Day: January 8, 2010

Will It Be Just Talk?

After the failed attempt by the Nigerian “crotch bomber” and the obvious breakdown of US intel….the president went on TV after the report was declassified and made his pitch to the American people….he used more catch phrases like….”it is not about partisanship, but rather citizenship”……cute and easily understood by mental midgets….at least he took the rap for the breakdown…that was a bit refreshing…..but was in NO way substantive……it was just a ploy for the audience…..

Things are gonna change!  At least that is what I heard him say….and what did he say precisely:

Obama announced about a dozen changes designed to fix that, including new terror watch list guidelines, wider and quicker distribution of intelligence reports, stronger analysis of those reports, international partnerships and an interagency effort to develop next-generation airport screening technologies.

Extra air marshals — one of the additional layers of security ordered for air travel — will add to the more than 4,000 already in the system, officials familiar with the classified strategy said. Obama has also called for enhanced screening technology to detect explosives and other dangerous materials terrorists could try to sneak onto an airplane.

While Obama promised improved security, however, his solutions were laced with bureaucratic reshuffling.

All in all…..ya think?…….some of this is just talk…….my fav is the air marshalls…..back in the 70’s the program was started because of the rash of airline hijackings around the world….but the program was cut and cut deeply….and then after 9/11 the program was started up again and almost immediately cuts began….and now we will play the game again….how long before it is cut again in the pursuit of a balanced budget?

Air Marshalls?  A good idea in the 70’s….a good idea after 9/11…..and it is still a good idea……all that does not mean that it will become a reality……a case could be made that if the program had been kept and funded that 9/11 may NOT have happened……

May I suggest one more tactic that needs to be tried?  Shut the f*ck up!  All those politicians that are trying to make political clout out of any attack is not doing the country any favors……this political divisions is doing the job for the terrorists and in doing so are making the country less safe….something they accuse their opponents of doing….to make money, campaign funds, off of any attack is in itself an act of terrorism…..why?……they are empowering the terrorists to continue their attacks…..enough said?

Nukes Make Headlines (Again)

Just when we thought the threat of a nuke war was becoming only a memory we have a newsflash that should wake up the country….

In an article written by Andreas Peter:

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev announced that his government intended to develop a new generation of nuclear weapons. Medvedev’s statement came in the midst of ongoing and thus far unsuccessful negotiations with the US over the signing of a new treaty that would replace the recently expired START-I agreement on nuclear weapons.

This change to the country’s nuclear policy, which is similar to revisions made by the US to its military doctrine under the Bush administration, is part of a broader effort by Russia to both strengthen its armed forces and increase their profile in the international arena.

Also in December, the upper house of the Russian Duma, the Federation Council, passed a resolution giving the president broad powers to authorize the use of force outside the country’s borders without recourse to parliament. According to a December 10 article in the Jamestown Foundation’s Eurasia Daily Monitor, President Medvedev can now “send troops into action abroad anywhere, anytime; decide on the size of force, specify the enemy, with no legal restraints or limitations, ‘to defend the interests of the Russian Federation and its citizens.’”

This move is widely seen as providing the Kremlin with the legal basis to pursue military action akin to that which it took in August 2008 during its war with Georgia over the contested region of South Ossetia. At that time, taking advantage of the opportunity given to it by provocations orchestrated from Tbilisi, Russia entered Georgian territory, routing Georgian forces.

I have said that there indications that the Cold War was not won…it just took a break for awhile….I have also predicted a confrontation this year between the US and Russia…..both things look like I was in a correct mind when I said them….Just a thought…..

Is Yemen In The Crosshairs?

The dumbass that tried to light his drawers on fire to ignite a crotch bomb was trained in Yemen or was working in Yemen or was pass through Yemen or….well it is Yemen that is at fault for part of the situation……one of my predictions for 2010 is that Yemen will become more volatile and people like that turncoat Lieberman is making all too easy for me….

Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), who leads the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, shared his vision of “tomorrow’s war.””Somebody in our government said to me in Sana’a, the capital of Yemen, Iraq was yesterday’s war,” Lieberman explained. “Afghanistan is today’s war. If we don’t act preemptively, Yemen will be tomorrow’s war. That’s the danger we face.”

Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA), also appearing on the program, seemed to agree, calling an attack against Yemen “something we should consider.”

“Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan — the Army officer who killed 13 people in a shooting rampage at Fort Hood in November — was linked to Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical Muslim cleric now based in Yemen,”

Even the Secretary of State has weighed in on the situation in Yemen:

Hillary Clinton’s comments came ahead of news on Tuesday that the US had reopened its embassy in Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, closed days earlier in response to what it said were al-Qaeda threats.

“Obviously, we see global implications from the war in Yemen and the ongoing efforts by al-Qaeda in Yemen to use it as a base for terrorist attacks far beyond the region,” she said.

It seems that all the Hawks in Congress and Washington are yelling for something to be done in Yemen….Yemen the NEW site for the War on Terror?

But what does Yemen have to say about all this talk about attacks?

Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi has a message for the Obama Administration, even as it seems to be shoring up plans to launch additional military strikes into the country: keep the combat troops out.

Qirbi says that Yemen would welcome additional American military trainers into the country as it fights not only a growing al-Qaeda faction but also a pair of civil wars, but says the Yemeni government does not want ground troops.

Will the US heed the warning?  We have shown, in the past, that we care little what others want, we will do what we want….if the is evidence that the majority of AQ is working in Yemen, do we do what we have said and pursue and attack them NO matter where they hide?  If so, what will that produce as far as the War on Terror goes?