Osama bin Laden is dead. God bless America and our fantastic fighting men and women! According to reports, a Navy SEAL team got him (GO NAVY!!), one of his sons, and Osama's youngest wife who, in the tradition of cowardly terrorists everywhere, was used as a human shield.
Interestingly, bin Laden was found at a massive fortress deep in Pakistan. Apparently, he was in a million dollar complex complete with 18 foot tall, barbed-wire topped walls in Abbottabad, Pakistan. If the Pakistani government didn't know he was there, I'll eat my hat, since Abbottabad is an affluent suburb about 35 miles outside of Pakistan's capitol of Islamabad. On top of that, the compound was a few hundred yards from a Pakistani military training center. Go figure. Some of the questions we will be demanding answers to in the coming days will certainly include a few on who in the Pakistani government knew what and when.
There were parties going on last night in front of the White House, in Times Square, and at the campuses of both West Point and Annapolis. One would imagine the Annapolis celebration will be going on for quite a while - the Navy certainly has a prize scalp to bolster morale and they will surely be revelling in it.
Reports are still conflicting, but what seems to be coming clear is that this victory is going to bring up some hard truths that some on the left might not like. Most importantly, much of the intelligence that got us this victory started out, four years ago, as information received from Gitmo detainees at the hands of interrogators. It will be interesting to see how that narrative develops in the coming weeks. Hopefully those practices will be seen as the necessary evil that they are now that they have been instrumental in bringing Public Enemy #1 to justice.
This victory has many fathers - most notably the CIA and SEAL Team Six, who developed the intel and kept their eyes on the prize. The lion's share of credit goes to them, along with the thanks of a grateful nation. Credit should also be given to both the Obama administration for making the call to go into Pakistan (quite a risky call, to be sure - kudos, Mr. President) and the Bush administration for extracting the initial information four years ago that put us on the path to Abbottabad in the first place.
The joyous crowds filling the streets of NYC and Washington DC last night were just the beginning. As people wake up to the news today, there are sure to be many more celebrations across the country. This event has come at a time when we desperately needed unity. The divisiveness of the political scene and the economic fears gripping the nation will be put aside, at least for today, so that we can celebrate this major victory and remember that we're all in it together. This surge of pride in America is a welcome thing, and something that hopefully will not fade away any time soon.
In five months, we will be observing the 10th anniversary of September 11th. While the observances will be solemn, they will have a new undercurrent this year. We the people have gotten a certain measure of closure with the death of bin Laden. Will it take away the pain inflicted on 9/11? No, but it sure does go far towards banishing that helpless feeling many Americans have felt for the past nine years. Perhaps now the real healing can begin.
This isn't the end of this conflict by any means, but this is a watershed moment for sure. There will be much to discuss in the coming weeks as more information comes out. There will surely be controversy over bin Laden's burial at sea - a necessary thing, in my opinion, which will keep his tomb from becoming a pilgrimage site for future jihadis - and the role Pakistani officials may have played in keeping his whereabouts secret, but for now, let's just savor the flavor of sweet, sweet victory. Democrats, independents and republicans will put aside their differences today and celebrate this great triumph against an evil man.
God bless America!
UPDATE: HotAir has a great roundup of last night's celebrations.
UPDATE II: Initial reports had a police station near the OBL compound; turns out it is the Pakistani version of West Point instead. I've changed it in the post.
UPDATE III: Questions already arising from the burial at sea, as expected. Imams are claiming it wasn't a sufficient burial, others are saying the body should have been brought back here. Why? To display it like a trophy - perhaps mount his head on a spike atop the ever-growing Freedom Tower? Burial at sea ensures no shrine to the martyr's tomb. As it is, one will most likely crop up in Abbottabad. They should release the pictures, though, for sure - gore and all. The wound can be blurred to make it more palatable. DNA tests might prove there's a 99.9% chance it's him, but I, for one, want to see him with my own eyes. And from the spontaneous outbursts of joyful patriotism breaking out all over the country, I don't think I'm alone.
Showing posts with label CIA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CIA. Show all posts
Monday, May 2, 2011
Thursday, January 7, 2010
TRAINING DAY
Did you ever get a job where you had to watch one of those stupid training films? You know the ones - the 'new hire' makes a series of obvious mistakes that are pointed out and corrected. They are sort of a 'don't do this' method of training.
Is it just me, or does this whole Christmas Day EunichBomber episode seem like a really bad TSA/DHS/airline training film?
Think about it - almost every single red flag that could be hoisted was, and yet he was still able to get on that plane and attempt to blow it up. Each step of the way, if this had been a training film, there would have been a big, flashing red X superimposed on Abdulmutallab, accompanied by a loud buzzing noise.
Let's see...The NSA got intelligence from al Qaeda's Yemeni affiliate that they were going to use a Nigerian in an unspecified terror attack. Then Abdulmutallab's own father warned the US Embassy in Nigeria of his son's radicalism. For some reason, these two things were never connected. Apparently the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) was never notified of either piece of intelligence - if they had, one would hope they would have connected those giant, flashing neon dots and Abdulmutallab wouldn't have been allowed on the flight. X! X! X! BUZZ!
There were also conversations between Abdulmutallab and at least one al Qaeda member (reportedly radical Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Aulaqi - the man who allegedly counselled Ft. Hood shooter Malik Nidal Hasan) that were intercepted by US officials. Unfortunately, a radical Yemeni talking to a radicalized Nigerian apparently wasn't enough to warrant further investigation, even with the NSA intelligence mentioned above. BUZZ!
On top of that, he was in our terrorist database because of his father's attempts to warn us, but not on a terror watch list, no-fly list or a special screening list. This is because they felt there just wasn't enough information to warrant his being put on the watch list, let alone the no-fly or special screening lists. In Britain, if you are on a watch list, you don't come into the country. Period. But in the US, we have a tiered system - a database of about 550,000, on which Abdulmutallab was listed. Then there is the 400,000 person terror watch list. Then there is the 14,000 person special screening list, and, finally, the no-fly list, which has about 4,000 names. One would assume this tiered system is to make sure we don't step on any innocent toes. Wouldn't want to profile or make wild assumptions, now would we - it might hurt someone's feelings (even though the main database is for people with suspected or known terror associations). I suppose a father turning in his own son just isn't credible enough to get him on the no-fly list. Apparently we have to wait until he sets his crotch on fire before we can safely assume he doesn't have our best interests at heart. BUZZ!
There is a lot of talk about insufficient technology at the airports - not enough puffers and full body scans and the like. First of all, poorer countries like Nigeria have more important things to spend their money on than body scanners. Besides, what do they really care about the safety of US citizens, after all? We certainly cannot afford to pay to have all international airports upgraded - we can barely afford to upgrade our own. Forget about all of the high-tech stuff - if he had just been frisked, they would have found the bag of PETN explosive strapped to his torso. Someone in a terror database should at least be frisked, for heaven's sake! BUZZ!
For that matter, why aren't the terror watch lists/databases international? Apparently, Abdulmutallab was in a US database and a UK no-fly list, but not an international one. Why? Many terrorists are from overseas, so why aren't our international allies notified? Aren't we all supposed to be working in concert on this? Why are there different lists? So much for a 'global community'....BUZZ!
No one has yet been able to explain satisfactorily how he managed to get through security with a syringe filled with an unidentified substance, either. BUZZ!
The UK revoked his visa back in May, but apparently didn't notify the US - perhaps if the Obama administration hadn't waged that bizzarre campaign to insult and alienate our greatest ally, they may have shared that little tidbit with us. My question is, why did a man on a terror database get granted a visa in the first place? And if the visa was granted before his inclusion on the database, why didn't a red flag that he was already a visa holder go up when he was entered into the database? One would assume the State Department would automatically check the database before issuing a visa - but that would require common sense - something it is becoming more and more apparent that is sorely lacking in our government. BUZZ!
Well, at least his visa has finally been revoked -tweleve days after the event. BUZZ!!
Let's not forget the airlines in all of this. They are our last line of defense, and they performed miserably.
He is a single young man who bought a one-way ticket. BUZZ!
He then paid for said ticket with cash. BUZZ!
The cherry on top, though, was the fact that he had not one single piece of baggage for a transAtlantic flight. X! X! X! BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!!!!!
If this wasn't so dangerous, it would be comical. But the fact is, Abdulmutallab nearly succeeded in his plan. The only thing that stood between him and a horrific tragedy was a malfunctioning detonation.
This is really the best we can do, 8 years and three months after 9/11?
Perhaps it's time to think about privatizing our security agencies. It is becoming more and more apparent that the bureaucracies in place now are as ineffective and bogged down in red tape as every other government bureaucracy. Let's face it, government agencies just simply are not known for their practicality, innovation and quick action - things that are desperately needed right now.
At the very least, it's time to get all of our various security agencies into a room and make them watch a 'training video' like I just described over and over again until they get it. Maybe a few team-building workshops between the agencies wouldn't be a bad idea either. They expect us to trust them with our lives, but they can't even trust each other with information.
Is it just me, or does this whole Christmas Day EunichBomber episode seem like a really bad TSA/DHS/airline training film?
Think about it - almost every single red flag that could be hoisted was, and yet he was still able to get on that plane and attempt to blow it up. Each step of the way, if this had been a training film, there would have been a big, flashing red X superimposed on Abdulmutallab, accompanied by a loud buzzing noise.
Let's see...The NSA got intelligence from al Qaeda's Yemeni affiliate that they were going to use a Nigerian in an unspecified terror attack. Then Abdulmutallab's own father warned the US Embassy in Nigeria of his son's radicalism. For some reason, these two things were never connected. Apparently the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) was never notified of either piece of intelligence - if they had, one would hope they would have connected those giant, flashing neon dots and Abdulmutallab wouldn't have been allowed on the flight. X! X! X! BUZZ!
There were also conversations between Abdulmutallab and at least one al Qaeda member (reportedly radical Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Aulaqi - the man who allegedly counselled Ft. Hood shooter Malik Nidal Hasan) that were intercepted by US officials. Unfortunately, a radical Yemeni talking to a radicalized Nigerian apparently wasn't enough to warrant further investigation, even with the NSA intelligence mentioned above. BUZZ!
On top of that, he was in our terrorist database because of his father's attempts to warn us, but not on a terror watch list, no-fly list or a special screening list. This is because they felt there just wasn't enough information to warrant his being put on the watch list, let alone the no-fly or special screening lists. In Britain, if you are on a watch list, you don't come into the country. Period. But in the US, we have a tiered system - a database of about 550,000, on which Abdulmutallab was listed. Then there is the 400,000 person terror watch list. Then there is the 14,000 person special screening list, and, finally, the no-fly list, which has about 4,000 names. One would assume this tiered system is to make sure we don't step on any innocent toes. Wouldn't want to profile or make wild assumptions, now would we - it might hurt someone's feelings (even though the main database is for people with suspected or known terror associations). I suppose a father turning in his own son just isn't credible enough to get him on the no-fly list. Apparently we have to wait until he sets his crotch on fire before we can safely assume he doesn't have our best interests at heart. BUZZ!
There is a lot of talk about insufficient technology at the airports - not enough puffers and full body scans and the like. First of all, poorer countries like Nigeria have more important things to spend their money on than body scanners. Besides, what do they really care about the safety of US citizens, after all? We certainly cannot afford to pay to have all international airports upgraded - we can barely afford to upgrade our own. Forget about all of the high-tech stuff - if he had just been frisked, they would have found the bag of PETN explosive strapped to his torso. Someone in a terror database should at least be frisked, for heaven's sake! BUZZ!
For that matter, why aren't the terror watch lists/databases international? Apparently, Abdulmutallab was in a US database and a UK no-fly list, but not an international one. Why? Many terrorists are from overseas, so why aren't our international allies notified? Aren't we all supposed to be working in concert on this? Why are there different lists? So much for a 'global community'....BUZZ!
No one has yet been able to explain satisfactorily how he managed to get through security with a syringe filled with an unidentified substance, either. BUZZ!
The UK revoked his visa back in May, but apparently didn't notify the US - perhaps if the Obama administration hadn't waged that bizzarre campaign to insult and alienate our greatest ally, they may have shared that little tidbit with us. My question is, why did a man on a terror database get granted a visa in the first place? And if the visa was granted before his inclusion on the database, why didn't a red flag that he was already a visa holder go up when he was entered into the database? One would assume the State Department would automatically check the database before issuing a visa - but that would require common sense - something it is becoming more and more apparent that is sorely lacking in our government. BUZZ!
Well, at least his visa has finally been revoked -tweleve days after the event. BUZZ!!
Let's not forget the airlines in all of this. They are our last line of defense, and they performed miserably.
He is a single young man who bought a one-way ticket. BUZZ!
He then paid for said ticket with cash. BUZZ!
The cherry on top, though, was the fact that he had not one single piece of baggage for a transAtlantic flight. X! X! X! BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!!!!!
If this wasn't so dangerous, it would be comical. But the fact is, Abdulmutallab nearly succeeded in his plan. The only thing that stood between him and a horrific tragedy was a malfunctioning detonation.
This is really the best we can do, 8 years and three months after 9/11?
Perhaps it's time to think about privatizing our security agencies. It is becoming more and more apparent that the bureaucracies in place now are as ineffective and bogged down in red tape as every other government bureaucracy. Let's face it, government agencies just simply are not known for their practicality, innovation and quick action - things that are desperately needed right now.
At the very least, it's time to get all of our various security agencies into a room and make them watch a 'training video' like I just described over and over again until they get it. Maybe a few team-building workshops between the agencies wouldn't be a bad idea either. They expect us to trust them with our lives, but they can't even trust each other with information.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
THE VOICE OF REASON FROM...LINDSEY GRAHAM?
Let me be frank - I'm not a huge fan of Lindsey Graham. I think he is one of those wishy-washy RINO types that have helped the liberals with their progressive agenda.
But every now and then, he surprises me.
Eric Holder looked like a deer in headlights, could not defend his decision to try KSM 6 blocks from the scene of his act of war, and did nothing to convince Americans that criminal trials are the way to go.
It is becoming more and more apparent that this whole exercise is a back-door route to trying the Bush administration and the CIA for war crimes. This isn't about proving KSM's guilt. That was done when he confessed. Because of that confession, there shouldn't even be a trial. And yet, there is.
Holder and Obama are quite convinced he will be found guilty. I'm no lawyer, but isn't that predetermining the outcome, much like a kangaroo court? And why, exactly, do you need to find him guilty? He already admitted he is! Yes, Mr. Holder, the evidence against KSM is overwhelming - he entered a guilty plea. But, then again, this is the guy who allowed a guilty verdict against New Black Panther Party voter intimidators to be thrown out with no explaination whatsoever, so nothing his department has done so far has made much sense.
Criminal courts have way too many loopholes to let off the criminal - such as officials assuring the public of not just a guilty verdict, but a death penalty guilty verdict before the trial even begins. Apparently Obama and Holder have forgotten that whole 'presumption of innocence' thing - or maybe they think it is actually 'presumption of guilt'. Is that part of the 'change' we were sold during the election last year?
Sen. Graham is absolutely right - this is BAD history that Holder and Obama are making. In their asinine quest to 'showcase' the American court system, they are showing the world that America is okay with kangaroo show trials. That is NOT the American way. This scenario smacks more of Chavez's socialist Venezuela than the United States.
They are also making NYC a target again, and costing the city, which is already deep in the red, an estimated $75 million in added security costs. The trauma the people of New York suffered will be revisited for as long as this trial lasts - which may be years, if some analysts are right. That trauma will be amplified by the anxiety of a potential al-Quaeda strike.
Even if al-Quaeda doesn't strike, our criminal trial process will put information at KSM's (and, by extension al-Quaeda) fingertips that a terrorist of his caliber simply shouldn't have.
Put simply, Obama is allowing Holder to compromise our security to go on a Bush administration/CIA witch hunt.
This is an absolute travesty and must be stopped. Kudos to Sen. Graham for recognizing that and calling it what it is.
But every now and then, he surprises me.
Eric Holder looked like a deer in headlights, could not defend his decision to try KSM 6 blocks from the scene of his act of war, and did nothing to convince Americans that criminal trials are the way to go.
It is becoming more and more apparent that this whole exercise is a back-door route to trying the Bush administration and the CIA for war crimes. This isn't about proving KSM's guilt. That was done when he confessed. Because of that confession, there shouldn't even be a trial. And yet, there is.
Holder and Obama are quite convinced he will be found guilty. I'm no lawyer, but isn't that predetermining the outcome, much like a kangaroo court? And why, exactly, do you need to find him guilty? He already admitted he is! Yes, Mr. Holder, the evidence against KSM is overwhelming - he entered a guilty plea. But, then again, this is the guy who allowed a guilty verdict against New Black Panther Party voter intimidators to be thrown out with no explaination whatsoever, so nothing his department has done so far has made much sense.
Criminal courts have way too many loopholes to let off the criminal - such as officials assuring the public of not just a guilty verdict, but a death penalty guilty verdict before the trial even begins. Apparently Obama and Holder have forgotten that whole 'presumption of innocence' thing - or maybe they think it is actually 'presumption of guilt'. Is that part of the 'change' we were sold during the election last year?
Sen. Graham is absolutely right - this is BAD history that Holder and Obama are making. In their asinine quest to 'showcase' the American court system, they are showing the world that America is okay with kangaroo show trials. That is NOT the American way. This scenario smacks more of Chavez's socialist Venezuela than the United States.
They are also making NYC a target again, and costing the city, which is already deep in the red, an estimated $75 million in added security costs. The trauma the people of New York suffered will be revisited for as long as this trial lasts - which may be years, if some analysts are right. That trauma will be amplified by the anxiety of a potential al-Quaeda strike.
Even if al-Quaeda doesn't strike, our criminal trial process will put information at KSM's (and, by extension al-Quaeda) fingertips that a terrorist of his caliber simply shouldn't have.
Put simply, Obama is allowing Holder to compromise our security to go on a Bush administration/CIA witch hunt.
This is an absolute travesty and must be stopped. Kudos to Sen. Graham for recognizing that and calling it what it is.
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