The incompetence of Janet Napolitano as secretary of homeland security can be clearly seen in her statement that the “System Worked” after the December 25, 2009 attacker's concerned father had warned U.S. authorities about his son's jihadist tendencies. The would-be bomber paid cash and checked no luggage on a transoceanic flight. He was nonetheless allowed to fly, and would have killed 288 people in the air alone, save for a faulty detonator and quick actions by a few passengers. Had your loved one’s been on that plane and the plan had worked how competent would you be rating the competence of our homeland security secretary?
*The War in Iraq is in its sixth year and has resulted in the loss of 4000 American military lives. To put this in perspective, during that same time we have lost 36,000 American teenagers' lives on the roads and highways due to traffic accidents.
*Any president who does not regard this threat as transcending all others does not deserve to sit in the White House, for he or she does not take seriously enough the first and most basic duty a president has — to protect the lives of the American people. The argument is that those who want to leave too soon are leading us down a course that would eventually draw us into a wider and more difficult war that would entail far greater dangers and sacrifices than we have suffered to date.
*There does not seem to be enough condemnation of terrorist acts by the Muslim community. Also important is the direct or indirect assistance terrorists receive through the silence of their fellow Muslims. There is no way terrorists can carry on their operations, obtain explosive materials, run terrorist training camps and raise money without the knowledge of other Muslims, whether they're government officials, bankers, family members, friends or neighbors. Because those millions of peace-loving Muslims do not speak out and expose terrorists, or more fully cooperate with domestic and international authorities trying to stop terrorists, they become enemies of the West just as the peace-loving people in Germany, Italy and Japan became enemies of the Allied powers during World War II. Like them, Muslims should be prepared to suffer the full might of the West in its efforts to fight terrorism. I'm hoping that the millions of peaceful Muslims take the proper action to avoid such an outcome. We're involved in a clash with a culture that has little regard for the Western values that hold the sanctity of human life and liberty dear.
*Witnesses told a Senate committee chaired by Sen. Joseph Lieberman that the risk of a nuclear attack on U.S. cities has grown in the past five years due to the spread of nuclear technology and the growth of a global terrorist movement. Do you feel your children are safer than they were five years ago? Are our political leaders doing what they need to to keep us safe?
*What happens if we pull out of Iraq? Most likely scenarios: Iran moves into the vacuum and takes over Iraq? What if Al Qaeda takes advantage of the American absence and sets up a permanent base and sanctuary. What if hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who used to work with us start to be killed as happened when we left Vietnam? What if the Iraqi oil falls in Iranian hands, sending prices even higher.
*Al-Ajmi is one of at least 30 former Gitmo detainees who have resumed terrorist activities as part of the Taliban or al-Qaida, despite signing pledges at the time of release to renounce violence.
*If Politicians applied the same principles they are attempting to apply in Iraq to public education or welfare we would have withdrawn 50 years ago.
Napolitano’s key accomplishment to date is to renames terrorism "man-caused disasters."
Any government can through laxity let someone slip through the cracks. But a government that refuses to admit that we are at war, indeed, refuses even to name the enemy -- jihadist is a word banished from the Obama lexicon -- turns laxity into a governing philosophy.