Six Months

I am a bad blogger. I have let other things get in the way of my writing. Today is the six-month mark from the mid-term elections so my intention was to return to the blog and write about the progress that has been made (or not made) since that day. But once again, other things have gotten in the way. Usama bin Laden is dead.

Last night I was getting ready to catch up on some TV while playing on Facebook. Not different than any other night until about 10:10pm when a seemingly normal post from a local meteorologist informed me that President Obama was to address the nation at 10:30. I immediately reposted the information to my circle of friends and we began to speculate about what was about to be dropped into our laps. Our first reaction was to think of either Libya or Syria but then upon hearing about the National Security staffs being scrambled to their offices at such a late hour we then wondered about North Korea or the possibility of an imminent attack here at home. About 10 minutes into the discussion (and BEFORE it was mentioned by Geraldo Rivera) we asked, “what if it’s bin Laden?”

Just a few minutes later we listened with the rest of the world as the news began break that Usama bin Laden had been killed. The news was sketchy. First it was that bin Laden was killed a week ago and we had been waiting for DNA testing to make the announcement. That didn’t seem quite plausible as no one seemed to believe that a secret of this magnitude could be kept for that long. More and more information surfaced and the President finally emerged to deliver the news to the nation that he had ordered the strike on a Pakistan compound that had indeed killed the world’s most wanted man

Within minutes of the initial news, conspiracy theorists started spinning their layers of ‘facts’. Bin Laden was actually killed a week ago. No he was killed in 2002. He died of natural causes and President Obama was using his death to ensure his re-election. Whoa! Back off for a minute everyone and let the American people revel in ONE MOMENT of celebration.

On September 11, 2001 bin Laden was responsible for the deaths of 2,819 people. Before that he was responsible for the deaths of the seventeen sailors aboard the USS Cole. He had been tied to the US Embassy bombings, the first World Trade Center bombing and had openly declared war on the United States. This is a man that every red-blooded American man, woman and child should be happy to see removed from existence.

I patiently waited through the initial reports of bin Laden’s death and slowly the coverage on the news channels began to show the spontaneous celebrations erupting outside the White House, at Ground Zero and at Times Square. It was there, in the gathering in Times Square, that I received my moment of celebration - a lone New York City Fire Department truck, lights flashing, with several firemen atop being congratulated from all sides from the growing crowd.

Photo Copyright: Michael Appleton for The New York Times

So having received my wanted moment of celebration, I began to process the night’s events. We got him. I don’t care when or how really (although I must say it makes me extremely happy that it was hand to hand combat at the hands of a Navy SEAL team) I just care that he is no longer alive and walking the planet. I am happy that this news will bring peace to some (although not all) of the people who were most affected by his murderous actions. As a survivor of a violent attack who then learned of her attacker’s death, I understand the feeling of peace and relief that can come with the news.

In the aftermath of this celebration, we are left with the question, WHAT NOW? We are most likely in markedly more danger now than we were 24 hours ago. There will undoubtedly be attacks (whether organized or rogue) in retaliation for our role in their perceived leader’s demise. Bin Laden was not the true head of al Qaeda any longer and hadn’t been for a long time but we will receive blowback from his death. Did we win the war on terror? No, but we certainly proved to the world that no matter how long it takes, when you strike us we WILL come after you and we will take you out.

I applaud President Obama for continuing the work that President Bush started on a long ago September morning atop the rubble of the World Trade Center with a bullhorn. I wish that President Obama had thanked his predecessor in his remarks last night because without the heroism and Texas-sized bravado of President Bush, we would not being watching last night’s events unfold. The countless numbers of military forces who have served our country in three wars since September 11, 2001 should be thanked forever for their sacrifices and loss. The families of our fallen Marines, soldiers, airmen, sailors and Special Forces should be forever in our prayers. The first responders who continue to run into buildings should be thanked every time that you run into them.

Above all, be realistic. Usama bin Laden’s death does not make us any safer than we were yesterday. There are still fundamental changes, changes that were started the night of the mid-term elections, that need to be made or else our country’s survival will continue to be at risk. Do not let the excitement and exuberance over the death of a terrorist cloud your focus. I have faith in the American spirit and in the American people. When you take away our freedoms and try to take away our fight, we come out swinging. We will finish the job no matter how long it takes. President Obama just proved that. I just hope he remembers that it’s just the American Way when the people come for his job in the next election.

Daisy is Calling

When Janet Napolitano took office as the Secretary of Homeland Security she was at the forefront of transforming the language used to describe the War on Terror and Terrorists. Someone (and I can't say that it was in deed Secretary Napolitano although I wouldn't find it difficult to believe) uttered the phrases "overseas contingency operation" and "man-caused disasters" and thought that they might be a good idea.

Since January 2009, our country has been attacked no less than three times. Once by Major Hassan at Ft. Hood, once by Abdulmutallab on Christmas Day, and now again in the middle of Times Square. Now maybe I am missing something but I think that it the span of time between September 12, 2001 and January 2009 we were attacked a whopping total of ONE time - Richard Reid's shoe bombing attempt. That's once in seven years but now we've been attacked three times in just over a year. Apparently the new language that was implemented has not affected the men seeking to cause the disasters quite as much as the Secretary and the Administration thought that it would.

Instead of staying the course with a hard line approach to those who wish to do harm to our way of life we in turn make sure that the rest of the world isn't mad at us because we spoke badly about the terrorists. It seems as if everything the Administration does requires the blessings of the world community or else we aren't being responsible global citizens. Apparently making sure that the criminals, who harbor those who want to kill us, feel warm and fuzzy is more important than making sure that they don't actually get to us and kill our children.

Hassan killed 12 and wounded 31 at Fort Hood in November and Abdulmutallab attempted to murder 289 people on Christmas Day. The car bomb in Times Square had the potential to kill a great number of people although I do wonder if that was a calling card and not the real attack, time will tell on that theory. By relaxing our language, it appears that the Administration has also experienced the "unintended consequence" of also relaxing our vigilant stance against such attacks. At least the folks in New York City haven't relaxed - without them and the "if you see something, tell someone" post-9/11 attitude this past weekend's attempt very well could have been a tragedy.

Secretary Napolitano was forced in an interview with Chris Wallace to actually acknowledge that the Times Square attempted car bomb was in fact Terrorism. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs almost choked on his tongue as he had to answer yes to a direct question as to whether or not the White House viewed the attempt as an attempted act of terror. Maybe its time that we ramp up out rhetoric again so that maybe the TERRORISTS will know that we are onto them and are coming after them

Maybe we should actually follow the clues that are in the wide open as in the Hassan case. We need to race forward in the intelligence community and do whatever is necessary to find people who are planning to hurt us instead of simply hoping that the terrorists continue to be as hapless as the Christmas Day and Times Square idiots. If these two individuals had been a little more on top of their game, we would be having an entirely different conversation.

I am tired of the "unintended consequences" from policies and proposed legislation that focus on problems and issues from the wrong (or even any) angle. Health care "reform" was rammed down the throats of the American public who was overwhelmingly against it. Tea Party members were lambasted as an angry mob spreading lies not the least of which was that health care was going to cost taxpayers loads of money only to be proven right less than a month after the bill's passage. Cap and Trade is a joke but will now be looked at by some and touted by the left as a viable option given the recent oil spill in the Gulf. Stop playing on the fears of the American public to further an agenda to relegate us to a compliant Global Citizen. Rather, utilize the fear of the American people (a la New Yorkers who have no problem saying that they see an SUV on fire) to move forward and continue to make the United States of America the strongest and most feared country in the world.

Yes, I did say most feared. I do not want to be nice, I don't want the terrorists to think that we're sitting ducks. Act first. Close the border. Enforce immigration law. Drill for American oil. Utilize natural gas. Fix the economy. Work with people who actually have experience in the fields in which they advise. Treat homegrown terror groups with swift and steadfast justice that does not include side deals. Stop allowing world leaders who denigrate our way of life to enter our country and spew their venom when all the while they are harboring the very terrorists who we are supposedly hunting. Somehow I think that if underling operatives in these rogue nations and organizations had real fear of us it would be much harder to convince them to attack us. Stop issuing sanctions and start dropping calling cards - Daisy....Daisy Cutter.

Author's Note: This post has been edited from its original publication to include Richard Reid's attempted shoe bombing of a plane which was inadvertently omitted. I do not however link the anthrax mailings, the DC Sniper or various other examples sent to me in response to this post as terrorism as they were crime sprees aimed at specific targets not at the American way of life. Remember its called "In My Humble OPINIONS"!