The Defeat of America By Terrorists

“And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.” - George Bush Sept 14, 2001 in NYC (video)

Crowd roars, chanting: “USA.  USA.  USA.”

Killing Americans

A decade ago on 9-11, foreigners on American soil killed thousands of civilians in four horrific commercial airplane crashes.   Three days later New Yorkers rallied around the President as he promised to strike back at “the people who knocked these buildings down” and dared spill American blood.

Within weeks, the US government retaliated by invading Afghanistan.  Before the decade had ended, the US government, already expert in killing foreign civilians, had invaded two foreign countries and killed thousands more Afghan, Iraqi, Pakistani, and Yemeni civilians.  US troops still occupy Afghanistan and Iraq today, regularly attacking Pakistan and Yemen with drones: all in the name of “fighting terrorism” and “protecting our freedoms.”

Or so the US government would have us think.

The Terrified States of America

“Americans are asking ‘Why do they hate us?’

“They hate what they see right here in this chamber: a democratically elected government. Their leaders are self-appointed. They hate our freedoms: our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other.” - Then-President Bush in an address to a joint session of Congress on September 20, 2001, explaining why terrorists attacked Americans. 

After 9-11, there was little talk of federal regulations that prevented airlines and citizens from defending themselves on airplanes and helped the attacks succeed.  Instead the federal government and the media terrorized citizens with public talk of WMD and mushroom clouds.  Playing on those fears, the US government justified limiting the very freedoms it pretends to defend with:

• the PATRIOT Act
• the TSA
• the Department of Homeland Security
• seemingly endless undeclared and therefore un-constitutional wars
• Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo
• torture
• extraordinary rendition
• assassination lists.

The federal government bureaucracy grew in response to 9-11 and most Americans sat back  as the federal government listened to their phone calls, opened their mail, frisked them in public places without probable cause of criminal activity, and forced them to show their identity papers while traveling.  Most Americans are still sitting back.

“Targeted Kill” Lists Under Bush

"I can assure you that no constitutional questions are raised here. There are authorities that the president can give to officials.  He's well within the balance of accepted practice and the letter of his constitutional authority." - Then-national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice November 2002, after Bush administration killed US citizen Kamal Derwish with a Predator drone.[1]

Less than a week after 9-11, on Sept. 17, 2001, President Bush signed a classified directive authorizing the CIA to kill or capture suspected al-Qaida members and create detention facilities where suspects could be interrogated and tortured.[2]  The directive didn’t distinguish between foreigners and US citizens.  If the US government thinks a US citizen is a “terrorist threat” to the US, the government will imprison or execute that person without due process, despite their precious freedoms Bush would outline three days later in his September 20th address to Congress.  Bush also authorized a “kill list” of terrorist leaders to be executed by the CIA.   

One year after 9-11 in November 2002, the US government killed American terror suspect Kamal Derwish with a Predator drone in Yemen as “collateral damage” when it was targeting another person on the “kill list.”  Most Americans let their government kill an American without due process and without complaint.

“Targeted Kill” Lists Under Obama

"And he repeatedly called on individuals in the United States and around the globe to kill innocent men, women and children to advance a murderous agenda." – President Obama on the assassination of American citizen Anwar al-Awlaki

Our “constitutional scholar,” President Obama is no better than Bush when it comes to killing US citizens without due process.  Obama’s Director of National Intelligence in 2010, Dennis Blair, acknowledged that the US government would execute US citizens without due process in court if they were involved in terrorism.

In June 2010, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel under the Obama administration wrote a secret 50-page memorandum to rationalize its planned execution of US citizen Anwar al-Awlaki.[3][4]  And on September 30, 2011, the Obama administration announced the US had killed two American citizens in Yemen: Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan.[5][6]  Unlike Derwish, a US citizen killed during the Bush administration, the Obama administration intended to execute Awlaki, also a US citizen. 

Obama’s Press Secretary, Jay Carney, speaking of Awlaki’s execution, assured Americans that it was all legal (video), but repeatedly refused to state whether the Obama administration would supply any evidence even after the fact:

Carney: He was obviously also an active recruiter of al Qaeda terrorists, so, I don’t think anybody in the field would dispute any of those assertions.

Tapper (reporter): You don’t think anybody else in the government would dispute those assertions…?

Carney: I wouldn’t know of any credible terrorist expert who would dispute the fact that he was a leader in al Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula and that he was operationally involved in terrorist attacks against American interests and citizens.

Tapper: Do you plan on bringing before the public any proof of these charges?

…

Tapper: Can you show us or the American people?  Has a judge been shown?

Carney: Again, Jake, I’m not going to go any further than what I’ve said about the circumstances of his death.  And the case against him which you’re linking.

…

Tapper: Is there going to be any evidence presented?

Carney: I don’t have anything for you on that.

After their deaths, when the two men could not defend themselves against government accusations, anonymous government sources detailed the accusations against them which President Obama echoed.[9]

“Awlaki was the leader of external operations for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. In that role, he took the lead in planning and directing efforts to murder innocent Americans.” - President Obama [10]

According to Obama, Awlaki was an American “guilty of planning and directing efforts to murder innocent Americans.”  Doesn’t our system of government require that evidence must be given in a court of law before a final determination of guilt can be made? 

Assassination is not Due Process

“The precedent set by the killing of Awlaki establishes the frightening legal premise that any suspected enemy of the United States - even if they are a citizen - can be taken out on the President's say-so alone.  Part of the very concept of citizenship is the protection of due process and the rule of law.  The President wants to spread American values around the world but continues to do great damage to them here at home, appointing himself judge, jury, and executioner by presidential decree.” – Ron Paul writing in the NY Daily News, Oct 3, 2011

The fifth amendment was added to the US Constitution to protect individuals: no person shall “be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.”  The fifth amendment is one of ten in the Bill of Rights added to the Constitution to protect Americans from a too-powerful government.  The purpose of the Bill of Rights was to explicitly limit the powers of the federal government.  Everything in the Constitution is based on a mistrust of government—an expectation that those in power will tend to abuse their power. 

Today the unrestrained executive branch fulfills the worst expectations of those who wrote the Constitution:

• It has created an assassination list, where individuals are executed without due process.[11]
• Moreover, the evidence against those on the list is classified—a case of the fox guarding the henhouse as the American people are forced to trust the government to determine whether the government is breaking the law.

Sadly, most Americans forgo their fifth amendment rights as they willingly relinquish their liberties and trust the government.  “This is war,” they tell themselves.  But how can this be war if no war has been declared per the Constitution?

If this really is war, why did the Obama administration go to the trouble to write a secret 50-page memorandum by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel to attempt to justify its planned execution of Awlaki?

Ron Paul labeled the killings an assassination, warning Americans to beware of accepting government executions without due process.[12]  You didn’t have to search very long on your radio (45 minutes into this podcast) to find mouths that roared about “crazy Ron Paul” and how Awlaki was an “enemy combatant” and didn’t deserve any of his rights.  Would those same “mouths that roared” be calling Ron Paul crazy if he defended their first amendment right to freedom of expression if the government decided to take it away?

It’s a short step from accepting an undeclared, un-constitutional war, concentration camps, and government executions of American citizens without due process, to accepting the execution of Americans for other seemingly good and expedient reasons.[13]

Evidence of America’s Defeat

 

The evidence:

• submissive citizens in porno-scanners, hands up high, legs spread like prisoners, waiting for their jailers’ permission to move
• submissive parents standing by and watching as their children are molested by TSA agents
• the “land of the Free” as a surveillance state—if US troops overseas truly were fighting for our freedoms—and they’re not—they’d be losing the war[14][15][16]
• Americans cheering the murder of other Americans who oppose US government invasions and ignoring the murder of foreigners for the lies of the US government.

Over ten years ago on the night of 9-11, then-President Bush addressed the nation and predicted the victory of justice and peace over terrorism:

“This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace. America has stood down enemies before, and we will do so this time.”[17]

Bush was wrong.  In America, the terrorists won.

_______________________

[1] “Killing Americans: On uncharted ground in attack,” Matt Apuzzo, AP, Sept 30 2011, (Accessed at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/9873878 on Oct 1, 2011).

[2] “Timeline: History Of Harsh Interrogation Techniques,”Corey Flintoff, Apr 22, 2009, NPR, (Accessed at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103376537 on Oct 7, 2011).

The existence of this directive was discovered by an ACLU FOIA request.

[3] “Secret U.S. Memo Made Legal Case to Kill a Citizen,” By CHARLIE SAVAGE, NY Times, Oct 8, 2011, (Accessed at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/09/world/middleeast/secret-us-memo-made-legal-case-to-kill-a-citizen.html?pagewanted=all on Oct 9, 2011). 

[4] “Secret White House memo made case for legally killing Anwar al-Awlaki: Report,” BY Tina Moore, DAILY NEWS, Oct 8, 2011, (Accessed at http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2011/10/08/2011-10-08_secret_white_house_memo_made_case_for_legally_killing_anwar_alawlaki_report.html on Oct 9, 2011).

[5] “Anwar al-Aulaqi, U.S.-born cleric linked to al-Qaeda, killed in Yemen,” By Sudarsan Raghavan, Sept 30, 2011, Washington Post, (Accessed at http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/anwar-al-aulaqi-us-born-cleric-linked-to-al-qaeda-killed-yemen-says/2011/09/30/gIQAsoWO9K_story.html on Sept 30, 2011).

[6] “2nd American in Strike Waged Qaeda Media War,” By ROBBIE BROWN and KIM SEVERSON, NY Times, Sept 30, 2011, (Accessed at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/01/world/middleeast/samir-khan-killed-by-drone-spun-out-of-the-american-middle-class.html on Oct 5, 2011).

[7] “Al Qaeda's Anwar al-Awlaki killed in Yemen,” CBS/AP, Sept 30, 2011, (Accessed at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/30/501364/main20113732.shtml on Oct 7, 2011).

Government sources didn’t mention the Pentagon recruiting Awlaki when he dined at the Pentagon after 9-11 (video), nor his attendance at a prayer group for Muslims in Congress.[8][9]

[8] “EXCLUSIVE: Al Qaeda Leader Dined at the Pentagon Just Months After 9/11,” By Catherine Herridge, FoxNews, Oct 20, 2010, (Accessed at http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/10/20/al-qaeda-terror-leader-dined-pentagon-months/ on Oct 7, 2011).

[9] “Some Muslims Attending Capitol Hill Prayer Group Have Terror Ties, Probe Reveals,” By Jana Winter, FoxNews, Nov 11, 2010, (Accessed at http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/11/11/congressional-muslim-prayer-group-terror-ties/ on Oct 7, 2011).

[10] “Remarks by the President at the "Change of Office" Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Ceremony at Fort Myer, Virginia,” Sept 30, 2011, ” (Accessed at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/09/30/remarks-president-change-office-chairman-joint-chiefs-staff-ceremony on Oct 1, 2011).

[11] “THREATS AND RESPONSES: HUNT FOR AL QAEDA; BUSH HAS WIDENED AUTHORITY OF C.I.A. TO KILL TERRORISTS,” By JAMES RISEN and DAVID JOHNSTON, NY Times, Dec 15, 2002, (Accessed at http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/15/world/threats-responses-hunt-for-al-qaeda-bush-has-widened-authority-cia-kill.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm on Oct 11, 2011).

[12] “Ron Paul on Anwar al-Awlaki’s Demise: ‘I Think It’s Sad’,” The State Column, Oct 01, 2011, (Accessed at http://www.thestatecolumn.com/articles/ron-paul-on-anwar-al-awlakis-demise-i-think-its-sad/ on Oct 7, 2011).

[13] “Ron Paul: US could target journalists for killing,” By Philip Elliott, Associated Press, October 5, 2011, (Accessed at http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2011/10/05/ron_paul_us_could_target_journalists_for_killing/  on Oct 7, 2011).

[14] “Post-9/11, NSA 'enemies' include us,” By James Bamford, Sept 8, 2011, (Accessed at http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=CA0FDA14-61EA-4015-A80B-1F6D34C59183 on Oct 9, 2011).

[15] “Senate Approves Bill to Broaden Wiretap Powers,” By ERIC LICHTBLAU, NY Times, July 10, 2008, (Accessed at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/10/washington/10fisa.html?pagewanted=all on Oct 9, 2011).

[16] “Coming soon to a trash bin near you: The FBI,” By David Morgan, CBS, June 13, 2011, (Accessed at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/06/13/national/main20070845.shtml on Oct 9, 2011).

[17] “President Bush Speaks to the Nation,” PBS, Sept 11, 2001, (Accessed at http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/terrorism/july-dec01/bush_speech.html on Oct 7, 2011).

Remember

“We became the radical Islamist movement's most effective recruiting tool. We descended to its barbarity. We became terrorists too.” –Chris Hedges “A Decade After 9/11: We Are What We Loathe”

It’s the ten-year anniversary of the the horror of 9-11 and our federal government wants to be sure we remember.

World Trade Center September 11, 2001

But our federal government also wants to be sure we forget.

 

Victim of US Bombing

Our rulers want us to remember thousands dying in NYC, but hope we’ll forget our own federal government killing hundreds of thousands of innocents in Iraq with an embargo, thousands more in Iraq and Afghanistan with bombs and invading troops, hundreds of civilians in Libya (video) with bombs, and hundreds more in Yemen and Pakistan with unmanned drones.

Selective Memory

"There's a picture of the World Trade Centre hanging up by my bed and I keep one in my flak jacket. Every time I feel sorry for these people I look at that. I think, 'They hit us at home and, now, it's our turn.' I don't want to say payback but, you know, it's pretty much payback." –Spec. Michael Richardson, on duty with U.S. forces in Iraq

"Oh my God, they killed my kids...God may take revenge on them. They took everyone from me.” –Ata Mohammad, 60

Our rulers want us to remember the horror of 9-11.  They’re hoping you’ll think like Michael Richardson and Ata Mohammed, but ignore the fact that the US government killed Mohammad’s children.  Our leaders want us to support or at least forget:

• the un-Constitutional US invasion of Afghanistan, purportedly because the Taliban refused to extradite a former ally of the US against the USSR (video) [1][2]
• the un-Constitutional pre-emptive invasion of Iraq over a lie about WMD against a former ally of the US against Iran
• drone attacks in Pakistan and Yemen
• torturing prisoners in Abu Ghraib
• a concentration camp in Guantanamo
• the gruesome horror of war and what it does to innocent children who happen to be Moslems.

At home, our leaders want to keep us fearful so they can justify:

• unlawful imprisonment, torture, and abuse of American citizens by the federal government [3]
• extraordinary rendition of American citizens [4]
• the Department of Homeland Security (DHS): a bureaucracy of 22 agencies and nearly 200,000 employees, including the TSA, headed by Big Sis, that treats all Americans like criminals
• the USA PATRIOT Act, its continuing extension by Congress, and secret interpretations of the law by our government that citizens are not allowed to know about [5]
• the REAL ID Act requiring a national ID
• treating Americans like criminals to the point where travelers get their genitals groped at the airport
• requiring you to carry your papers when you travel
• roving bands of Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) who can rifle your bags at any time while you’re in an airport
• warrantless tracking of cell phones [6][7]
• banks, employers, and stores collecting even more information from, and about you, and reporting to the federal government
• the TSA checking you before you get on the bus or train.[8]

When America Was Freer

Our rulers want us to forget life before 9-11, a time when the federal government wouldn’t even consider doing what it now does with impunity.  Remember before 9-11:

• “Your papers please” was always said with a German accent in WWII movies as a reminder of the horrors of the militarism of Nazi Germany
• Torture was what the bad guys did.
• Spying on neighbors was something Hitler Youth did in Nazi Germany
• Your Fourth Amendment right to be secure in your person was still protected
• The federal government couldn’t listen in on your phone conversations without a warrant.
• The touching of a a child’s private parts by anyone but a licensed and practicing physician would have resulted in a punch to that person’s face by anyone within striking distance. 

Freedom Isn’t Free

“There would soon, however, be another reaction. Those of us who were close to the epicenters of the 9/11 attacks would primarily grieve and mourn. Those who had some distance would indulge in the growing nationalist cant and calls for blood that would soon triumph over reason and sanity. Nationalism was a disease I knew intimately as a war correspondent. It is anti-thought. It is primarily about self-exaltation. The flip side of nationalism is always racism, the dehumanization of the enemy and all who appear to question the cause.”  –Chris Hedges “A Decade After 9/11: We Are What We Loathe”

Gung ho supporters of the US invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan love the “freedom isn’t free” slogan and its implication that someone else has paid for our liberty with their lives.  The slogan is not only ironic, but misguided.  US government soldiers do not fight for our freedom in foreign countries.  All the liberties we’ve lost this last decade at the hands of the federal government should make people realize that the enemy of our liberty is not overseas.

The real price we pay for our freedom is by bearing the responsibility to exercise it when our leaders seek to take our freedom away from us.  Ask yourself:

• If the war in Afghanistan did not stop Osama bin Laden, who is now dead, why are US troops still there?[9]
• If there were no WMD in Iraq, why did the US government really invade that nation?

Pay the price for freedom.  Remember.

_______________________________________

[1] “This war on terrorism is bogus,” by Michael Meacher, 6 Sept 2003, The Guardian, (Accessed at http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2003/sep/06/september11.iraq on Sept 11, 2011).

[2] “WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE TALIBAN?” By Michael Rubin, Middle East Review of International Affairs, Vol 6, No. 1, March 2002, (Accessed at http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/2002/issue1/mrubin.pdf on Sept 11, 2011).

“The decision to arm the Afghan resistance came within two weeks of the Soviet invasion, and quickly gained momentum. In 1980, the Carter administration allocated only $30 million for the Afghan resistance, though under the Reagan administration this amount grew steadily. In 1985, Congress earmarked $250 million for Afghanistan, while Saudi Arabia contributed an equal amount. Two years later, with Saudi Arabia still reportedly matching contributions, annual American aid to the mujahidin reportedly reached $630 million.”

[3] “Analysis: Americans say mistreated by U.S., some courts listen,” By Basil Katz, Reuters, Sept 9, 2011, (Accessed at http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110909/us_nm/us_sept11_bivens on Sept 11, 2011).

[4] “Challenge to CIA renditions dismissed,” AP, Sept 8, 2010, (Accessed at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39067928/ns/us_news-security/#.Tm11o-xNLVo on Sept 11, 2011).

[5] “There’s a Secret Patriot Act, Senator Says,” By Spencer Ackerman, May 25, 2011, Wired, (Accessed at http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/05/secret-patriot-act/ on Sept 11, 2011).

[6] “FOIA Victory Will Shed More Light on Warrantless Tracking of Cell Phones,” by Mark Rumold, Sept 10, 2011, Electronic Frontier Foundation (Accessed at https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/09/eff-victory-forces-government-disclosure-court on Sept 11, 2011).

[7] “New Patriot Act Controversy: Is Washington Collecting Your Cell-Phone Data?” By Mark Benjamin, Time, June 24, 2011, (Accessed at http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2079666,00.html on Sept 11, 2011).

[8] “Surprise! TSA Is Searching Your Car, Subway, Ferry, Bus, AND Plane,” By Jen Quraishi, Jun. 20, 2011, (Accessed at http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/06/tsa-swarms-8000-bus-stations-public-transit-systems-yearly on Sept 11, 2011.

[9] “US 'planned attack on Taleban,” Sept 18, 2001, by George Arney, BBC, (Accessed at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1550366.stm on Sept 11, 2011).

More questions are raised here and here.

Intelligence Failure

Our Vision
A secure America, a confident public, and a strong and resilient society and economy.
Our Mission
We will lead the unified national effort to secure America. We will prevent and deter terrorist attacks and protect against and respond to threats and hazards to the Nation. We will secure our national borders while welcoming lawful immigrants, visitors, and trade. From Budget-in-Brief for Fiscal Year 2010, Department of Homeland Security[1]

On December 25, 2009, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was caught with its pants down when Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab set his own pants on fire. Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian traveling from Amsterdam, tried to bring down Northwest Airlines flight 253 and its 278 passengers by igniting an explosive in his underwear as the plane was on approach to Detroit.

This was a failure by the government to do the job it arrogated in 2002 with the creation of the DHS, which includes the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Despite an annual budget of $55 billion, its performance was an intelligence failure in the truest sense. It wasn't a failure to put enough people or money into detecting potential terrorists--the would-be assassin's own father had reported him to US embassy officials in Nigeria six months earlier:

"Nigeria's This Day newspaper cited family members as saying that the suspect's father, Umaru Mutallab, the retired chairman of First Bank in Nigeria, has been uncomfortable with his son's 'extreme religious views' and had reported him to the US embassy and Nigerian security agencies six months ago.

"The US government created a record on Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab last month in the intelligence community's central repository of information for known and suspected international terrorists, but there was not enough negative data to place him on a no-fly list, a US official said."[2]

It was a failure of intelligence analysis.[3] The CIA knew about Abdulmutallab, but his name never made it to the no-fly list.[4] The DHS could not have dropped its pants any lower unless DHS agents had driven Abdulmutallab to the airport and stopped to pick up his explosives on the way.

Who actually protected citizens against the terrorist attack? Who responded in a way that "prevented and deterred" a terrorist attack? The passengers on the plane. It was only after passengers subdued the would-be bomber and the danger had passed that the DHS sprang into action, harassing civilian bloggers with a subpoena for revealing "sensitive content" from a leaked TSA security directive. It was "the second time in a month that the TSA has found some of its sensitive airline security documents on the Internet."[5] Apparently the DHS makes a habit of getting caught with its pants down.

What the Department of Homeland Security Does For You

What exactly do Americans get from the DHS for $55 billion? Compared to the $700 billion TARP bailout for bankers, that's not much, so we probably shouldn't expect much.

At the time of the attempted bombing, the DHS was very busy fulfilling its version of its mission to "secure America." On December 25, 2009, "A Sampling of Current Initiatives" on the Homeland Security web site showed the DHS was busy securing the DHS bureaucratic empire. The lead item on its list describes the construction of a $650 million temple for the DHS:

"The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act contains $650 million to support construction of the Department's new headquarters, which will bring together components scattered geographically throughout the Washington area. As part of the same effort, the Department has begun consolidating over 40 leases in the National Capital Region, saving taxpayers $163 million over the next 30 years."

Today businesses operate effectively with multiple locations around the world, staying connected with computers and cell phones, but the DHS needs to "bring together components scattered geographically throughout the Washington area"? Spending $650 million to save exactly 25% of the total over the next 30 years? Who else but the federal government would spend $650 million to save $163 million?

As the DHS pretends to "secure America," the result of its most visible activity is that airplane travelers get to be searched and abused by TSA personnel. Some Americans might imagine that these airport security measures are a necessary part of a well-thought out plan by the DHS to prevent terrorism. They would be wrong. They are in fact, knee jerk responses to incidents in the past where the DHS was habitually caught with its pants down. Consider the past actions of our protectors:

• Shoe bomber Richard C. Reid tried to detonate PETN explosive in his shoes during an American Airlines flight in December 2001. The federal government now requires all human cattle to take off their shoes before boarding.
• Next, British authorities said they uncovered a plot to use liquid explosives, so we can't carry liquids onboard.[6]

Now the underwear bomber tries to detonate PETN explosives in his underwear, so our "protectors" are planning full body scans with millimeter-wave and backscatter X-ray scanners so they can see beneath our underwear in a "virtual strip search."[7][8][9][10][11] President Obama directed the DHS to speed the installation of $1 billion in advanced-technology body scanners at American airports and to work with international airports so that they upgrade their own equipment for use on passengers on US-bound flights.[12]

How would the DHS respond if terrorists adopt drug-running mule techniques and a terrorist tries to bring explosives on the plane in his rectal cavity? We may find out: according to CBS News, Abdullah Asiera, an al Qaeda member tried to kill a Saudi Prince in a Saudi palace:

"Taking a trick from the narcotics trade - which has long smuggled drugs in body cavities - Asieri had a pound of high explosives, plus a detonator inserted in his rectum."[13]

If the DHS continues to respond as it has after every new security incident, and pulling our pants down isn't enough, we might expect arbitrary on-the-spot rectal and vaginal exams.[14] Whatever the DHS response, we can be sure it will involve more abuse by the TSA; America is the "land of the free" only as long as you do what you're told, and only if you adopt the fatuous mindset of James Carville who, if told to jump, would ask: "Off what cliff?"[15]

The Real Intelligence Failure

"The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable." H. L. Mencken

Since 9-11, most Americans followed in lock step as the Bush (R) administration and Congress used that crisis as an opportunity to pass the Patriot Act, and create the TSA and the DHS to "protect" Americans. The massive increase in government bureaucracy and the resultant loss of American freedoms is Bush's baby. Now that President Obama (D) and secretary of DHS Janet Napolitano (D) are in charge, Bush supporters can look in a mirror for an idea as to how things got this way.

Each time the DHS gets caught off guard, it responds with excuses, and then calls for more "security" measures that treat air travelers like cattle. Americans are becoming conditioned to reflexively relinquish responsibility to our rulers without wondering why people are literally dying to kill them. Could it have anything to do with US foreign policy?

The "candidate for change" not only hasn't closed Guantanamo (they're moving it to Illinois instead), and is maintaining the status quo in Iraq, but he is increasing US military efforts in Pakistan and Yemen. In addition to directing the DHS to speed use of body scanners a week after the underwear bomber incident, President Obama threatened to widen the war in the Middle East by moving the fight to Yemen and "more than doubling" military aid to Yemen.[16]

The real intelligence failure isn't in government; the real intelligence failure is with Americans who relinquish their freedoms and responsibilities, and trust politicians to keep them safe.

____________________________________

[1] "Budget-in-Brief Fiscal Year 2010," US Department of Homeland Security, (Accessed at http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/budget_bib_fy2010.pdf on January 9, 2010).

[2] "Flight terror suspect Abdulmutallab charged with trying to blow up jet," James Sturcke, guardian.co.uk, 27 December 2009, (Accessed at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/27/us-terror-flight-abdulmutallab-charged on January 11, 2010).

The "system" knew about the underwear bomber in advance because they were told about him by the young man's father:

"The cable from the State Department outlining Mr. Abdulmutallab’s father’s warnings about his son was available to the N.C.T.C. officials who maintained the no-fly list, the report said. But the cable alone did not meet the minimum standard for Mr. Abdulmutallab to get on the list."[4]

[3] "Flight 235 (sic): This time, plenty of data but analysis failed," By LYNN SWEET, Chicago Sun-Times, January 8, 2010, (Accessed at http://www.suntimes.com/news/sweet/1980054,CST-NWS-sweet08.article on January 12, 2010).

[4] "Obama Details New Policies in Response to Terror Threat," By JEFF ZELENY and HELENE COOPER, NY Times, January 7, 2010, (Accessed at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/08/us/politics/08terror.html?th=&emc=th&pagewanted=all on January 9, 2010).

"Mr. Abdulmutallab, who has been linked to the Yemeni branch of Al Qaeda, came to the attention of the American authorities when his father went to the American Embassy in Nigeria last month to report that his son had expressed radical views before disappearing. The father, a respected retired banker, did not say his son planned to attack Americans but sought help locating him and bringing him home, United States officials said.

"After Mr. Abdulmutallab’s father asked for help, embassy officials from several agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency, met to discuss the case, officials said.

"Paul Gimigliano, a C.I.A. spokesman, said that was the first time the agency had heard of the young Nigerian. 'We did not have his name before then,' he said.

"The embassy sent a cable to Washington, which resulted in Mr. Abdulmutallab’s name being entered in a database of 550,000 people with possible ties to terrorism. But he was not put on the much smaller no-fly list of 4,000 people or on a list of 14,000 people who are required to undergo additional screening before flying, nor was his multiple-entry visa to the United States revoked.

“'It now appears that weeks ago this information was passed to a component of our intelligence community but was not effectively distributed so as to get the suspect’s name on a no-fly list,' Mr. Obama said of the father’s warning. 'There appears to be other deficiencies as well. Even without this one report, there were bits of information available within the intelligence community that could have and should have been pieced together.'"[5]

[5] "TSA subpoenas bloggers, demands names of sources," By Eileen Sullivan, Associated Press, Dec 30, 2009 (Accessed at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091231/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_airliner_attack_tsa_subpoenas on December 31, 2009).

[6] "British Authorities Say Plot to Blow Up Airliners Was Foiled," By ALAN COWELL and DEXTER FILKINS, NY Times, Published: August 10, 2006, (Accessed at http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/10/world/europe/11terrorcnd.html?fta=y&pagewanted=all on December 31, 2009).

[7] "Explosive on Flight 253 Is Among Most Powerful," By KENNETH CHANG, NY Times, Published: December 27, 2009, (Accessed at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/28/us/28explosives.html?_r=1&sudsredirect=true on December 31, 2009).

[8] "Debate Over Full-Body Scans vs. Invasion of Privacy Flares Anew After Incident," By JOHN SCHWARTZ, NY Times, Published: December 29, 2009, (Accessed at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/30/us/30privacy.html?th&emc=th on December 31, 2009).

[9] "Underwear Bomber Renews Calls for ‘Naked Scanners’," By Noah Shachtman, Wired Magazine, December 28, 2009, (Accessed at http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/12/underwear-bomber-renews-calls-for-naked-scanners/ on December 31, 2009).

[10] "New scanners break child porn laws," by Alan Travis, guardian.co.uk, 4 January 2010, (Accessed at http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/jan/04/new-scanners-child-porn-laws January 5, 2010).

"The rapid introduction of full body scanners at British airports threatens to breach child protection laws which ban the creation of indecent images of children...

"Privacy campaigners claim the images created by the machines are so graphic they amount to 'virtual strip-searching' and have called for safeguards to protect the privacy of passengers involved."

[11] "Child Porn Fears Block Under 18s From Full Body Scanners," Updated: 01- 5-10, Huffington Post, (Accessed at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/05/child-porn-fears-limit-fu_n_411769.html on January 5, 2010).

Scans of children under 18 have been banned in Great Britain.

[12] "Obama Details New Policies in Response to Terror Threat," By JEFF ZELENY and HELENE COOPER, NY Times, January 7, 2010, (Accessed at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/08/us/politics/08terror.html?th=&emc=th&pagewanted=all on January 9, 2010).

[13] "Al Qaeda Bombers Learn from Drug Smugglers," By Sheila MacVicar , CBS News, LONDON, Sept. 28, 2009, (Accessed at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/09/28/eveningnews/main5347847.shtml on January 4, 2010).

[14] "Fliers Complain About X-Rated Security Screenings," by Pam Zekman, CBS Chicago, Jul 22, 2008, (Accessed at http://cbs2chicago.com/investigations/xrated.security.screenings.2.777423.html on January 11, 2010).

[15] "Carville: Airport scanners can 'measure my penis'," January 8, 2010, by Christina Wilkie, The Hill, (Accessed at http://washingtonscene.thehill.com/in-the-know/36-news/1349-carville-airport-scanners-can-measure-my-penis on January 9, 2010).

[16] "Obama Says Al Qaeda in Yemen Planned Bombing Plot, and He Vows Retribution," By PETER BAKER, NY Times, January 2, 2010, (Accessed at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/us/politics/03address.html?th&emc=th on January 3, 2010).

Eric Margolis points out some of what US military aid to Yemen has already accomplished:

"In December, the Saudis, backed by US air power, CIA and special forces, intervened against Shia Houthi tribesmen along Yemen’s northern desert border. A semisecret US base in Djibouti is being used for attacks on Yemen, Somalia and Kenya.

"Just before the Detroit air incident, US warplanes killed 50–100 Houthi tribesmen fighting the American-backed regime. US Special Forces, warplanes and killer drones have been active since 2001, assassinating Yemeni militants and antigovernment tribal leaders. It was only a matter of time before Yemeni jihadists struck back at the US."[17]

[17] "Welcome, Americans, to Mysterious Yemen," by Eric Margolis, LewRockwell.com, (Accessed at http://www.lewrockwell.com/margolis/margolis175.html on January 5, 2010).