The attack on Northwest Flight 253 was far from a failure
The struggle to defeat terrorism has two dimensions.
The first and most obvious is physical. In the physical world, we must tighten our security measures; we must find and kill those committed to terrorism; we must discourage others from choosing that course of action; we must seek allies in our common cause and deny our enemies safe haven. We have been doing all those things, and will continue doing so.
But the second dimension is psychological. Our enemies cannot terrorize us unless we allow ourselves to be terrorized. Their goal, remember, is not to bring down airliners or inflict mass casualties; those are merely the means they hope to use to achieve their real goal of provoking panic, fear and overreaction.
Khalid Sheikh Muhammad, the mastermind of Sept. 11, put it well: “The language of war is victims,” he said. Killing is a means of sending a message.
In that sense, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab succeeded even while failing. The Nigerian engineering student did not bring down Northwest Flight 253; physically, he was foiled by fellow passengers and perhaps his own incompetence. No one died. Yet he and those who sent him must be gratified by the sense of terror and panic he has inspired in some of our fellow Americans.
Take U.S. Rep. Peter Hoekstra, ranking Republican member of the House Intelligence Committee who also happens to be running for governor of Michigan. Hoekstra is a frightened man, and he wants others to share his fears. Within three days of the attempted attack, he sent out a fundraising letter in which he blames the incident on the Obama administration, “the same weak-kneed liberals who have recently tried to bring Guantanamo Bay terrorists right here to Michigan!”
I just love that exclamation point. It’s almost perfect. And I say “almost perfect” because you have to leave room to acknowledge absolute perfection, which Hoekstra achieves later in that letter:
“There should be no partisan rancor when it comes to keeping our citizens safe. Unfortunately, as the Democrat party drifts further and further to the left, their leaders are making decisions that should frighten us all.”
Fear is useful. Fear makes people malleable. Osama bin Laden knows it. So does Peter Hoekstra.
Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina has reacted in a similar vein, suggesting that the failed attack should force a complete revision of the nation’s approach to confronting terrorism, as well as a change in its leadership.
“[S]oft talk about engagement, closing Gitmo, these things are not going to appease the terrorists,” DeMint told Politico. “They’re going to keep coming after us, and we can’t have politics as usual in Washington, and I’m afraid that’s what we’ve got right now with airport security.”
Yes, they are going to keep coming after us. Similar attacks have been launched in the past and will occur in the future as well. Our enemies have not gone away; they have not surrendered and they will continue to probe our defenses for weakness.
But weakness can be psychological as well as physical. These cries of fear and panic come from the same geniuses who believe that putting terrorists into SuperMax prisons here in the United States somehow endangers our national security. They have lost all sense of perspective, and show themselves devoid of courage and judgment. They are not leaders, because no one can or should follow those scurrying in fright.
In his poem “If”, Rudyard Kipling wrote in admiration of those who “can keep your head when all about you
are losing theirs and blaming it on you.” He would not have admired many in American public life today.
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488 comments Add your comment
Southern Comfort
December 29th, 2009
9:28 pm
Late to the show again, but I feel that I need to post a few things. This subject is why I applied to do what I do.
First. Napolitano should have not backed off what she initally said, because, I believe she was correct. Her statement may have not been complete, but the system did work in the Christmas Day incident. If there’s an incident with a plane enroute to the US, there’s systems and procedures to deal with those incidents. There’s probably not a day that goes by where there’s not some kind of incident happening on a flight coming to the US. The incidents just don’t always rise to the level of someone trying to blow up their underwear. In that aspect, the responses to what happened all went according to plan.
Where she was wrong and her statement was incomplete, was that the way we use and share intel broke down. There’s way, way too many names on the “terrorist watch list” to put everyone on the no-fly list. I could make an anonymous phone call about any poster here, and your name could end up on the watch list. However, until concrete or valid intel is found to substantiate that claim, you’re not going to be put on the no-fly list. If that were the case, there’d be more than a half million people who could not fly in or to the US. It’s all about substantiated intel. If it were not so, the list would be completely useless.
Second, if the Government thru TSA did not put immediate measures in place (the 1hr rule and such), the Gov’t would be accused of not doing anything. The things being done are more likely stop gap measures until more substantive screening methods can be put in place. It’s a no-win situation for the Gov’t because, whether they do anything immediately or not, the Government is going to look bad in people’s eyes.
Third, the Gov’t already has many union members thru AFGE (American Federation of Government Employees) and NTEU (National Treasury Employees Union). From the IRS to CBP and the Border Patrol, there are many Union members who risk their lives to keep yours safe. Not all members are in high risk jobs, but there are quite a few who are. I’m not saying unions are good or bad, but if you knew what TSA screeners starting pay is, I don’t think there’d be many people here who would take on the demands of that job for what they make. The only Union strike I can remember that had any affect on the country as a whole was when the air traffic controllers went on strike. They were replaced if memory serves correct, so that shows that there are ways around any strike or threat of strike that unions make.
Jay, sorry about the long post. I feel that I needed to share just a little of the view from inside looking out. I’m not too sure if any of the posters here would have the same vantage point that I have.
md
December 29th, 2009
9:29 pm
@@,
Did you read where Putin has stated that russia must continue to build offensive missles in response to the US building defensive missles? His rationale went along the lines that if we had a shield then we would feel safe enough to attack anyone we darn well pleased.
talking about justification for proliferation, that sounds like a never ending cycle.
Bruno
December 29th, 2009
9:32 pm
Such a fine Christian lady you are, @@.
Sydney
December 29th, 2009
9:33 pm
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Most terrorists are Muslims,
and we’re stupid too.
Jenifer
December 29th, 2009
9:34 pm
Thanks, Bruno. Pearl Jam’s one of my favorites. I’m a Baby Boomer, but I feel like a GenXer.
md
December 29th, 2009
9:37 pm
“There’s way, way too many names on the “terrorist watch list” to put everyone on the no-fly list”
Sorry, I don’t buy this one at all. Even if there are 1 million or so on the watch list, how many of those 1 million are flying on any given day – very small percentage. Today’s computers can zip through 1 million names in the bat of an eye.
If your on the watch list and you show up at an airport, a little extra due dilligence is all it should take.
@@
December 29th, 2009
9:38 pm
md:
I never invested great hope in non-proliferation. The world is what it is.
————————————————————————————-
Home Prices Mask Signs of Weakness
“I’m worried. Everyone’s worried,” said Karl E. Case, the Wellesley College economist who helped design the housing index that provided fresh cause for alarm on Tuesday. “If prices sink 15 percent from here, which is a possibility, and the 2008 and 2009 loans go bad, then we’re back where we were before — in a nightmare.”
Potential buyers are calling it house arrest.
Maybe it’s time this administration gives their manipulation of the economy a rest.
A double dipped cone of silence.
@@
December 29th, 2009
9:40 pm
Such a fine Christian lady you are, @@.
I do try, Bruno.
Jenifer
December 29th, 2009
9:40 pm
SC,
Thanks for your insight. It’s sorely needed here.
Sydney
December 29th, 2009
9:41 pm
If Elvis were still alive I wonder what he would recommend ?
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!
December 29th, 2009
9:42 pm
So let’s recap; The problem is not the bomb on the plane, the problem is Republicans who don’t want to fly with the bomb on the plane.
That is so……dummycrat.
Sydney
December 29th, 2009
9:43 pm
Mohammad …….. stay off of my “blue suede” shoes !!
Dusty
December 29th, 2009
9:45 pm
Sooo, Bookman thinks we are all so frightened. Well, maybe so. But all I fear right now is that Bookman will rehash his last rehash and our new vigilante, Jennifer, will tell another underwear joke
Other than that, things seem pretty much as usual here. Mild entertainment with the usual actors saying the usual things. The folly of this blog is statements like Jennifer’s 9:05 saying ” an investigation should be opened to follow the GOP money trail through Africa and the Middle East to see if they funded this attack”.
A virulent anti-American attack on fellow Americans. Now this might be something to fear. Americans who hate other Americans. Maybe Bookman should write something on that aspect of “fear”..Plenty material on this blog.
Road Scholar
December 29th, 2009
9:45 pm
Two words- duct tape!
jt
December 29th, 2009
9:47 pm
check this out–
Michael Chertoff, Director of Homeland Security, said this on 3-26-1996.
“I want to also, before I conclude, talk about one other thing that we should avoid in regulation, and that’s what I call “mission creep.One example is various kinds of screening tools. At various times, we’ve talked about rolling out tools that we can use to screen people to make sure terrorists don’t get on airplanes or don’t get into sensitive buildings, and then you start to hear arguments that we should start to use these screening tools to serve other purposes — find people, for example, who are in arrears on their child support, or people who perhaps have misdemeanor warrants that are outstanding.”
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!
December 29th, 2009
9:47 pm
However, until concrete or valid intel is found to substantiate that claim, you’re not going to be put on the no-fly list.
How about some dude from Yemen that has been hanging around in his spare time with al Qaeda, enough that his old man turned him into the authorities?
What does the TSA need, an official Islamic lunatic member card?
jt
December 29th, 2009
9:47 pm
I meant 3-26-2006
Southern Comfort have you been drinking Jim Beam?
December 29th, 2009
9:47 pm
Or the Kool-Aid? You say her statement may have not been complete, but the system did work in the Christmas Day incident.
Sorry, but I think people are going to be more comfortable with a system that works before the fact, not a system that says “Hey guys FYI, a plane just blew up.” We already have CNN for that.
@@
December 29th, 2009
9:48 pm
Source: CIA failed to circulate report about bombing suspect
The Washington “finger” is making its rounds.
Southern Comfort
December 29th, 2009
9:48 pm
md
Even after the computers zip thru the name, there’s gotta be some type of investigation to warrant adding the person to the no-fly list.
For example: I turn Jay’s name in to the FBI. Jay goes to fly to New York for New Year’s in Times Square. When he shows ID, his name will match to the watch list. If he’s just thrown on the no-fly list because he’s on the terrorist watch list without any investigation, what good does it accomplish? If he’s investigated and cleared, then his name should be removed from the watch list. If he’s investigated and credible information turns up, then he should be elevated to the no-fly list. Just scanning his name when he checks in only checks to see if he matches either list, it does not accomplish the investigative part.
And per your union question. Would you go to work every day knowing there is a undetermined chance you could end up on the business end of an IED if this is what you are paid? TSA screeners start off at the bottom of the D pay band if you wish to check it out.
http://www.tsa.gov/join/careers/pay_scales.shtm
Hillbilly Deluxe
December 29th, 2009
9:51 pm
“If prices sink 15 percent from here, which is a possibility, and the 2008 and 2009 loans go bad, then we’re back where we were before — in a nightmare.”
And the commercial loans haven’t hit yet either.
jt
December 29th, 2009
9:51 pm
Now go to 2008. A lot of time and effort went in to formulate a plan to catch child support obligees.
Too bad that Nigerian didn’t owe child support. Thank the Lord that Napolitano is saving us from deadbeat dads.
From “It’s your times”————
Homeland Security has announced rules requiring passports for all Americans entering the country even if in the past travel to places such as Canada had not required such identification. Quite apart from many debatable issues the rules raise, they also force attention to an obscure regulation tying passports to child support payments.
The new passport requirements will require a reform in laws regulating issue of passports to parents (mostly men) who for any reason have an arrears in child support payments – and most affected are not necessarily “deadbeat dads†evading or ignoring their obligations.
People most affected are those who do work, do make child support payments faithfully, and because of an earlier accumulation of some arrearage find themselves unable to ever catch up.
Many do not realize that an arrears of greater than $5,000 allows states to request that the Federal government refuse issue of passports to the person said to owe the money. This was a law passed in 2002 aimed primarily at deadbeat dads with money and a desire to either flee the country to avoid enforcement or to travel abroad without regard to their obligations.
However, the main people this law has hurt are middle- and working-class men and women who for reasons ranging from joblessness to financial setbacks accumulated arrearages. The little-known passport restriction has cost the jobs of thousands of people whose employment had taken them across borders.
DoggoneGA
December 29th, 2009
9:52 pm
SoCo…what you posted earlier pretty much squares up with the news report I heard (and posted about) the other day.
Southern Comfort
December 29th, 2009
9:52 pm
Southern Comfort have you been drinking Jim Beam?
The only thing I can say is, I wish you could do what I do and see what I see on a daily basis.
Whiner
TSA isn’t the only agency that deals with that list. The FBI and CIA does the investigating. TSA is the one who enforces the list. But I wouldn’t expect you to be able to discern the difference as you care to do nothing but disparage them anyway.
Hillbilly Deluxe
December 29th, 2009
9:53 pm
Southern Comfort
What is locality pay?
Southern Comfort
December 29th, 2009
9:57 pm
HD
Locality pay is a calculated percentage of the base pay that depends on the cost of living in the area where you work. It works the same as a cost-of-living pay. Areas like New York or San Francisco would be higher than Montgomery or Knoxville.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!
December 29th, 2009
9:58 pm
Wash your hands, So Co, wash your hands.
Jenifer
December 29th, 2009
9:59 pm
So, we have republicants refusing to fund anti-terrorism efforts, republicants who made poor decisions on releasing terrorists, and a republicant who is playing politics with the TSA because he doesn’t like unions.
What this sounds like is republicants aiding and abetting the enemy. When efforts to protect the nation are politically thwarted giving terrorists the opportunity to attack – that is treason. Think Benedict Arnold.
I report, you jump to conclusions
December 29th, 2009
10:00 pm
I report You Whine, wants to put people on a list on a whim. What I report You Whine won’t admit is that parents frequently, every day in fact, call the authorities to report that their son might be susceptible to engaging in terrorism.
In fact just the other day my neighbor called Homeland Security to say…um scratch that, she just complained to me that her son doesn’t put his dishes in the sink.
But just the other day, my hairstylist called Homeland Security to say…um scratch that, he just said that his son was on the basketball team.
But just the other day, my waitress at our favorite restaurant called Homeland Security to say…um scratch that, she just told us her son just got engaged.
Come to think of it, when someone says their son might be a terrorist, maybe someone ought to listen.
Southern Comfort
December 29th, 2009
10:01 pm
Whiner
Wash my hands? What’s that supposed to mean?
md
December 29th, 2009
10:02 pm
SC,
They don’t necesarily need to put them on another list such as the no fly list, they just need to be thorough in their screening before allowing them to board. My kids have been darn near asked to strip just because they were in their early 20’s and flying solo, and I had no problem with it because it is part of today’s routine. So explain why someone actually on a watch list can’t be thoroghly searched.
As for unions, they are working for the gov’t – the ones that make the rules for all to follow including private industry, the ones that are supposed to be above it all – why should there be a need for a union. As for showing up for work part – they always have a choice, there are other jobs, there are no labor camps in the US that I am aware of.
Hillbilly Deluxe
December 29th, 2009
10:05 pm
Southern Comfort @ 9:57
Thanks for the explanation.
Hillbilly Deluxe
December 29th, 2009
10:06 pm
they always have a choice, there are other jobs
Not for about 10% of the population these days.
Jenifer
December 29th, 2009
10:06 pm
What kind of dust is this on the underwear? Should we get all skeered up again?
RW-(the original)
December 29th, 2009
10:06 pm
Here’s an idea. When somebody on a “watch list” that hasn’t been elevated to a different list shows up to fly we take a look to see if there might be anything out of the ordinary like paying cash for a one way international ticket with no baggage, having had your father report your radicalism, being banned from Britain, and/or spending a good bit of time in Yemen recently and if there is we spend a few minutes investigating right then and there.
jt
December 29th, 2009
10:06 pm
This is on the Homeland Security Homepage. Under Unified DHS. Their mission statement is grammatically incorrect. Sheeesh. And what is this “recover millins of dollars” crap??????????
“Six years on since the Department’s creation, our goal is simple: one DHS, one enterprise, a shared vision, with integrated results-based operations. Through a consolidated headquarters, we are bringing 35 locations together. We are implementing a series of wide-ranging efficiency initiatives that leverage the economies of scale in our Department in order to recover hundreds of millions of dollars and create a culture of responsibility and fiscal discipline.”
Jenifer
December 29th, 2009
10:09 pm
Oh Yemeny Cricket, what’s to become of us?
md
December 29th, 2009
10:09 pm
“Not for about 10% of the population these days.”
Even more reason to be thankful to even have a job, much less complain about it.
eagle scout
December 29th, 2009
10:14 pm
Common Sense…. a little confusion reigns here.
Yesterday you wrote “Four years as a Federal Air Marshal (2002-2006) might help me just a little. How about you?”
Tonight you write “The only thing I can say is, I wish you could do what I do and see what I see on a daily basis.”
Which is it PAST or PRESENT?
Hillbilly Deluxe
December 29th, 2009
10:16 pm
Common Sense and Southern Comfort are two different people. just sayin’.
jt
December 29th, 2009
10:17 pm
Heck, Ronald Reagen just needed the US Navy and a swagger.
DHS—————————–
The Directorate for National Protection and Programs
The Directorate for Science and Technology
The Directorate for Management
The Office of Policy
The Office of Health Affairs
The Office of Intelligence and Analysis
The Office of Operations Coordination
The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
The Domestic Nuclear Detection Office
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),
The United States Coast Guard
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
The United States Secret Service
DoggoneGA
December 29th, 2009
10:17 pm
“Common Sense…. a little confusion reigns here”
You’re getting Common Sense and Southern Comfort mixed up.
Southern Comfort
December 29th, 2009
10:18 pm
md
On the searched part, I don’t think there’s been any incident on a plane that originated from an airport that TSA screens since 9/11. Although they sometime screw things up, TSA can say that they have an excellent record in that department. The guy from Nigeria was never physically screened by any US agency. I don’t know if he was thoroughly vetted by any US intelligence agency. The issue with the Dec 25th incident was that Nigeria and Amsterdam screwed the pooch when it came to physical screening.
eagle scout
December 29th, 2009
10:18 pm
OOPS!!!!
Jenifer
December 29th, 2009
10:18 pm
Pay close attention to the color of the underwear, neglecting to do this could mean grave danger.
@@
December 29th, 2009
10:18 pm
So what about the other passengers who said the guy had no passport. Fame seekers or legitimate eye-witness accounts?
I don’t know….I’m asking.
Jenifer
December 29th, 2009
10:19 pm
“screwed the pooch”, I love it!
Southern Comfort
December 29th, 2009
10:20 pm
eagle scout
I’m definitely not Common Sense…
In no shape, form or fashion.
Southern Comfort
December 29th, 2009
10:22 pm
@@
Could be both. However, unless you have authority by the State Department thru any of our Embassies, you have to have a passport or valid travel document to travel to the United States.
Jenifer
December 29th, 2009
10:22 pm
SC,
You have common sense though. Refreshing.
md
December 29th, 2009
10:23 pm
“The issue with the Dec 25th incident was that Nigeria and Amsterdam screwed the pooch when it came to physical screening.”
All the current lists are useless if they are not implemented world-wide, does absolutely nothing for incoming flights.
Southern Comfort
December 29th, 2009
10:24 pm
Jenifer
No more common than anyone else here. I just see things from a different perspective.
Jenifer
December 29th, 2009
10:27 pm
“No more common than anyone else here.”
I beg to differ.
Southern Comfort
December 29th, 2009
10:27 pm
md
The problem as I see it is, outside our borders, we have no physical control over the security of our airlines. We’re depending on agencies provided for by whatever country the airport lies in to provide security for us. That’s our #1 weakness. Our second weakness is we currently have a reactive approach to security as opposed to a proactive one.
Southern Comfort
December 29th, 2009
10:29 pm
I’d love to stay and chat as this topic is near and dear to me, but it’s time to hit the sack. I’ll probably have another 12-14 hour day tomorrow.
I’ll pop in if I get a chance.
Later all…
@@
December 29th, 2009
10:31 pm
I may have to write that no passport story off. When I google it, Prison Planet pops up everywhere.
Hillbilly Deluxe
December 29th, 2009
10:32 pm
Southern Comfort
The other day you asked another poster if they thought we should have our people screening passengers in other countries. (I think that’s the way you asked the question). I think maybe we should look at that. Doesn’t Israel do that? What’s your opinion? (If you are allowed to say. I know y’all have rules on what you can talk about.)
Hillbilly Deluxe
December 29th, 2009
10:33 pm
Dang looks like I was a day late and a dollar short…as usual.
@@
December 29th, 2009
10:38 pm
Stop the presses!
Charlie Sheen and his wife are either getting a divorce or marriage counseling.
Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner are now just friends. Man….that would have been confusing. A couple, both named Taylor?
jt
December 29th, 2009
10:38 pm
This under “The TSA Experiance” for March 2009 Events———WTF
* Operation ‘Pink Ponies’
* TSA Employees Team Up for Rhode Island 5K
* Missouri’s Branson Airport Opens for Business
* Honor Flight Takes Veterans Through Mobile, Al
jt
December 29th, 2009
10:41 pm
Some pretty heavy stuff from TSA.gov.————–I feel better.
“Team Spirit builds successful employee teams that combine their strengths to improve collective performance. The senior leadership team adopted Team Spirit as a replacement for Teamwork to better capture the essence of what we want to foster throughout TSA.
“In revalidating the Core Values recently, TSA’s senior leadership team changed Teamwork to Team Spirit,” said Deputy Administrator Gale Rossides. “This change reflects that TSA employees don’t only work together to ensure the nation’s security, but are inspired by our mission and look for unique ways to inspire those around us.”
Dusty
December 29th, 2009
10:44 pm
I believe I will wait until reports come from an investigation. That might give us a few more answers. In the meatime, I rest assured that Southern Comfort and his coworkers are doing all they can in a difficult job with whatever tools and info they are given. Dedicated Americans like SC are right in there doing their job against terrorists.
jt
December 29th, 2009
10:48 pm
Somebody should hurry up and change this. From TSA.gov———-Notice the word ” EVERY.” and “including”.
“Air travel is an essential part of our daily lives. Over 600 million people fly each year, not to mention the millions bags which go along with them. That’s why most of our efforts are dedicated to ensuring the unthinkable doesn’t happen. We screen every passenger and every bag boarding a commercial aircraft today, including international travelers arriving in the United States before they meet a connecting flight.”
jt
December 29th, 2009
10:48 pm
We screen every passenger and every bag boarding a commercial aircraft today, including international travelers arriving in the United States before they meet a connecting flight.”
@@
December 29th, 2009
10:49 pm
Alright, not to put off on SC’s job, but I’ve gotta share a motivational class experience. First, last, and only year I ever worked in the public school system….we were pulled from the classroom….I’m pretty sure the kids were still in attendance
anyhoo, we were asked questions. If our answers were good, they threw beanie baby fish at us. Door prizes and the like. I’m sure not what we accomplished other than wasting time on silliness. The other teachers were really into it. Me? not so much.
#253 – After it Landed « Grab and Keel
December 29th, 2009
10:49 pm
[...] then learn that it is the weak minded Liberals who caused this [...]
@@
December 29th, 2009
10:51 pm
…switch that sure not to not sure.
IRDHTBS
RW-(the original)
December 29th, 2009
10:51 pm
There is some serious CYA going on with the administration or the CIA or both tonight. I’m not going to bother with links since the info seems to change every hour, but there’s some fascinating reading out there for anyone with insomnia.
Dusty
December 29th, 2009
10:56 pm
jt,
Doesn’t that mean that international passengers WHO HAVE ALREADY ARRIVED IN THE USA will be screened before they leave on ANOTHER connecting flight?
The original is a bit confusing.
RW-(the original)
December 29th, 2009
10:56 pm
jt,
That seems to give the TSA enough wiggle room to say they won’t let them connect to another domestic flight once they’ve landed from their international one, except this guy had no intention of landing in the first place.
Hillbilly D,
One thing I know for sure we have control over is whether to allow an incoming international flight into our airspace. If someone here is connecting the dots and feels someone on an inbound flight is a threat and hasn’t been vetted properly at the origination we don’t have to allow the flight in.
@@
December 29th, 2009
10:57 pm
Best advice I could give Obama? Clean house….start over….you’ve got some real losers running things for you, against you, around you, behind you, in front of you, under you, over you.
Sheesh….
what
a
mess!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@@
December 29th, 2009
10:58 pm
for you?
Dusty
December 29th, 2009
11:00 pm
RW,
If they figure out how to solve the “airplane” problem maybe they can use it to stop the WhiteHouse party crashers.
RW-(the original)
December 29th, 2009
11:00 pm
In 2006 the CIA agent interviewed here conducted a study and determined that a very likely threat would be a Northwestern flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.
Quite obviously this was not another red flag…./sarc
Common Sense
December 29th, 2009
11:02 pm
To HillyBilly Deluxe and Doggone/GA:
Thank you for helping eagle scout’s memory with your posts. And Southern Comfort …….. LOL!
Now that said …………. the answer is “reasonable profiling”.
Guess what?
It was (and I assume still is) against regulations !
Guess what again ?
We all did it …………… all the time ……………. you knew who you had to watch and who you could ignore. “Regulations” can’t see what’s going on in your brain thankgoodness ……….. at least not yet.
I could post a lot more on the subject but obviously I won’t.
RW-(the original)
December 29th, 2009
11:02 pm
Dusty,
I’m on the side of the party crashers here. Their mistake was showing up saying they were guests. They should have claimed they were hosts just as the rest of us are.
Dusty
December 29th, 2009
11:05 pm
@@, I don’t know about Obama cleaning up the mess and starting over. He’s already got the best libs he could find. Think what we’d get if he brought in new ones.
@@
December 29th, 2009
11:10 pm
Interesting Aljazeera video. Two years ago, Stratfor ran numerous articles about terrorist’s intentions towards IEDs on airliners. They’re determined.
———————————————————————
Dusty:
He’d better get SOMEBODY in there who knows what the heck they’re doing. If not, his legacy is in the toilet.
Dusty
December 29th, 2009
11:12 pm
RW
2006??? Don’t you know that Bush was president then and therefore everything then was inaccurate, wrong, evil and should be ignored? My my…
Common Sense
December 29th, 2009
11:13 pm
To Southern Comfort:
By the way, what do you “see” and what do you “do” on a daily basis ??
RW-(the original)
December 29th, 2009
11:14 pm
Dusty,
What was I thinking????
md
December 29th, 2009
11:15 pm
Not to rag on the tsa, but on my last trip out of atl I had a couple of full bottles of water I had yet to drink so I tossed them in the top of my carry-on with the intentions of finishing them off prior to going through security. Needless to say, I forgot all about them until I was sitting at the gate waiting to board my flight and I opened my bag to remove another item and low and behold the bottles were staring at me. Not even a mention from tsa.
Yet when I forget about my toothpaste…………..
@@
December 29th, 2009
11:15 pm
He definitely needs to unload the Chicago element. They’re killing any chance he has to redeem himself. The hard left partisans too.
I don’t know why I even care. The guy frustrates me to no end. I oughta just let him go down with his ship of fools.
Dusty
December 29th, 2009
11:17 pm
Well. @@. Obama has already cleaned out Chicago and everybody has left Detroit. You realize he might tap someone from ATLANTA?
Dusty
December 29th, 2009
11:22 pm
md,
Maybe your tooth paste was not the sensitivity kind. You have to be careful about those things!!
md
December 29th, 2009
11:28 pm
“Maybe your tooth paste was not the sensitivity kind. You have to be careful about those things!!”
I think they get a kick out of trashing the stuff I need or the non sharp sharp items I forget to remove from my keychain. I think they get bored on the disassembly line and are doing what they can to spice it up.
@@
December 29th, 2009
11:28 pm
DANG! Sounds like some leftists helped convince the guy to blow up an airplane.
The society’s guest speakers have included radical imams, former Guantánamo Bay prisoners and a cast of mostly left-wing, anti-American British politicians and human rights advocates. In January 2007, with Mr. Abdulmutallab as president, the society sponsored a “War on Terror Week” that was harshly critical of American conduct in Iraq and Afghanistan.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/30/world/europe/30nigerian.html?pagewanted=2
That’s gotta suck for “the other side”.
Ciao!
RW-(the original)
December 29th, 2009
11:32 pm
And once again Ron Paul chimes in with his idiocy.
Second, as usual, his facts are wrong. He uncritically accepts Abdulmutallab’s assertion that the bomb plot was retaliation for the U.S. airstrike on jihadi camps in Yemen. Not so: As Jake Tapper explained yesterday, this turd had already been mobilized and had even bought his Northwest ticket before we struck. Purely and simply, America’s Greatest Patriot is parroting propaganda cooked up by jihadist pieces of sh*t because it happens to fit his insane foreign policy agenda. Support him and his disciples at your peril.
RW-(the original)
December 29th, 2009
11:34 pm
Allahpundit makes a good point there. We have one of those disciples roaming around here from time to time and that guy is certifiable.
Dusty
December 30th, 2009
12:02 am
RW,
I think you can find SEVERAL people on this blog who say things like Ron Paul said. Sounds all too familiar, unfortunately.
Goodnight & good morning.
getting late!!
The Professor
December 30th, 2009
12:39 am
@@ 11:15 Now that was funny. WOW!!
jt
December 30th, 2009
6:33 am
RW-(the original) ———–
Concerning your 11:32 remark. From personal experience, I can promise you that military operations (airstrikes, invasions,etc…..) happen very much EARLIER than what is usually reported in the MSM. You call Ron Paul’s foreign policy “insane” while our troops are in Aphganistan, Iraq,
Yemen, etc……………………Also we have troops in Nigeria guarding an oil pipeline. Ron Paul DID vote to go after a “terrorist network” in Afganistan. Not occupy it.
Go ahead and keep supporting our international interventist policies. We will soon run out of troops and/or money. And some people will finally realize that you can’t kill every muslim extremist.
And the disciple term is reserved for the followers of republocrats. I prefer the term statist instead of disciple.
And Ron Paul IS a true patriot.
jt
December 30th, 2009
6:41 am
Heard a bunch of lefties harping on Jim Dement in holding up a nomination.
What about Sen. Chris Dodd—-????????
He slashed aviation security funding for pet constituency.
y.
Back in July, Senator Chris Dodd, D-Conn., proposed an amendment reducing aviation security appropriations by $4.5 million in favor of firefighter grants — a notoriously inneffective program. In fact, the money was specifically “for screening operations and the amount for explosives detection systems.”
jt
December 30th, 2009
6:50 am
This corruption of our legal system, if history is any guide, will not be reserved by the state for suspected terrorists, or even Muslim Americans. In the coming turmoil and economic collapse, it will be used to silence all who are branded as disruptive or subversive.
Outhouse Go-Kart
December 30th, 2009
7:17 am
The kenyan is just so stupid…
Obama Botches Response to Another Terror Threat
As Obama’s attempts to appease jihadists, it’s clear the strategy of talking nicely isn’t working
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Another terror threat, another botched response from the Obama administration.
Last Friday’s attempted attack to blow up an airplane en route to Detroit from Amsterdam has bolstered what we’ve known for a long time: that stopping the bad guys is so far outside the worldview of the president and his staff it’s downright scary.
In the hours that followed the attack, Obama foolishly called the attempt an “isolated incident.”
That’s like Tiger Woods calling Rachel Uchitel an isolated incident.
We now know that the suspect had been in Yemen just days before the attack and that a regional Al Qaeda group has claimed responsibility for it.
Obama appointee Janet Napolitano, the Homeland Security chief, who earlier in the year referred to terrorist attacks as “man-caused disaster” and said that we weren’t in a War on Terror, praised the system saying, “It worked.”
No, it didn’t.
She quickly and bizarrely tried to back-peddle the next day insisting that the events following the failed attack unfolded as they should have, but allowing the terrorist to board the plane with explosives clearly “signaled a failure of the system.”
Someone should tell Napolitano that her method for measuring success is very strange.
Rep. Peter Hoekstra said it best: “Success is stopping these attacks, not responding to them.”
However, rather than demand answers, Congressional Democrats are on defense while they lambaste Republicans for blocking an Obama’s pick to head the Transportation Security Administration.
Forget playing politics about the head baggage screener who wouldn’t have stopped the attack if he were in place. We’ve seen what has happened when the baggage of the Obama administration isn’t adequately screened.
Most recently the foreign minister of Yemen said that there are likely 200 to 300 terrorists in Yemen plotting future attacks. Why aren’t we water-boarding the Christmas Day bomber for information on who these men are? Guess we’re more worried about getting him legal representation.
While our president attempts to appease those who have declared a radical jihad on U.S. and elsewhere, let the Christmas Day attack be a sign that the strategy of talking nicely isn’t working.
What will it take for the Obama administration and Congressional Democrats to get tough on terror before more people die?
People are going to get killed if we don’t change this pre-9/11 mentality. This isn’t about politics, it’s about reality — cold one that people want to destroy us. Let this be another wake up call to the president before the only man caused disaster we’re talking about is his own naivete.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!
December 30th, 2009
7:32 am
Economists watch consumer sentiment because spending on goods and services for consumers accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity by federal measures.
One key component of the confidence index that measures consumers’ outlook over the next six months rose to 75.6 from 70.3 last month, the highest level since December 2007, when the index was 75.8. But the survey’s other main component, which measures shoppers’ current assessment, actually fell to 18.8 from 21.2. -Urinal
dummycrats think Americans are energy consuming pig people, who should be saving their money instead of pursuing all of the material things in life, but look, here they are praying to their socialist gods that you start spending, hoping you start spending, longing for you to spend, crunching your spending numbers, squeezing them for any signs of hope or change.
Bizarre, isn’t it?
jt
December 30th, 2009
7:44 am
Meanwhile-
Trial Lawyers Poised to Sue Society Into Stone Age.
A group of 12 Gulf Coast residents whose homes were damaged by Katrina are suing 33 energy companies for greenhouse gas emissions that allegedly contributed to the global warming that allegedly made the hurricane worse.
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and seven state AG allies plus New York City are suing American Electric Power and other utilities for a host of supposed eco-maladies. A native village in Alaska is suing Exxon and 23 oil and energy companies for coastal erosion.
The beauty of the greedy totalitarian left’s new strategy is that it allows them to sue absolutely anyone they don’t like and/or has money to be looted.
FinnMcCool
December 30th, 2009
7:51 am
Florida Republican May File Suit Over Health Bill
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/30/health/policy/30florida.html?hpw
Republicans want to curb frivolous litigation? I guess it’s only frivolous when it’s someone else’s lawsuit.
Mrs. Godzilla
December 30th, 2009
7:58 am
jt
Heart specialists on Monday filed suit against Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius in an effort to stave off steep Medicare fee cuts for routine office-based procedures such as nuclear stress tests and echocardiograms.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-12-23-heart29_ST_N.htm
To paraphrase:
The beauty of the greedy totalitarian rights new strategy is that it allows them to sue absolutely anyone they don’t like and/or has money to be looted.
Thrust and parry.
Mrs. Godzilla
December 30th, 2009
7:59 am
Finn
It’s like shooting fish is a barrel.
But it does become tedious.