http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/terrorism/ en-us Sun, 3 Jan 2010 03:31:44 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2419814/posts Yesterday Newsweek revealed that on December 22nd, three days before the attempted underwear bombing, the President was warned that an attack might be imminent. In a background briefing for reporters on December 29, also attributed in an official White House transcript to a "senior administration official", that official asserted that in the wake of the attempted underpants attack, it had become clear to the President and top advisers that before Christmas, the US government was in possession of "bits and pieces" of information, which, if they had been properly knitted together, "could have...allowed us to disrupt the attack or certainly... Newsweek/The Lid http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2419814/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 03:31:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403499/posts How does earnest MSNBC polemicist Rachel Maddow expect anyone to take her seriously when she doubts al Qaeda still threatens American lives? It took Susan Rice, US ambassador to the United Nations for the most leftward presidency since LBJ, to remind Maddow that al Qaeda's deadly intent is not "hypothetical." Preceding Rice's appearance on Maddow's show Dec. 2 was this observation from Maddow about the Bush Doctrine, as enunciated by Bush at West Point in June 2002. Newsbusters.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403499/posts#comment Wed, 9 Dec 2009 05:20:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419750/posts Like the Nigerian bomber Umar Abdulmutallab, the Saudi minister's would-be assassin, Abdullah Hassan Tali' al-Asiri (al Qaeda-styled Abu Khair), who did not survive the attack, used explosives hidden in his underwear to fool the prince's bodyguards. He won an audience with the prince by posing as an informant, the same trick used by the Taliban suicide bomber to penetrate a US base and kill 7 CIA agents and a US soldier last month. This emerging prototype was missed by US intelligence experts. Obama, who has called a meeting of US security agency chiefs for Tuesday, Jan. 5, cannot expect serious... Debka http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419750/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 00:39:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2419665/posts By now, you've no doubt read of the interesting circumstances that surround the attempt to blow up Flight 253. The underwear bomb. The secretive videotaper. The masterminds being released from Gitmo in 2007, who then went through an arts-n-crafts "rehab" facility in Saudi Arabia. It all sounds so ridiculous. The most imaginative acid-droppin' screenplay author would struggle to come up with such a whacked-out plot line. I, myself, found it utterly unfathomable. So I gathered a team of investigators to travel with me to Saudi Arabia to find out the real truth. (This also explains the lack of posts lately:... Innominatus http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2419665/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 20:35:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419601/posts "Big Sis" Janet Napolitano reassured nervous Americans not to worry -- Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's attempt to blow up Northwest Flight 253 did not indicate a larger terrorist plot. In an effort to respectfully restrain from jumping to conclusions, the Homeland Security Secretary refused to confirm whether Abdulmutallab had a connection to al-Qaida. Less than twenty-four hours later, Napolitano reconsidered her statement, admitting that maybe Abdulmutallab "should not have been allowed on the airplane." Napolitano said, "What I would say is our system did not work in this instance [emphasis mine] -- no one is happy or satisfied with that."... American Thinker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419601/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 18:30:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419576/posts In his weekly radio address yesterday, President Barack Obama patted himself on the back for having "refocused the fight - bringing to a responsible end the war in Iraq, which had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks". He then told people to remember that "our adversaries are those who would attack our country, not our fellow Americans", before decrying "fear and cynicism" and "partisanship and division" - the code phrases for horrid Republicans used during his 2008 election campaign. Complacency, faux moralising and partisan shots at Republicans. It was a neat summary of where Obama is going wrong after... London Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419576/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 17:50:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419568/posts The Pantybomber wasn’t the big joke. We are. On Christmas Day, a gentleman from Nigeria succeeded (effortlessly) in boarding a flight to Detroit with a bomb in his underwear. Pretty funny, huh? But the Pantybomber wasn’t the big joke. The real laugh was the United States government. The global hyperpower spent the next week making itself a laughingstock to the entire planet. First, the bureaucrats at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) swung into action with a whole new range of restrictions. Against radical Yemen-trained Muslims wearing weaponized briefs? Of course not. That would be too obvious. So instead they imposed... NRO http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419568/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 17:29:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419561/posts The Transportation Security Administration has launched an internal investigation after a security checkpoint at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport was left unattended and unsecured for 90 minutes earlier this month. Three agents have been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation. The agency said the agents left the checkpoint at Gate E8 from 8:30pm to 10pm on Dec. 16. Personnel from the airport's Department of Public Safety discovered the gate was not secure during a routine patrol, the TSA said. The New Media Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419561/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 17:20:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419547/posts A Somali man has been charged with trying to kill a Danish artist whose drawing of the Prophet Mohammed sparked riots around the world. The suspect, who was shot by police outside cartoonist Kurt Westergaard's home in the city of Aarhus on Friday, was carried into court on a stretcher. Police say he broke into the house armed with an axe and a knife. The suspect, who denies the charge, was remanded in custody. Police say he has links with Somali Islamist militants. The radical al-Shabab group in Somalia hailed the attack. Al-Shabab spokesman Sheikh Ali Muhamud Rage told AFP... BBC News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419547/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 16:52:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419520/posts (CNN) -- President Obama pledged Saturday that the United States will hold accountable all of the individuals involved in the failed Christmas Day terrorist attack aboard a U.S.-bound jetliner. "All those involved in the attempted act of terrorism on Christmas must know you, too, will be held to account," Obama said in his weekly address. Obama also recently spoke with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to receive an update on a federal review of "detection capabilities and ... enhanced security measures" put in place since the attempted bombing. A new Transportation Security Administration directive requires airlines to physically pat down... CNN.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419520/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 16:01:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419514/posts HONOLULU -- President Barack Obama drew a direct link Saturday between an al Qaeda group and a foiled attempt to blow up a U.S.-bound airliner on Christmas Day. In his Saturday morning radio address, Mr. Obama went further than he has in previous statements on the attack to connect the extremist group with the Dec. 25 attack. He pledged to work with officials in other nations to combat terrorism, including Yemen, where officials believe Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian accused of trying to destroy Northwest Flight 253, was schooled in terrorist techniques. "We know that he traveled to Yemen, a... Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419514/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 15:46:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419507/posts Here is video of President Obama giving his Weekly Address, which he used to talk about the Christmas Day Terrorist Attack attempt, and his broader strategy to combat Al-Qaeda. Obama admits and confirms that Al-Qaeda was behind the attempted attack. Obama said Abdumutallab was trained and equipped by Al-Qaeda in Yemen. The President said he is taking steps to further strengthen our relationship with the Yemeni Government. It is interesting that Obama called Americans to come together behind his strategy and not "give in to partisanship and cynicism." This is coming from a President who sits in the White House... Freedom's Lighthouse http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419507/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 15:24:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419454/posts A federal customs and border protection official confirms a second passenger from Northwest Flight 253 was handcuffed and searched after a police dog reacted to his baggage, according to the Detroit News. Officials originally denied the incident despite repeated accounts by witnesses who said they saw a man get questioned and led away in handcuffs.... Fox News.Com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419454/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 13:44:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2419476/posts How much puzzling did President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton do when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran rebuffed them? Remember how liberal Democrats claimed the world hated the US because of President Bush and then tossed up the canard that 911 was the result of Bush’s power projection? Barely eight months in office President Bush hadn’t even visited Israel yet by September 2001 let alone stirred the hornet’s nest in the Middle East. He didn’t visit Israel until 2008; in fact prior to his election in 2000 there were questions whether he would be pro-Israel at all. Iran... The Publius Forum http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2419476/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 14:33:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419401/posts Why body-scan a family jetting to Disneyland? Once again the vulnerability of air travel to terrorism has been exposed. The existing measures deployed for passenger security at airport security points didn’t stop the Christmas Day airline bomb plot suspect who had explosives sewn into his underwear. The archway metal detector can, after all, only detect metal. Unsurprisingly, the knee-jerk reaction of many governments is to order more full-body scanners. They can, in the hands of expert operators, identify a host of substances and items concealed beneath clothing. But it would be a grave error to use this technology to screen... London Times Online (U.K.) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419401/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 11:41:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2419388/posts I missed the implications of this up front and I bet you all did too, but I am hearing from members of the American intelligence community and some on the outside closely connected to those on the inside who are raising a huge red flag right now. It appears Barack Obama inexperience and amateurishness has just started bonfires on the bridges connecting him to the American intelligence community and delivered a huge, HUGE psychological win to Al Qaeda. People tell me the President’s rush to acknowledge the attack on the CIA in Afghanistan and mourn the deaths openly, publicly, and... Red State http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2419388/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 09:10:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419338/posts Danish police have shot and wounded a man at the home of Kurt Westergaard, whose cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad sparked an international row. Mr. Westergaard was at home Aarhus when a man broke in and threatened him. He pressed a panic button and police entered the house and shot the man. Danish police said the intruder was a 28 year-old Somali linked to the radical Islamist al-Shabab militia....... BBC News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419338/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 04:32:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2419337/posts It had become clear to the President and top advisers that before Christmas, the US government was in possession of "bits and pieces" of information, which, if they had been properly knitted together, "could have...allowed us to disrupt the attack In response to the post Northwest flight 253 Janet Napalitano critics, Democratic strategists asserted that President Barack Obama "has been far more aggressive in fighting al Qaeda" than the previous administration . In an e-mail this afternoon to supporters -- which incidentally excoriated Republicans for politicizing the attempted bombing of Flight 253 -- the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) stressed... Newsweek/The Lid http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2419337/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 04:29:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2419334/posts It had become clear to the President and top advisers that before Christmas, the US government was in possession of "bits and pieces" of information, which, if they had been properly knitted together, "could have...allowed us to disrupt the attack In response to the post Northwest flight 253 Janet Napalitano critics, Democratic strategists asserted that President Barack Obama "has been far more aggressive in fighting al Qaeda" than the previous administration . In an e-mail this afternoon to supporters -- which incidentally excoriated Republicans for politicizing the attempted bombing of Flight 253 -- the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) stressed... Newsweek/The Lid http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2419334/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 04:19:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419306/posts President Barack Obama received a high-level briefing only three days before Christmas about possible holiday-period terrorist threats against the US, Newsweek has learned. The briefing was centered on a written report, produced by US intelligence agencies, entitled "Key Homeland Threats", a senior US official said. The senior Administration official, who asked for anonymity when discussing sensitive information, said that nowhere in this document was there any mention of Yemen, whose Al-Qaeda affiliate is now believed to have been behind the unsuccessful Christmas Day attempt by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to bring down a transatlantic airliner with a bomb hidden in his... Newsweek http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419306/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 02:44:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419236/posts Danish police shot and wounded a 27-year-old man trying to enter the Aarhus home of Kurt Westergaard, who drew controversial cartoons of Islam's prophet Mohammed, Danish media reported http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419236/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 23:54:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419210/posts Obama leads the hunt for terrorists. You Tube http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419210/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 23:07:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419205/posts From the time he launched his campaign for president three years ago, Barack Obama had to consider how he would react to the first serious act of terrorism during the campaign, or if he won, on his watch. His fellow Democrats had been thinking about the moment even longer - since the September day in 2001 when attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon defined George W. Bush’s presidency and gave Republicans a decisive advantage on a defining political issue. Politico http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419205/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 22:54:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2419188/posts Its not a secret that the liberal/progressive part of American politics has a "softer" image of terrorism than the rest of us. For example, January 2004, when then Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean was asked how we should deal with bin Laden. Dean explained we shouldn't prejudge the issue until a jury had rendered a verdict at the end of a criminal trial. As Andrew McCarthy, who successfully prosecuted the first World Trade Center bombing case has said, rather than respond with vigorous force to protect the homeland, the liberal response was to "swaddle terrorists in the rights of... UK Telegraph/The Lid http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2419188/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 22:29:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419138/posts Republican Sen. Jim DeMint, who has been the target of much Democratic criticism for his efforts to slow down Senate confirmation of Erroll Southers, the Obama White House's nominee to head the Transportation Security Administration, now says Southers should not be confirmed. Washington Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419138/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 20:56:52 GMT