Al Qaeda–racist? Really? Apparently, the Obama administration has just now reached this conclusion, nearly nine years after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. ”In short,” one administration official explained, “al Qaeda is a racist organization that treats black Africans like cannon fodder and does not value human life.” Yes, al Qaeda does not value human life. And yes, it is happy to treaty people like cannon fodder. My question is: what are people doing in the administration who are just now realizing the truly despicable nature of this organization? Should they really be serving in important national security positions? Rarely do I find myself speechless but this is one of those times.
Archive for the ‘Terrorism’ Category
Fran Townshend Speech at National Defense University
I heard Fran Townshend, the former Homeland Security Advisor to George W. Bush, speak the other night at National Defense University at Ft. McNair. I was fortunate enough to get an invite through my affiliation with the Center for Strategic and International Studies and their Nuclear Scholars Initiative program. She gave a solid speech about the continued threat of terrorism and how it’s important for the government to clearly communicate threats to the American people. People get anxious when they’re kept in the dark and only told bits and pieces of a story, she argued. She also provided some lessons she learned navigating the sprawling national security bureaucracy both as a civil servant and a high-level political appointee.
I asked her during…
Blockade Running is a Dangerous Business
Blockade running is dangerous and can carry with it significant consequences, including death. Ask Rhett Butler or Han Solo, they know. I’ve been reading a lot about the blockade running incident which occurred on Monday. Of course, many of the reports are devoid of any real analysis–or facts, for that matter–and reflexively blame Israel. Leave it to Charles Krauthammer to make sense of it all:
But as Leslie Gelb, former president of the Council on Foreign Relations, writes, the [Israeli] blockade is not just perfectly rational, it is perfectly legal. Gaza under Hamas is a self-declared enemy of Israel — a declaration backed up by more than 4,000 rockets fired at Israeli civilian territory. Yet…
WMD Commission Report Card
Last month, the bipartisan Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism released its assessment detailing how well the U.S. Government has implemented the recommendations presented in its December 2008 report. The Commission explains in the overview, “The assessment is not a good one, particularly in the area of biological threats.” What is more, the assessment concludes that unless significant actions are taken “it is more likely than not that a weapon of mass destruction (WMD) will be used in a terrorist attack somewhere in the world by the end of 2013. That weapon is more likely to be biological than nuclear.”
The Commission’s January 2010 report card covers a lot of material in its…
How the Obama administration’s lack of credibility is weakening U.S. national security
Since January 20, 2009, American credibility has taken a back seat to the Obama administration’s quest for international popularity. During his trips to the Middle East and Asia last year, President Obama seemed more interested in bolstering his approval ratings abroad than advancing American interests. Last week it was reported that the Obama administration downgraded the priority placed on intelligence collection for China in an effort to increase cooperation with Beijing. This move was made despite the fact that Chinese cyberattacks against the U.S. are on the rise and the leadership in Beijing remains reticent about its massive military modernization program.
Unfortunately, U.S. national security is more dependent on the credibility of American power—and the words and policies of its…
Barack Obama: Weak on National Security
Say what you will about George W. Bush, but he took his job seriously. President George W. Bush understood that his most solemn duty as president was the defense of America–in other words, the safety and security of its citizens. Barack Obama does not understand this. In fact, he seems more concerned with pushing a left-wing agenda–like the cap and tax climate change bill and the nationalization of health care–than fighting terrorists. He doesn’t think we’re at war. He called the incident on Northwest Flight 253 an “isolated incident.” Are you kidding me? This is the Commander in Chief? Let me make this crystal clear for you, Mr. President: What occurred on Northwest Flight 253 is part of an international campaign perpetrated by Islamic extremists to kill…
Lessons from The 9/11 Commission: Why Terrorists Should be Tried in Military Tribunals
The 9/11 Commission Report concluded that the prosecutions of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing conspirators created a false impression that the U.S. criminal justice system was “well-equipped to cope with terrorism”:
As a result of the investigations and arrests, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York prosecuted and convicted multiple individuals, including Ajaj, Salameh, Ayyad, Abouhalima, the Blind Sheikh, and Ramzi Yousef, for crimes related to the World Trade Center bombing and other plots. An unfortunate consequence of this superb investigative and prosecutorial effort was that it created an impression that the law enforcement system was well-equipped to cope with terrorism. Neither President Clinton, his principal advisers, the Congress, nor the news media…
Pat Buchanan: Trying KSM in Federal Court Could Cost Obama 2nd Term
Here’s a great op-ed by Pat Buchanan on the legal and national security implications of trying Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other 9/11 conspirators in federal court in Manhattan. Buchanan writes:
Are we at war – or not?
For if we are at war, why is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed headed for trial in federal court in the Southern District of New York? Why is he entitled to a presumption of innocence and all of the constitutional protections of a U.S. citizen?
Is it possible we have done an injustice to this man by keeping him locked up all these years without trial? For that is what this trial implies – that he may not be guilty.
This is a…