Island. All were captured within hours of landing. FDR was notified and chose, as they were not in uniforms, but were wearing civilian clothing, to try them as enemy combatants (i.e. spies) as is permitted under the terms of the Geneva Convention. All were executed...How does this apply to today? Mr. Obama has chosen despite the many precedents to try all enemy combatants in American Courts...

This is a terrible choice, because as many were captured on the battle field they were not "read their rights". Additionally, many were questioned in what I learned as a young Marine "field interrogation techniques" wherein a enemy combatant is somewhat less well than an American criminal suspect. Personally, I think any terrorist should be questioned under any means necessary in order to extract whatever information he may have. The more important he is, the harsher his questioning should be.

George Bush, while president made many mistakes...but at least in this respect he did choose the correct course. He chose to have those who were taken on the battlefield, but not in uniform, to be tried by military tribunals. Mr. Obama on the other hand has chosen to treat enemy combatants as "alleged criminals" and subject to the much, much higher standard of the US Criminal Code. This is disastrous as immediately after apprehending a terrorist, we must "read him his rights." That means we won't be getting any information out of him as his lawyer will tell him to keep his mouth shut. This seems to be the Liberal Left's answer to terrorism, to treat it like a criminal enterprise. Dumb move, Mr. Obama, but as a lawyer, I guess he just can't help himself...

First, President Obama said the following: “As the plane made its final approach to Detroit Metropolitan Airport, a passenger allegedly tried to ignite an explosive device on his body, setting off a fire.” (my emphasis) The language is that of courtroom legalese, carefully indicating that a suspect is only “allegedly” guilty of anything, until such time as a jury is convinced by a trial that he was indeed the party responsible for the crime committed.

But as the world knows, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was indeed very guilty, and only because a Dutch filmmaker sitting near him interceded and subdued him, helping put out the fire at the same time, was the plot unsuccessful. Rather than treat the culprit as a foreign national who became converted in London to the doctrines of radical Islam by mullahs at his local mosque, evidently the decision has been made to treat him as a defendant in a criminal case, with a subsequent trial in which his guilt is not to be prejudged. Although he is a foreign national, evidently he will be treated as if he were an American citizen.

I think that treating terrorists as criminals is a horrendous idea...unless they'll be placed in "open population" in prison where our lovely (but nearly universally patriotic) convicted felons will make short work of them.

The Long War: Islamic Terrorism Won't Go Away Any Time Soon

The Obama Administration and the political leadership of the Democratic party really don't understand how to deal with Islamic terrorism at all. At the heart, they believe it's a law enforcement problem. The recent terrorist's bungling of the NW/Delta flight is a case in point. They want to PROSECUTE this guy in civilian court. I have several problems with that.

First of all, that gives this man a whole host of rights under our system that he doesn't deserve. Once his court appointed lawyer speaks to him he won't say another word. This man has committed an act of war upon the United States. Under the Geneva Conventions, he doesn't rate any rights at all. Under those conventions, a terrorist may be tried by a military tribunal and executed. Those are the rights this man deserves. Not coverage under our Constitution and civil code.

Second of all this conflict isn't going to go away any time soon. It will last the rest of our lives. Christopher Hitchens put it very well in his column yesterday in Slate online.

What nobody in authority thinks us grown-up enough to be told is this: We had better get used to being the civilians who are under a relentless and planned assault from the pledged supporters of a wicked theocratic ideology. These people will kill themselves to attack hotels, weddings, buses, subways, cinemas, and trains. They consider Jews, Christians, Hindus, women, homosexuals, and dissident Muslims (to give only the main instances) to be divinely mandated slaughter victims. Our civil aviation is only the most psychologically frightening symbol of a plethora of potential targets. The future murderers will generally not be from refugee camps or slums (though they are being indoctrinated every day in our prisons); they will frequently be from educated backgrounds, and they will often not be from overseas at all. They are already in our suburbs and even in our military. We can expect to take casualties. The battle will go on for the rest of our lives. Those who plan our destruction know what they want, and they are prepared to kill and die for it. Those who don't get the point prefer to whine about "endless war," accidentally speaking the truth about something of which the attempted Christmas bombing over Michigan was only a foretaste. While we fumble with bureaucracy and euphemism, they are flying high.

UPDATE: Mark Steyn's view of Mr. Obama's "statement" is spot on:

Putting aside the stuff that was just plain wrong (this guy's an "isolated extremist" - oh, yeah?), the President's remarks had a horrible desiccated complacency. "Alleged..." "suspect..." "charged..." - because this is no different from a punk holding up a gas station, right? In all their alleged allegedness, this Administration has an allergy to the concept of war, and thus to the tools of war, including strategy and war aims. In essence, they've accepted a Fort Hood model for this challenge: every so often, something will happen and people will die, and we'll seal off the crime scene and take the alleged suspect into alleged custody. But it's reactive, and it cripples our ability to prevent the death of innocents.

There's a difference between an alleged suspect (which is what he is is the President's fantasy) and an enemy combatant (which is what he is in reality). If this were a war, we would question him about who he hooked up with in Yemen, who did he meet with in London, and maybe get a lead on attacks to come. Instead, the authorities, having issued the Knickerbomber a multi-entry visa, having permitted him to board the plane, and having failed to detect his incendiary unwear, now allow him to lawyer up and ensure that we'll never know who he knew in Yemen or anywhere else.

This would be a big enough gamble in the best of circumstances. Up against the broader background Derb discusses, it makes disaster inevitable.

Again, the emphasis is mine...loved "desiccated complacency" I'll have to remember that.