The Right Perspective:
Presidential Daily Briefing: National Security

Written by: Jamal Greene

 

In the wake of the Christmas Day terror attack, an attack that was more than 90% successful, the Terrorism of Ft Hood, and the escalation in terrorist activity all have given the Obama Administration, and the country, a fresh look at a determined enemy. The war against Islamic terrorism is a generational battle, much like that of the Cold War. And like the Cold War, this battle is a battle of ideals.

 

During the 40 years of the Cold War, the two great powers at the time, The United States and the USSR, engaged in a grand chess game as they sought to contain one another and the reach of the other’s ideology. The West, led by America, advocated the principles of Open and Free Markets, the Rule of Law, Inalienable Rights, and Democracy. The East, led by the Soviet Union (USSR), sought to advance its belief in Communism, Totalitarianism, and a control and command economy with no recognition of private property or natural rights. The United States won the Cold War thanks to Presidents like Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon, and, most importantly, Ronald Reagan. These leaders, like Churchill and his immediate distrust of Hitler, saw the vital threat posed by the Soviets and activity sought to stop their aggression wherever in the world it was a threat.

 

After the end of the Cold War, the world saw the rise of another foe possessed with a radical ideology and bent on world domination. This new adversary was different from those we had faced in the past. This enemy was stateless, but often state funded. Their beliefs have their genesis in a primitive form of Islam that, in recent years, has become more violent and radicalized.

 

President Clinton’s weak response to fighting terror and his failing to realize that these incidents were acts of
war, not crime scenes, set the stage for 9/11 and helped foster the proliferation of violent Jihad against the West.

 

The United States of America and its allies are engaged in a generational war against radical Islam, a war that we must win. It was during the Clinton Administration of the 1990s that we saw an increase in radical Islam throughout the world. In 1993, the World Trade Center was bombed by Islamic radicals and the US President, Bill Clinton, instead of responding to the attack as an act of war, responded with warrants and court trials. It is well documented that such a passive response to terrorist acts actually emboldens terrorists because there is nothing to compel them to fear the consequences of their actions. 1998 saw the bombings of two of our East African embassies, killing 233 people and wounding 4,085 and the American response was nothing of substance. In 2000, Islamists loyal to Osama Bin Laden bombed the USS Cole, a naval destroyer, and the response from the Clinton administration was to pass it along to the incoming Bush Administration. President Clinton’s weak response to fighting terror and his failing to realize that these incidents were acts of war, not crime scenes, set the stage for 9/11 and helped foster the proliferation of violent Jihad against the West.

 

In the following weeks and months after the 9/11 attacks on America, President Bush and his administration enacted unprecedented security measures to protect the American people at home and our interests abroad. In the aftermath of the worse terrorist attack this nation has ever seen, President Bush ordered an investigation into why our national security structure failed to stop the 9/11 attacks and then quickly moved to reinvent this nation’s security and intelligence capabilities. One of his first acts was to create the Office of Homeland Security in October of 2001, later to become the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2003, headed by former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge. The Purpose of the DHS was to consolidate 22 U.S. executive branch organizations related to homeland security into a single Cabinet agency. Bush also signed into the US Patriot Act, a law that greatly expanded US intelligence capabilities and opened lines of communication and sharing between the various Intel agencies. The President also created, in 2004, the office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the position of Director of National Intelligence, tasks with coordinating the Intel from all 16 US intelligence agencies and being the principle adviser to the President on matters of Intelligence.

 

The Bush Administration also expanded the National Security Agency’s domestic wiretapping program; a move that proved to be vital, but also controversial. In the past, before a person of interest was wiretapped, a court order had to be issued to authorize such a measure; however, the Bush Administration believed that it needed no such order to proceed with wiretapping of suspected terrorists. The Bush Administration believed that the President had the inherent power, granted by the Constitution under Article II and the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists act of 2001, to engage in warrantless wiretaps of suspected terrorist persons or affiliates. The Bush administration authorized enhanced interrogation methods of captured Jihadists that they believed had information vital to the nation’s security. One of the many fruits derived from enhanced interrogation was the information received from 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed; information that helped stop a 9/1- style plot on Los Angeles. There are internal Intel documents that detail the many successes of the enhanced interrogation program, but the Obama Administration refuses to declassify and release such documents because they understand that it would, once again, validate Bush’s approach to national security. Unfortunately, President Obama would rather be thought of as right rather than admit Bush’s success.

 

This new adversary was different from those we had faced in the past. This enemy was stateless, but often state funded.

 

One of the other controversial, yet vital policies initiated by the Bush Administration was the use of a naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (Gitmo) as a holding facility for suspected Jihadists or, more accurately, Unlawful Enemy Combatants. This move was considered by some to be a recruiting tool for radical Jihad after it was disclosed that some forms of detainee abuse occurred at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and Bagram air base in Afghanistan. However, this argument doesn’t stand up to the reality of the situation. If it is the Guantanamo Bay facility, as President Obama claims, that is a central recruiting tool for Islamic Extremism, then why did Jihadists hate us before 9/11 and Gitmo? Simple, they hate America’s relationship with Israel and our support of Arab states they deem Takfir or apostate. They hate America because it is a free and open society that respects a secular rule of law and acknowledges the inalienable rights of all its citizens to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

 

President Obama has a fundamentally different view of the world than President Bush, and most Americans for that matter. President Obama maintains what many call “a pre-9/11 mentality” with regards to the terrorism and US National Security. The President believes that for decades America has had an arrogant foreign policy and it is his job to dismantle the existing system and build another. Since taking office in January of ‘09, the President has sought to undo important aspects of our national security and defense, such as: issuing an order to close Gitmo and transfer prisoners to American soil; appeasing Communist Russia and abandoning missile defense in Eastern Europe; taking his eye off the ball in Iraq; pressuring Israel to negotiate extremists; allowing Iran to proceed with its Nuclear program; apologizing for America’s past, even though that past is responsible for the freedom of countless millions; and backing down to the Chinese on human rights, among other issues. This president has a serious lack of understanding of the complexities of the challenges this nation faces.

 

The United States and its Allies face a determined enemy; an enemy that is willing to fight to the death; to sacrifice, not only his own life, but also that of his children in order to defeat America and her ideals. This is a belief system that cannot be easily “negotiated” away because Islamists believe they are on a mission from God to cleanse the world of apostates and infidels. The current president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is one of such belief. He believes that God has charged him to bring about an apocalypse and, as of result of such chaos, the reappearance of the Mahdi or Islamic Messiah. It is a belief among those who adhere to Ahmadinejad’s version of Islam that the Mahdi will not return until his presence is warranted; meaning the world is in total chaos. The Iranian regime believes it can bring about such a situation if it is able to acquire nuclear weapons and use them. This is why talks with Iran are futile and, if not prevented by a force, Iran will acquire a bomb in 2010. If that happens, the world as we know it will never be the same. It is time for Americans to once again call a spade a spade, or in this case, a terrorist a terrorist. Jihadists cannot be negotiated with or catered to. They must be defeated, and it’s time for the American people to finally realize this and compel their elected officials to act before it’s too late. It is time for this President to understand the nature of the threat and defend America, as he promised, against all enemies, both foreign and domestic. The World truly is watching. Your move, Mr. President…

 

 

 

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