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Merge the ‘Terror’ Lists to Prevent the Next Attack

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  January 4th, 2010 at 12:11 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

Great piece by Jed Babbin over at Human Events today.

It would be satisfying — and manifestly just — for President Obama to fire Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.  She abjures the “politics of fear,” and prefers the term “man-caused disasters” to the word “terrorism.” And it was her risible reaction to the failed Christmas Day attack (“the system worked”) that redundantly proved her unfit for her job.  

And it would be satisfying — and equally justified — for Obama to remove Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair from his bureaucratic aerie.  Blair’s job — a layer of dysfunctional supervision over the entire intelligence community — is to ensure intelligence is gathered, analyzed and applied.  Which is obviously not being done.

But the problem is not just Napolitano or Blair. It’s their boss, and the costly bureaucratic maze that’s been created around airline security.  Obama wants to treat terrorists as civilian criminals. And we’ve burdened ourselves too much since 9-11.  It’s time to shift the burden.

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  • izoneguy

    DHS Plans to Catch Only One in Four Travelers Committing ?Major? Criminal Violations While Entering U.S. on International Fights in 2010

    http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/59213

    We have a major war going on right on the Mexican border.
    It spills over into America. The terrorists are taking advantage of that hole right there. Air travel is just one area the terrorists exploit. What about all the goods that arrive in container ships? That is wide open.
    What about the ports and the refineries? Again the terrorists are using mis-direction and accomplished that goal with one young kid…..

  • Ausonius

    One must understand BIG BRObama’s philosophy: America has committed too many crimes throughout the years, and deserves retribution.

    Because of its past support of Israel, it is America’s fault that the Islamic world hates it, and so he decides to punish American airlines and their customers, rather than napalm-bombing terrorist areas in Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, etc. A wave of small atomic bombs to collapse certain cave areas in Afghanistan and Pakistan should have happened under W. Bush.

    Blame the victim: “What did you do to make him hit you?”

  • Ausonius

    One must understand BIG BRObama’s philosophy: America has committed too many crimes throughout the years, and deserves retribution.

    Because of its past support of Israel, it is America’s fault that the Islamic world hates it, and so he decides to punish American airlines and their customers, rather than napalm-bombing terrorist areas in Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, etc. A wave of small atomic bombs to collapse certain cave areas in Afghanistan and Pakistan should have happened under W. Bush.

    Blame the victim: “What did you do to make him hit you?”

  • http://www.veronicaestrada.com/ Veronica Estrada
  • http://www.ssce.net/Web-Articles/Web-articles-indexed-authors.html#authors-l JLenardDetroit

    Obama has been in Office longer than Bush was on 9/11 yet the “connect the dots” rhetoric is toned down by the MSM (actually rightfully so, to some degree as there was semi-DIRECT WARNING from the Father and no real dots to have to bother to connect with this guy) as the Finger pointing, as long as it is away from the lack of Leadership and/or concern for protecting America and Americans, goes on as yet another distraction.

    It is about time we are going to FULLY scrutinize ALL folks coming from particular Nations, and that it has to be done from a Democrat administration or we’d here all those Police State and Civil Liberties cries. This is a step in the right direction as to finally recognizing that the “biggest” (but not complete or sole) threat actually comes from and being on gaurd for it. It will, of course, not stop it all as they will move to alter their tactics to counter the counter-measures.

  • Swamp_Yankee
  • denniswayne

    Improving/reforming/consolidating/coordinating the lists would be a definite improvement. So would reducing layers of bureaucracy. But more fundamental is the underlying culture and incentives which drive the behaviors in the intelligence community and law enforcement. Over at National Review former CIA chief Woolsey identifies the root problem as “an epidemic of political correctness”. Good read here:

    http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=OTVhYzQwM2Q4YTlhNzFjZjM2NjU5M2YyOTdjZTU1ODM=

  • http://www.ssce.net/Web-Articles/Web-articles-indexed-authors.html#authors-l JLenardDetroit

    I’ve heard it either way and (frankly) not often in my “circles” ;-) … but it seems better (more accurately descriptive, pun/fun value as well as catchiness, IMO) than “underwear bomber” as he wasn’t wearing Pink Frilly Panties or (loosey whitey?) boxers. Pants bomber, as many were first calling it, wasn’t really right. Now, Michelle Malkins “Crotch bomber” ain’t all bad either for its “rude” pun catchiness – which is (hearing her comments) what really prompted the “skidmark” thoughts leading to the other, potentially less offensive/rude but, little more catchy phrase.

  • snowshooze

    rebelyankee

    Illinois

    TEACHER ARRESTED IN NEW YORK – A public school teacher was arrested today at John F. Kennedy International Airport as he attempted to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a compass, a slide-rule and a calculator. At a morning press conference, the Attorney General said he believes the man is a member of the notorious Al-Gebra movement. He did not identify the man, who has been charged by the FBI with carrying weapons of math instruction. ‘ Al-Gebra is a problem for us’, the Attorney General said. ‘They derive solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on tangents in search of absolute values.’ They use secret code names like ‘X’ and ‘Y’ and refer to themselves as ‘unknowns’, but we have determined that they belong to a common denominator of the axis of medieval with coordinates in every country. As the Greek philanderer Isosceles used to say, ‘There are 3 sides to every triangle’. When asked to comment on the arrest, President Obama said, ‘If God had wanted us to have better weapons of math instruction, he would have given us more fingers and toes.’ White House aides told reporters they could not recall a more intelligent or profound statement by the President. It is believed that the Nobel Prize for Physiques will follow.
    Monday, January 4, 2010 at 7:12 AM

  • http://twitter.com/JoeKenHa joekenha

    That would be common sense.

    Common sense is too much to ask from these people.