Wising up about our enemies

Jewish World Review ^ | Sept. 16, 2003 | Stanley Crouch

[SJackson]

The seemingly comical story of James McKinley, who mailed himself home to Texas from the Bronx in an airborne crate, ceases to be amusing when we really think about it. Imagine if he were a terrorist: McKinley would have successfully gotten to the belly of the plane. Strapped down with explosives, he could have flown into the arms of Allah in a gory, murderous blaze.

Those terrorists comfortably hiding in America because law enforcement has gotten virtually no help at all from that small sea of Arabs in which they swim, must have bitten their knuckles and slapped their foreheads in anger at having missed an opportunity that may never present itself again.

This brings us to a very uncomfortable reality. One of the reasons we are not safe is that those in charge are not making sure that we are. Not enough money has been allocated for homeland security, for the beefing up of the personnel necessary to do the job that looms before this nation. We talk of war, but we don't act as though we are in the middle of one.

Those who do the jobs on the ground are either not as attentive as they should be or are not imaginative enough to second-guess an enemy whose greatest weapons include being underestimated and being willing to die.

Please note that after Islamic terrorists tried to bring down the World Trade Center in 1993, authorities decoded the computer of one of the culprits who was captured in the Philippines and got the specifics of what eventually became 9/11. The project was called "Operation Jumbo" and entailed hijacking passenger planes in the Far East and flying them into the World Trade Center buildings.

[CobaltBlue]

The project was called "Operation Jumbo" and entailed hijacking passenger planes in the Far East and flying them into the World Trade Center buildings.

I don't think so. Maybe he means "Bojinka."

[Maria S]

"Not enough money has been allocated for homeland security, for the beefing up of the personnel necessary to do the job that looms before this nation. We talk of war, but we don't act as though we are in the middle of one."

Baloney! This sounds like talking points right out of Hillary Clinton's mouth. Like saying we're not spending enough on education. Enough money is being spent; it's HOW that money is being managed, and what a sorry state the management is in.