http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/wot-news/ en-us Mon, 4 Jan 2010 11:43:31 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420463/posts WASHINGTON -- First it was delu sion. Now it is denial. Let's just hope the Obama administration works through this vexing 12-step program they're in before al Qaeda decides to launch another attack. Last week, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano assured us that the "system worked" when Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab nearly blew up an American jetliner on Christmas Day with a bomb smuggled in his loin. And just when you thought "Big Sis" had easily retired the award for Biggest Turkey in the Global War on Terror, up steps John Brennan. NY Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420463/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 11:43:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420455/posts The Al Qaeda wing in Yemen claimed responsibility for the attempted bombing last week of a Northwest Airlines flight. The group, known as Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is the latest reincarnation of Islamist militant cells that have been active in Yemen for years. With an estimated 2,000 militants and sympathizers exploiting the country's economic and political chaos AQAP has created a powerful training and operations base, for jihad activities at the edge of the Persian Gulf and the Horn of Africa. The growth of Al Qaeda's wing in Yemen and its selection of high-profile targets are partly... Defense Update http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420455/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 11:30:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420453/posts Our terrorist enemies are out-thinking us. It's not only embarrassing, but deadly. The Taliban's latest innovation was on display again last week, when a suicide bomber, reportedly garbed in an Afghan army uniform, killed seven Americans, including a CIA mission chief. The terrorists are "inside the wire." Everywhere. From eastern Afghanistan to Texas. And we're stalled. For all of our wealth, technology and power, our enemies have the strategic and psychological initiative. The low-tech nature of most reported combat in our recent conflicts obscures the advent of four powerful innovations in warfare. Unfortunately, three of those revolutionary techniques belong to... NY Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420453/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 11:23:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420438/posts Last March, our newly installed Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano explained, in an interview with German magazine Der Spiegel, her vision for fighting what was formerly known as terrorism. By calling these now "man caused disasters," she explained, we would "move away from the politics of fear toward a policy of being prepared for all risks that can occur." "Our policies will be guided by authoritative information. We also have assets at our disposal now that we did not have prior to 9/11. For example, we are much better able to keep track of travelers coming into the U.S. than... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420438/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 09:20:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420429/posts It is a nefarious kind of 21st Century recycling - freeing terrorists from the prison at Guantanamo Bay so they can return home and plot new strikes on America. That's just what happened to Saeed Ali Shehri. A Saudi national freed for unspecified reasons from the America's Cuba-based lockup in 2007, he returned home, underwent a Saudi rehabilitation program - apparently with his fingers crossed - and has ended up as the second-ranking leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). From there, it appears his organization helped Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab plot his failed Christmas bombing of Northwest Flight 253.... Yahoo (Time) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420429/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 08:41:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420428/posts The Yemeni government ordered an "unprecedented" number of troops into a region controlled by a branch of Al Qaeda, as the U.S. and Britain, concerned about the threat of terrorism, both closed their embassies in the capital of Sana. The Obama administration increased the pressure on Islamic militants in Yemen Sunday after the Yemeni branch of Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for plotting the failed attempt to blow up Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on Christmas Day. The White House's top counterterrorism official didn't rule out U.S. military action. Yemen deployed troops into provinces east of the capital to combat a growing... Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420428/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 08:36:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420416/posts Al Qaeda hailed the failed Christmas Day airliner bombing over Detroit as a victory. They need all the victories they can get, as well as a new place to hide. Two years ago, there was an exodus of experienced al Qaeda personnel from Iraq to Pakistan and Afghanistan. But there they found the local Taliban openly hostile towards these foreign terrorists. There had been some recent battles between the Taliban and al Qaeda, in which hundreds of al Qaeda members had been killed. This was an old a problem with the al Qaeda foreigners, particularly the Arabs, who tended to... Strategy Page http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420416/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 06:57:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420409/posts President Obama's freshman-year foreign policy was the worst in living memory. At the dawn of 2010, the United States finds itself noticeably weaker in international affairs than it was when Mr. Obama took office, and there are no signs of improvement in the year ahead. Mr. Obama was elected with almost no national security experience, but he counted on two principle sources of leverage on the world stage: his personal charisma and the fact that he was not George W. Bush. The year began with much swagger and self-assurance, but the result was a foreign policy with the naive enthusiasm... The Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420409/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 06:33:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420401/posts Return to the Article January 04, 2010Is Obama Really at War with a 'Network of Violence'?By William Tate Unlike most folks, I believe that Barack Obama really was sincere when he said we are "at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred." Unfortunately, I think Obama secretly was referring to the Fox News Channel. Obama spent much of his first year in office firing salvos at his own perceived (as compared to the nation's very real) enemies: the few in the media who failed to genuflect to the MSM's new prophet. If his administration had confronted al-Qaeda... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420401/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 06:19:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420399/posts The failure to stop Nigerian Islamic terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, before he could attempt to blow up an airliner on Christmas Day, has caused a media uproar over the failure of the American counter-terrorism system. Various intel agencies have released, or leaked, details of who knew what and when about Abdulmutallab. He was turned in by his father, to the American embassy in Nigeria, a month before the attempted bombing. As a result, Abdulmutallab was placed on a "persons of interest" list, along with another half million people. Abdulmutallab was not placed on the "no-fly" list, nor did anyone check... Strategy Page http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420399/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 06:10:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420378/posts As Susan notes below, a bipartisan group of lawmakers is urging the Obama White House not to go forward with plans to send a number of Yemeni terrorists now being held in the Guantanamo Bay detention facility back to their home country. But the Obama White House insists it will continue to send those Gitmo inmates to Yemen -- a country now recognized as a hotbed of terrorism so dangerous that the U.S. has decided to close its embassy there. On Fox News Sunday, top White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan said the administration "absolutely" intends to keep sending Guantanamo... washingtonexaminer.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420378/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 05:01:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420375/posts WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama's plan to begin phasing out nuclear weapons has run up against powerful resistance from officials in the Pentagon and other US agencies, a US newspaper reported late Sunday. Obama laid out his vision of a nuclear-free world in a speech in Prague last April. But citing unnamed officials, the newspaper said the Obama administration is now locked in internal debate over a top-secret policy blueprint for shrinking the US nuclear arsenal and reducing the role of such weapons in country's military strategy. The Pentagon has stressed the importance of continued US deterrence, an objective Obama has... The International News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420375/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 04:52:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420330/posts The Royal Navy is facing a struggle for survival against a Treasury intent on cutting back on defence spending, a report warns today. The Royal Navy is now “smaller than it has ever been in its history but the demands upon the few remaining ships remain as high as ever,” says British Warships and Auxiliaries, an annual guide to the state of the Navy. With Afghanistan absorbing an increasing amount of resources, the Navy’s surface warship and submarine fleets look set to be the most vulnerable. “There are new ships coming through but the fleet has been pared back so... The Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420330/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 02:49:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420354/posts After the single most deadly day for the CIA since eight officers were killed in Beirut in 1983, an official tells the Daily Mail he's tired of the double standard: One day the President is pointing the finger and blaming the intelligence services, saying there is a systemic failure,’ said one agency official. ‘Now we are heroes. The fact is that we are doing everything humanly possible to stay on top of the security situation. The deaths of our operatives shows just how involved we are on the ground.’ But CIA bosses claim they were unfairly blamed at a time... Washington Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420354/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 03:37:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420349/posts Top Republicans said Sunday that President Obama has been distracted from the terrorism threat against the United States by his ambitious domestic agenda — health care, climate change, the economy — and one former Bush official said the president has let down the national intelligence community. Meanwhile, Mr. Obama's top counterterrorism adviser said there was "no smoking gun" in the attempted bombing of a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day, despite a slew of missed red flags, including the facts that the bomber paid cash for his ticket and checked in without luggage. "In this one instance, the system didn't work.... The Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420349/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 03:30:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420345/posts When Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill was trying to unseat incumbent Jim Talent in 2006, she frequently bashed President George W. Bush for being incompetent on terrorism. As she told NBC's Tim Russert, "This is not an administration that's ready to protect us." McCaskill argued throughout her campaign that Bush had made the nation more vulnerable to terrorism by invading Iraq, and she harped on the devastation of Hurricane Katrina as proof that Bush had left the nation susceptible to attack. McCaskill, who used a wounded Iraq veteran and a woman with Parkinson's disease in her ads attacking Talent for budget... Washington Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420345/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 03:25:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420334/posts Iranian media on Sunday reported Tehran will conduct a large-scale defensive military exercise next month, coinciding with what government officials now say is a deadline for the West to respond to its counteroffer to a nuclear-fuel deal. WSJ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420334/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 02:55:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420324/posts Translation: Armed Hamdan tribesmen of the northern Yemen al-Jawf province, stopped road maintenance and development, and blocked a tribal road, which links the provincial government compound to other provinces. Local sources said the armed tribesmen were protesting the stoppage of salaries of soldiers in the Yemeni army belonging to the tribe.The Yemeni Army security chief for Al-Jawf province, Brigadier Ahalivi Abed Rabbo, issued instructions to stop the salaries of soldiers in retaliation against Hamdan tribesman soldiers who hijacked a tanker belonging to the Yemen Economic Corporation and looting the cargo estimated at 5 million Riyals ($24,000).The Hamdan tribal security chief... al-Tagheer http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420324/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 02:36:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420300/posts President Obama returns to the White House Sunday night amid new questions about the effectiveness of our fight against terrorism. The failed terror attempt on a flight to Detroit raised new concerns about the response to the threat. When the President leaves the island paradise of Hawaii, he'll come back to questions about who is to blame for the terrorist near miss on an airliner in Detriot and even more questions about what's being done now to keep the nation safe. The Christmas Day terror attempt is bringing flashbacks to post 9/11 frustration: warning signs existed, but weren't pieced together.... WJLA-TV 7 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420300/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 01:36:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420278/posts Want to learn how to build something destructive like a bomb, steal something, cheat somebody or buy something dangerous or become a terrorist? It's easy. Just turn on your computer. There is ample evidence to back up those who contend that the Internet is a major contributor to the terrorist movement, linking impressionable young men and women on the cusp of radicalization with those already there and increasing the possibility of them ultimately turning into everyone's worst nightmare — the freelancer who is difficult to discover until it is too late. The air disaster averted over Detroit the other day,... Scripps Howard News Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420278/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 00:48:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420263/posts Sen. Charles Schumer said Sunday that airlines based in the United States should threaten to stop flying to airports with lax security. AP/ABC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420263/posts#comment Mon, 4 Jan 2010 00:13:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420244/posts In the days after Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's failed attempt to kill himself and bring down Northwest Flight 253, the story followed a familiar pattern. First, there were the daily revelations of what various intelligence and other government agencies didn't do with what they had already known about Abdulmutallab's behaviour and associations: from his father's effort to alert US officials about his son's radicalisation, to Abdulmutallab's cash purchase of a round trip ticket and his checking in for the flight without luggage - both "red flags" that should have warranted secondary airport screening. As the full picture emerged, it became clear... The Gulf Daily News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420244/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 23:11:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420226/posts Congratulations on an outstanding job, Osama. You masterfully pulled the strings, and the most powerful nation in the world jumped. You caused turmoil in major airports around the world on the busiest travel day of the year, cancelling and delaying thousands of flights. Now we discover that there is a new place to hide explosives as we scurry around to devise solutions. Passengers go through a pre... Passengers go through a pre-flight security screening at Ben-Gurion Airport. Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski [file] Creating havoc at airports will divert our attention from your real targets. Perhaps our fragile electricity grid? Or our... Jerusalem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420226/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 22:37:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420194/posts <p>Washington (CNN) – The man once charged with overseeing the CIA’s hunt of Osama bin Laden said Sunday that the threat posed by al Qaeda is greater now than at the time of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks that bin Laden orchestrated.</p> CNN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420194/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 21:27:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420159/posts Barack ObamaÂ’s Vulnerabilities Will Get Us All Killed Erick Erickson January 2, 2010 “At the end of the first year of Barack Obama’s administration, there’s something moving in the shadows of Mount Doom. It wasn’t there while George Bush was in charge.” Within twenty-four hours of the terrorist trying to blow up the plane, the White House was giving briefings by a “Senior Administration Official” who most likely was Obama, Axelrod, or Jarrett, pointing out that the terrorist watch list was created by the Bush administration.Then the White House Counsel’s Office sent out a memo demanding any and all documentation... Red State http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420159/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 20:34:40 GMT