A group affiliated with global terrorist organization Al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the attempted bombing of a Detroit-bound airplane on Christmas day, a claim that U.S. intelligence experts say is valid.
Although let’s be honest, people, “U.S. intelligence?”
It obviously ain’t what it used to be …
Anyway, the group – “al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula” – says it attempted the bombing in retaliation for U.S. participation in an anti-terrorist offensive in Yemen. It claimed that the attack failed because of a “technical” problem. The alleged terrorist, a native Nigerian named Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, attempted to detonate a homemade bomb made of PETN (pentaerythritol tetranitrate) on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.
The device did not detonate due to a combination of dumb luck, Abdulmutallab’s incompetence and the intervention of nearby passengers on the plane.
Abdulmutallab, who claims to be the “first of many” such attackers, somehow got on board an airplane bound for America with the explosives – this despite billions spent by the government on enhanced security and terrorist identification systems, and despite specific warnings about his radical behavior that were communicated to the U.S. government by his father in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, a day after his administration was battered for its response to the attempted attack, U.S. President Barack Obama momentarily dropped his “Happy Norwuz” approach to foreign policy to offer some tough talk to the terrorists.
“We will not rest until we find all who were involved and hold them accountable,” Obama said during a break from his Hawaiian vacation. “This was a serious reminder of the dangers that we face and the nature of those who threaten our homeland.”
Yeah … it was also a serious reminder of how the expensive, intrusive counter-terrorism edifice American has erected in this post-9/11 era aren’t working.
Incidentally, six Yemeni nationals were “repatriated” from America’s enemy combatant detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, last week.
Wonder if they’ll be flying the friendly skies anytime soon?
By Liberty For Me December 29, 2009 at 11:25 am
HMMMMM…I hear all the neocons now.Lets bomb Yemen!!!Kill them all.
OK…Now explain how Obama supporters are going to back this after condemning Bush…Now explain how invading somewhere else is going to accomplish anything.So what did sacrificing thousands of American lives accomplish? Absolutely nothing..except impose pain to many families.
This is all such bullshit…when are people going to wake up??
By countryboy December 29, 2009 at 12:31 pm
O.K. Liberty for me, what would you do genius? Radical muslims are not going to stop trying to kill Americans, wherever they are in the world, including the United States. They have declared Jihad against America and they damn sure mean it. So you would not go after them and just let the organizations go, to recruit, grow and train? So what would you do when there are so many of them there are suicide bombers on airplanes, trains, cruise ships, at Walmarts and Malls in the USA and our transportation industry and possibly whole economy is crippled?
Your Jimmy Carter type pacifist thinking is what got the Islamic crazies rolling, when they took over the Embassy in Iran in the 70′s and Carter let it slide. They became less and less afraid of the USA as Blow Job Bill passed up numerous chances to capture or kill terrorists. Cutting and running after the “black hawk down” battle didn’t help either.
We can go after them overseas, or we can stop going after them overseas and try to stop them on our home soil later on. We can take military casualties overseas or we can take many more civilian casualties at home. Not a tough choice as far as I am concerned. I wish we never took a military casualty but at least they volunteer, they know what they are in for, they are trained for it, and it is their choice. Civilians blown up on an airliner don’t have a choice (except to stop traveling).
By Rick December 29, 2009 at 3:17 pm
So what is Obama gonna do????? The same thing he’s done in the past “apologise”, evidently the bomb was made of american parts and its our fault he couldn’t meet his virgins. Oh well, now that he’s she, she can meet Bubba….and be of some value.
By Liberty For Me December 29, 2009 at 6:49 pm
Country Boy..Come out of the hills and get a clue….
Have you ever seen the movie Braveheart??? If you were Scotland would you just sit back and let a country that has all the wealth invade and control your country for decades??? or would you do what you could to stop them so your children could live the life that your family chooses??
How is this complicated??..I guess we are sane and everybody but the U.S. and Great Britain are crazy.
I of course don’t sympathize with them and their tactics..But I am not so shallow that I cant understand how they could feel..
If we left everyone alone..they would do the same….
Keep a huge defense and have a sound security..Thats what I would do.Like I said,ours is a joke.Israel is right in the middle of this shit and they don’t get blown up…why is that??
If we left them alone..why would they mess with us???One good reason??
Oh yeah they are jealous of freedom…That has to be the dumbest thing ever stated by a politician.
By The BOSS December 29, 2009 at 7:52 pm
I would like to send them all to Yemen. Put them all in a cage so far as I’m concerned. They can practice their “peaceful” religion together! Maybe they can blow one another up! Who gives a crap! Send them all home. They are no longer welcome here!
By Liberty For Me December 29, 2009 at 8:53 pm
“Rising instability in Yemen has apparently caused U.S. drones to renew their hunt for al Qaeda. While this has made waves in the Arab press, I still haven’t seen it reported in Western media. An interesting question is whether the regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh can convince the U.S. to use the drones to provide him with intelligence on the northern Houthi rebellion, which poses an equally grave threat to his hold on power. If the U.S. weighs in on the side of Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government against the Iranian-supported Houthis, it will take the country another step closer to being embroiled in the proxy war everyone fears and expects it to become”…..
By Rick December 30, 2009 at 6:51 am
Seems we left Hitler and Tojo alone….WWII anyone?
By countryboy December 30, 2009 at 9:32 am
Rick your post was right on the money. Take a pacifist approach and leave people like Bin Laden alone and the next thing you know you are forced into a major war. Unfortunately we are forced into taking the lead in fighting terrorism as there are so many “allies” that want to stand on the side line or provide very limited assistance beyond their own borders (such as France, Germany, Italy, Japan, etc.). The jury is out on whether or not going into Iraq was the right thing to do but what we have done and are doing in Afghanistan (and Pakistan) is definitely right. Had we done nothing after 9/11 Afghanistan would now be one huge terrorist base. And in 8 years Al Queda might have developed the chemical and germ warfare weapons it was working on. Instead, the leaders are scurrying around from site to site like cockroaches trying to stay one step ahead of our military and CIA.
By Liberty For Me December 30, 2009 at 12:13 pm
OH..maybe now Iraq was a mistake….??
Maybe I should not have killed thousands of people who did nothing to me and was none of my business.Let me just take that back.Maybe we should call them and say..sorry I killed your son…or little baby.I am sure then they would not be mad any more
You people are tools…
In 1941 we were attacked by a foreign military..and we waged war.
What country attacked us??.What military attacked us?
This will be a perpetual thing until we quit messing with other countries issues..Israel can defend itself.Worry about solving our debt and quit wasting our money.
You people are the ones helping them destroy our country.Spending billions of dollars in the name of defending us from people with a hundred dollars with of explosives.When our dollar is worthless we wont be able to wage these things.But by that time we will be a third world country,starving in the streets…Then what are we going to do when we really need to defend ourselves from China or a real threat?
wake up people
By Pat Hendrix December 31, 2009 at 1:50 pm
If al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is bragging about a failed attempt, then I’m encouraged. These are some murderous scumbags but you have to marvel at their stupidity. I’m less convinced everyday they represent an existential threat. I mean really, two tards with a $200 rifle and a $600 Oldsmobile shutdown three states for two weeks and these guys are still trying to blowup planes with ballsack bombs.
By RGR December 31, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Liberty for me- The US is economically and militarily powerful and that allows you to live in a certain amount of comfort and peace. Unfortunately it is human nature that other people want to live in that same level of comfort and peace. Believe it or not there will ALWAYS BE PEOPLE THAT WANT TO TAKE THAT FROM US THROUGH FORCE. They don’t understand reason and logic and “playing nice.” If they want it, they will take it. This is a reality. These are people that are willing to put their kids on US artillery ranges so that they can carry the broken bodies to the gates of the nearest US base to collect a couple hundred dollars of compensation. I would love to see you sit down and talk with a couple of these guys, just reason with them a little. You talk a nice game about a fantasy world that doesn’t exist- unfortunately the US is so comfy and cozy now that Darwin doesn’t influence our society as heavily as he should and we end up with fruitcakes like you evolving. You are trying to impose these morals and values on a world full of people that consider them a sign of weakness. You don’t get to have it both ways- you can play nice or you can die. And if we get enough people voting your way, we all die.
Think about it Alice
By Liberty For Me December 31, 2009 at 4:27 pm
“RGR” So you are saying that terrorists attack us because we live in more comfort than them??? Is that right?They are a stupid people who have no logic or reason right?? So they want our money so they will take it with force??..
This is about comfort and money?and that is the reality….And you look down on them because they are so poor they will risk their lives to make a couple hundred dollars.
This is the points from what you have just said…
I dont understand how this makes any sense..You say I live in fantasy.
Please put into reality what you have said means and how we deal with it.
By Liberty For Me December 31, 2009 at 10:19 pm
RGR….Tell me where the signs are that they want my big screen TV…Oh,thats right.Thats the true agenda and its a secret.
Well,here is some more lies and fantasy world stuff about kids being killed…..
Your right though,it makes more sense that they are just jealous.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVkLpoo_mZI&feature=player_embedded
By RGR January 4, 2010 at 5:09 pm
Alright man,
The point is not that they want your big screen TV. The point is, they want the world to subscribe to their values. And if your big screen TV gets in the way of that, then they want to A) destroy it B) take it from you. Their idea of comfort and peace may be different from ours, in which case they will want to change how you do things.
I look down on them because they are willing to sacrifice their kids by putting them in American impact zones (well marked practice ranges, to clarify, not combat targets).
What I am trying to tell you is that no one is ever going to ignore the elephant in the room, just because it is only sitting there. We are the elephant in the room, period. If we weren’t, someone else would be. People are always going to go after the elephant, it’s just an opportunity that unfortunately will not go away.
And in case you are too dense to pick up on my metaphor- the “elephant” is the entity with the most power, and the room is the world. It is just a fact, no changing it, that someone somewhere is going to think “Hmm, who has it best right now?” and it will quickly follow “Hmm, if they have it best, that’s not fair.” and after that “Hmm, how do I get where he is?” and shortly after that, “Hmm, I am going to try and take it”. They don’t think, “Hmm, maybe I can work harder or ask nice and they will help me get there” and even if they do we don’t say “Hmm, let me give up my hard work and investment so this guy can benefit.” (Actually we do, I think we are number one in international aid.)
What I am trying to tell you is that changing our behavior isn’t going to change everyone elses- Look at your buddy Obama, I think it was shrewd that he tried to approach Iran, but it was completely ineffective from a results standpoint- we are back to sanctions and possible military action, just as we were with Bush.
So, accept the reality and decide to be the biggest baddest elephant and get yourself a really big stick while you are at it.
Or, we could let Darwin take care of it. Personally I choose to carry a big stick.
By Liberty For Me January 5, 2010 at 12:57 am
RGR… Your rambling is nonsensical..I am the farthest from a supporter of Obama or a fascist as yourself.I am for liberty for everyone.
When I was a dumb young republican,I thought T.R. was one of the greatest presidents.Now I know he was one of the leaders to bring forward socialist ideals.Quoting a socialist might make you feel patriotic.But you are still a fascist and an oppressor..You my friend are a lot closer to Obama than I ever will be.Your just too dumb to even start to comprehend what the hell I am talking about.Go wave a flag you tard.
By RGR January 6, 2010 at 2:34 pm
Liberty for me,
Not going to even try to debate you any more, you are too far out there. Speaking of dumb, you may want to refrain from escalating your insults as a mechanism of defense- doesn’t pinpoint you as real smart.