PAM MEISTER: OBAMA’S SHAMEFUL HANDLING OF NATSEC
Obama’s Shameful Handling of National Security Issues
Posted By Pam Meister
The year 2009 has not been a stellar one for Barack Obama. It ends on a particularly sour note with the attempted bombing [1] of Northwest Airlines Flight 253 by a Nigerian jihadist. A jihadist, whom we recently learned, may not have been alone on that flight [2].
Homeland Security head Janet Napolitano has taken a lot of heat, and rightly so. It took her three days to admit [3] that airline security failed in this case. She’s incompetent and should do the honorable thing and step down. And if she doesn’t, she should be fired. But what about her boss? You know, the guy who appointed a governor [4] whose handling of the illegal alien issues in her state was not without concern? The buck stops in the Oval Office. Why did he leave her twisting in the wind for so long? HDTV viewers likely could see the sweat oozing out of her pores as she dodged and weaved reporters’ questions.
Meanwhile, the would-be bomber warns [5] that there are “more like me†coming to America. But I shouldn’t be so cynical. Maybe they’ve heard about the desire by some in Washington to grant amnesty to illegal aliens and are just trying to cash in on the American dream.
When Bush dropped the ball on Hurricane Katrina by “flying over†the immediate aftermath, the press raked him over the coals for weeks and months afterward. A jihadist with explosives tucked into his tighty whities makes it through airline security and is only stopped from blowing up a plane over Detroit by his own bumbling and the passengers who tackled him, and it takes Obama three days to speak to the American public? As Jerry Seinfeld might say, “What’s up with that?†We know he isn’t camera shy: before he even took office, he set a record [6] for press conferences as president-elect, and he had quite a few in 2009. He was certainly quick to denounce [7] a white Cambridge police officer for arresting a black Harvard professor when he “didn’t have all the facts.â€
When he did finally make a public statement [8], it was pretty much boilerplate: ordering a review of security procedures and a promise to get the bad guys. All with the trademark “cool†that made him so different than his predecessor. Sorry, but “cool†isn’t what we need right now. We need someone who’s willing to fight.
As my friend Mark said in an email over the weekend:
BO is on vacation in Hawaii and I guess too busy to send a statement to the world that bombing a U.S. airliner is unacceptable and the parties responsible would be hunted and killed (or at least given a stern talking-to — after being Mirandized). If any other president — including Clinton — had not held a press conference on this, the press would have gone ballistic.
It happened on his vacation, sure. Crises don’t take a holiday when the president does. But that’s no excuse for taking so long to say a few words. Yet the press gives him a pass. Again. Are they really so invested in his “success†that they can’t legitimately criticize him on an issue that is vital to all of us?
Had Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab been successful, remember: that plane wasn’t just full of conservatives. I’m sure there were some liberal Democrats on board, along with plenty of Europeans who are supposed to be among Obama’s biggest fans. National security is about all Americans and those who legally come to visit or live here. It’s not some partisan game. It’s not just something that Bush “started†and will stop now that he’s been replaced by someone who, by the power invested in himself, will “restore†our standing in the world.
Okay, I’m getting a little hysterical here. I apologize. But when is national security going to become a priority for Obama? His agenda does not seem to include a serious take on national security; it’s all about remaking the country in his Marxist image. He’s more concerned about taking over the health care system and bringing the capitalist system to its knees. The jihadists know it. After all, this is a guy who has no problem sending hardened jihadists to a prison in Illinois [9] and sending other “detainees†back to the hotbed of jihad in Yemen [10].
The new year is just around the corner, with celebrations planned for all four corners of the world. Is something big about to happen? If it does, will the crisis be too good to waste?
The first year of Obama’s presidency is like the proverbial train wreck: passersby are horrified by the carnage, but can’t help craning their necks for a second look. Just take a gander [11] at the acts of jihad that have happened in America and around the world over the past year. These guys aren’t kidding. They will continue on their mission until they are successful or until they are stopped.
Does Obama have what it takes to stop them? I hate to say no, but that’s what it looks like from my little corner of the world. And it’s damn scary.
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