Over the last seven years, any proposals to adjust U.S. tactics in this "war on terror" were met, for the most part, with ridicule. The Bush Administration and Republican Congress argued that proponents of new strategies clearly didn't understand the issues, were understating the threat or, just plain delusional. Various alternatives in mitigating the terrorist threat were raised, such as Middle East policy reviews, or less emphasis on military tactics and more on policing and intelligence, Those suggestions were, for the most part, greeted with derision.
It's a testament, I suppose, to the Bush Administration's power to influence that they could, despite demonstrating minimal results with their stategies, still control the debate. The Bush White House developed a strategy to invade a country that had no al Qaeda presence and turned it into a hot bed of jihadism. Despite over 4,000 American lives, tens of thousands wounded and a couple trillion dollars spent, terrorism attacks throughout the world rose year after year. Some track record.
So, the news today that the election of Barack Obama has al Qaeda in some kind of defensive panic is like a dream come true.
The torrent of hateful words is part of what terrorism experts now believe is a deliberate, even desperate, propaganda campaign against a president who appears to have gotten under al-Qaeda's skin. The departure of George W. Bush deprived al-Qaeda of a polarizing American leader who reliably drove recruits and donations to the terrorist group.
With Obama, al-Qaeda faces an entirely new challenge, experts say: a U.S. president who campaigned to end the Iraq war and to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and who polls show is well liked throughout the Muslim world.
...the change in Washington appears to have rattled al-Qaeda's leaders, some of whom are scrambling to convince the faithful that Obama and Bush are essentially the same.
The Post article notes as President Obama began this last week to dismantle controversial Bush Administration policy the al Qaeda verbal attacks on the President "have become sharper, more frequent and more clearly aimed at Muslim audiences".
It's gratifying that something so simple as electing a new American president with a more grounded view of the Middle East could throw al Qaeda into a panic and worried about whether they can continue to recruit Muslims to their murderous cause.
How cool is that?
Comments
It is sad you believe Obama has "a more grounded view of the Middle East". We will never win this fight using our rules. It can only be done using the terrorists rules. To bel;ieve anything else is naive.
You are a naive fool.
You are making up "facts" to justify electing another naive fool.
Remember, there were no attacks after September 11, 2001...........under PRESIDENT Bush.
I couldn't disagree more. At the point we no longer can decide how we fight and adopt terrorist rules, we completely blur the line between us and them.
And, at that point, the terrorists have won.
Mitch - what "facts" did I make up? By the way, the time between U.S. attacks was longer under Bill Clinton. (Feb. 26, 1993 to Sept 11, 2001). And if your defense of the Bush Administration is that his team ONLY allowed three jumbo airliners to be hijacked and crashed, killing 3,000 Americans, that's some pretty weak tea.
I don't think it's the simple change of presidents which has made the difference. The deciding factor is the person who has taken on the mantle of the presidency...one Barack Hussein Obama. An intelligent, moral, and rational individual who believes in diplomacy. Having President Obama as our leader is a testament to our true beliefs of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. As President Obama said during his inaugural speech, "We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals." And in doing so has shown the world that we are not the monsters we've been painted to be these past 8 dreadful years.
His name is muslim. Simply that woud help our cause.
The President also gave indication that he is sympathetic to the Palistinians health and infrastructure, as well as Isreals. That's a big change. The rally for terrorist causes will be decreased exponentially, as compared to the past when Muslim volunteers were so huge in numbers that the radical organizations were "turning people away".
In my opinion, George Bush was the perfect man to rally terrorists.
(I feel like I can say that without worry.)
How cool is that? Well Obama is pretty cool for al-Qaeda's interests. When your main war aim, like al-Qaeda's, is bankrupting the U.S., what could better than Mr. Obama and his party. When you are fighting an America that refuses to use its full military power, what could be cooler than Obama dismantling the most effective U.S. counterterroism operation -- rendition, Gitmo, black sites? And when your theme for the Islamic world is that America is Israel's lackey and assigns zero value to Muslim lives, what could be better than Obama's silence during the Gaza war and his appointing as his chief of staff a man who abandoned America to serve Israel during the 1991 Gulf war? If al-Qaeda is "freaking" it is with sheer delight over how easy America is being defeated.
M.F. Scheuer
Falls Church, VA
"the time between U.S. attacks was longer under Bill Clinton. (Feb. 26, 1993 to Sept 11, 2001)"
So you are not counting:
USS COLE
U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam
A bomb outside a U.S. air force installation in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
Clinton treated terrorism as a law enforcement issue and see where that got us huh?
You STILL give zero credit to Bush and Cheney for keeping the US soil free from Islamic terrorism for 7 years?
Are you REALLY that intellectually dishonest?
"Having President Obama as our leader is a testament to our true beliefs of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"
I just threw up in my mouth reading that BS. What a pile of dung that thought is.
Give me a break. Al Qaeda frightened by O'Bamam. Not likely. They're probably chomping at the bit waiting for O'Bama to cut our military and reduce the U.S' ability to put terrorists in jail.
Jay said "the time between U.S. attacks was longer under Bill Clinton. (Feb. 26, 1993 to Sept 11, 2001)"
You too have to give up the Kool Aid Jay.
Lets look at the Islamic terrorist attacks on Americans during Clinton.
Attempted Assassination of President Bush by Iraqi Agents, April 14, 1993: The Iraqi intelligence service attempted to assassinate former U.S. President George Bush during a visit to Kuwait. In retaliation, the U.S. launched a cruise missile attack 2 months later on the Iraqi capital Baghdad. Attack on U.S. Diplomats in Pakistan, March 8, 1995: Two unidentified gunmen killed two U.S. diplomats and wounded a third in Karachi, Pakistan.
Kashmiri Hostage-taking, July 4, 1995: In India six foreigners, including two U.S. citizens, were taken hostage by Al-Faran, a Kashmiri separatist group. One non-U.S. hostage was later found beheaded.
Jerusalem Bus Attack, August 21, 1995: HAMAS claimed responsibility for the detonation of a bomb that killed 6 and injured over 100 persons, including several U.S. citizens.
Attack on U.S. Embassy in Moscow, September 13, 1995: A rocket-propelled grenade was fired through the window of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, ostensibly in retaliation for U.S. strikes on Serb positions in Bosnia. Saudi Military Installation Attack, November 13, 1995: The Islamic Movement of Change planted a bomb in a Riyadh military compound that killed one U.S. citizen, several foreign national employees of the U.S. government, and over 40 others. Tamil Tigers Attack, January 31, 1996: Members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rammed an explosives-laden truck into the Central Bank in the heart of downtown Colombo, Sri Lanka, killing 90 civilians and injuring more than 1,400 others, including 2 US citizens. Athens Embassy Attack, February 15, 1996: Unidentified assailants fired a rocket at the U.S. Embassy compound in Athens, causing minor damage to three diplomatic vehicles and some surrounding buildings. Circumstances of the attack suggested it was an operation carried out by the 17 November group.
HAMAS Bus Attack, February 26, 1996: In Jerusalem, a suicide bomber blew up a bus, killing 26 persons, including three U.S. citizens, and injuring some 80 persons, including three other US citizens.
Dizengoff Center Bombing, March 4, 1996: HAMAS and the Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ) both claimed responsibility for a bombing outside of Tel Aviv's largest shopping mall that killed 20 persons and injured 75 others, including 2 U.S. citizens.
West Bank Attack, May 13, 1996: Arab gunmen opened fire on a bus and a group of Yeshiva students near the Bet El settlement, killing a dual U.S./Israeli citizen and wounding three Israelis. No one claimed responsibility for the attack, but HAMAS was suspected.
Zekharya Attack, June 9, 1996: Unidentified gunmen opened fire on a car near Zekharya, killing a dual U.S./Israeli citizen and an Israeli. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) was suspected. Khobar Towers Bombing, June 25, 1996: A fuel truck carrying a bomb exploded outside the US military's Khobar Towers housing facility in Dhahran, killing 19 U.S. military personnel and wounding 515 persons, including 240 U.S. personnel. Several groups claimed responsibility for the attack. Sudanese Rebel Kidnapping, August 17, 1996: Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) rebels kidnapped six missionaries in Mapourdit, including a U.S. citizen, an Italian, three Australians, and a Sudanese. The SPLA released the hostages 11 days later. Red Cross Worker Kidnappings, November 1, 1996: In Sudan a breakaway group from the Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA) kidnapped three International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) workers, including a U.S. citizen, an Australian, and a Kenyan. On 9 December the rebels released the hostages in exchange for ICRC supplies and a health survey for their camp. Empire State Building Sniper Attack, February 23, 1997: A Palestinian gunman opened fire on tourists at an observation deck atop the Empire State Building in New York City, killing a Danish national and wounding visitors from the United States, Argentina, Switzerland, and France before turning the gun on himself. A handwritten note carried by the gunman claimed this was a punishment attack against the "enemies of Palestine."
Israeli Shopping Mall Bombing, September 4, 1997: Three suicide bombers of HAMAS detonated bombs in the Ben Yehuda shopping mall in Jerusalem, killing eight persons, including the bombers, and wounding nearly 200 others. A dual U.S./Israeli citizen was among the dead, and 7 U.S. citizens were wounded. Yemeni Kidnappings, October 30, 1997: Al-Sha'if tribesmen kidnapped a U.S. businessman near Sanaa. The tribesmen sought the release of two fellow tribesmen who were arrested on smuggling charges and several public works projects they claim the government promised them. They released the hostage on November 27.Murder of U.S. Businessmen in Pakistan, November 12, 1997: Two unidentified gunmen shot to death four U.S. auditors from Union Texas Petroleum Corporation and their Pakistani driver after they drove away from the Sheraton Hotel in Karachi. The Islami Inqilabi Council, or Islamic Revolutionary Council, claimed responsibility in a call to the U.S. Consulate in Karachi. In a letter to Pakistani newspapers, the Aimal Khufia Action Committee also claimed responsibility. Somali Hostage-takings, April 15, 1998: Somali militiamen abducted nine Red Cross and Red Crescent workers at an airstrip north of Mogadishu. The hostages included a U.S. citizen, a German, a Belgian, a French, a Norwegian, two Swiss, and one Somali. The gunmen were members of a sub-clan loyal to Ali Mahdi Mohammed, who controlled the northern section of the capital. U.S. Embassy Bombings in East Africa, August 7, 1998: A bomb exploded at the rear entrance of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, killing 12 U.S. citizens, 32 Foreign Service Nationals (FSNs), and 247 Kenyan citizens. Approximately 5,000 Kenyans, 6 U.S. citizens, and 13 FSNs were injured. The U.S. Embassy building sustained extensive structural damage. Almost simultaneously, a bomb detonated outside the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing 7 FSNs and 3 Tanzanian citizens, and injuring 1 U.S. citizen and 76 Tanzanians. The explosion caused major structural damage to the U.S. Embassy facility. The U.S. Government held Usama Bin Laden responsible.Shell Platform Bombing, June 27, 1999: In Port Harcourt, Nigeria, armed youths stormed a Shell oil platform, kidnapping one U.S. citizen, one Nigerian national, and one Australian citizen, and causing undetermined damage. A group calling itself "Enough is Enough in the Niger River" claimed responsibility. Further seizures of oil facilities followed. Burmese Embassy Seizure, October 1, 1999: Burmese dissidents seized the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, taking 89 persons hostage, including one U.S. citizen.
Need more?
www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/pubs/fs/5902.htm
Jeez, talk about Kool Aid. You take the list and cut it off at the inauguration of President Bush? As if nothing happened after that?
I can do the same thing:
September 11, 2001, New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania, United States. During a carefully coordinated attack, 19 Islamist extremists hijacked four U.S. jetliners and forced them to crash into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. In all, 266 people perished in the four planes, and more than 3,000 people were killed on the ground. U.S. investigators determined on the basis of extensive evidence that Usama bin Ladin's al-Qaida group was responsible for the attack. The first plane, American Airlines Flight 11 en route from Boston to Los Angeles, crashed into the World Trade Center's north tower at 8:48 a.m. Eighteen minutes later, United Airlines Flight 175, also headed from Boston to Los Angeles, smashed into the World Trade Center's south tower. At 9:40 a.m. a third airplane, an American Airlines Boeing 757 that left Washington's Dulles International Airport for Los Angeles, crashed into the western part of the Pentagon where 24,000 people worked. The fourth plane, a United Airlines Flight 93 flying from Newark to San Francisco, crashed near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, most likely before it could hit its target. Hundreds of firefighters, police officers and other rescue workers who arrived in the site after the first plane crash were killed or injured.
November 4, 2001, Jerusalem, Israel. Shoshana Ben-Yishai, 16, of Queens, NY was killed in a shooting at a bus station. U.S. citizen injured: Shlomo Kaye.
December 2, 2001, Jerusalem, Israel. Bombing on Ben-Yehuda Street, Jerusalem. U.S. citizens injured: Ziv Brill, 17, of West Hempstead, Long Island, NY, Temima Spetner, 19, of St. Louis, MI, Jason Kirshenbaum of New Rochelle, NY, Israel Hirschfield, 18, Joseph Leifer, 29, of Borough Park (Brooklyn), NY.
December 18, 2001, shooting on the Jerusalem-Shilo road. U.S. citizens injured: David Rubin, 44, of Brooklyn, NY, Asher "Ruby" Rubin, 3.
January 15, 2002, Bethlehem, West Bank. Avraham Boaz, 71, of New York, a dual Israeli-American citizen, was kidnapped at a PA security checkpoint in Beit Jala and murdered.
January 18, 2002: Shooting in Hadera. U.S. citizen killed: Aaron Elis, 32, son of Chicago family.
January 22, 2002: Shooting in Jerusalem, Israel. U.S. citizen injured: Shayna Gould, 19, of Chicago, IL
January 27, 2002, Jerusalem, Israel. A Palestinian woman triggered a massive explosion in downtown Jerusalem killing one elderly Israeli and injuring more than 150, including American Mark Sokolow, his wife, and 16 and 12-year-old daughters. Sokolow had earlier survived the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center, escaping from his law office on the 38th floor of the South Tower before it collapsed.
February 8, 2002, Jerusalem, Israel. Stabbing in Abu Tor Peace Forest Jerusalem. U.S. citizen killed: Moranne Amit, 25
February 15, 2002, near Ramallah, West Bank. Lee Akunis was shot to death.
February 16, 2002: Bombing in Karnei Shomron. U.S. citizens killed: Keren Shatsky, 14, of Brooklyn, NY and Maine, Rachel Thaler, 16, of Baltimore, MD. U.S. citizens injured: Lior Thaler, 14, of Baltimore, MD, Hillel Trattner of Chicago, IL, Ronit Yucht Trattner of Chicago, IL, Chani Friedman of New York.
February 19, 2002: Shooting near Neve Dekalim. U.S. citizens injured: Moshe Saperstein of New York.
February 25, 2002, Jerusalem, Israel. Moran Amit, 25, was stabbed to death in Abu Tor Peace Forest in Jerusalem.
March 7, 2002, Eshel Hashomron Hotel, Ariel, Israel. A Christian tourist from Arkansas lost her right eye in an attack by a suicide bomber.
March 21, 2002, Jerusalem, Israel. Bombing on a Jerusalem street. U.S. citizens injured: Alan Joseph Bauer, 37, of Chicago, Yonathon Bauer, 7 (dual U.S.-Israeli citizenship).
March 24, 2002, Ofra, Israel. Shooting near Ofra. U.S. citizens killed: Esther Kleinman, 23, formerly of Chicago, IL.
March 27, 2002, Netanya, Israel. U.S. citizen Hannah Rogen, 90, was killed in a suicide attack at a Passover Seder.
March 31, 2002, Efrat, Israel. Bombing in Efrat. U.S. citizens injured: An unidentified American citizen.
June 18, 2002, Jerusalem, Israel. Moshe Gottlieb, 70, of Los Angeles, CA was killed in a bus bombing in Jerusalem.
June 19, 2002, Jerusalem, Israel. Gila Sara Kessler, 19, whose family came from New York, was killed in a bombing at a bus stop.
July 31, 2002, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel. Nine people were killed when a bomb exploded in the main cafeteria at the Hebrew University's Mount Scopus campus in Jerusalem. Five were U.S. citizens: Janis Ruth Coulter, 36, of MA; Marla Bennet, 24, of San Diego, CA; David Gritz (also a French citizen), 24, of Peru, MA; Benjamin Blutstein, 25, of Susquehanna Township, PA; and Dina Carter, 37, of NC. Israelis David Ladovsky, 29, and Levina Shapira, 53 also died in the bombing. U.S. citizens injured: Spencer Dew, 26, of Owensboro, Kentucky; Zeev Spencer; Harris Gershon; Jamie Harris. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
March 5, 2003: Bus bombing in Haifa. U.S. citizens killed: Abigail Leitel, 14, who was born in Lebanon, New Hampshire.
March 7, 2003: Shooting in the victims’ home. U.S. citizens killed: Rabbi Eli Horowitz, 52, who grew up in Chicago; Dina Horowitz, 50, who grew up in Florida
April 30, 2003: Bombing at a Tel Aviv pub. U.S. citizens injured: Jack Baxter, 50, of New York City.
June 11, 2003: Bus bombing in Jerusalem. U.S. citizens killed: Alan Beer, 47, who grew up in Cleveland. U.S. citizens injured: Sarri Singer, 27, daughter of New Jersey State Senator Robert Singer.
June 20, 2003: Shooting attack on a car driving through the West Bank. U.S. citizens killed: Tzvi Goldstein, 47, who grew up in New York; U.S. citizens injured: Eugene Goldstein, Tzvi’s father, of Long Island, New York; Lorraine Goldstein, Tzvi’s mother, of Long Island, New York; Michal Goldstein, Tzvi’s wife, who grew up in New York.
August 19, 2003: Homicide bombing on a bus in Jerusalem. U.S. citizens killed: Goldie Taubenfeld, 43, of New Square, New York; Shmuel Taubenfeld, 3 months, of New Square, New York; Mordechai Reinitz, 49; Yitzhak Reinitz, 9. Tehilla Nathanson, 3, of Monsey, New York; U.S. citizens injured: Mendel Reinitz, 11.
September 9, 2003: Homicide bombing at a cafe in Jerusalem. David Applebaum, 51, and his daughter Nava, 20, originally of Cleveland were killed.
October 15, 2003: Bombing of American convoy in the Gaza Strip: John Branchizio, 37, Mark Parson, 31, and John Martin Linde, 30, were on contract to the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv through the defense contracting company Dyncorp.U.S. citizens injured: One as-yet-unnamed U.S. citizen (reportedly a diplomat).
September 24, 2004: Mortar strike on a housing community: Tiferet Tratner, 24, (dual U.S.-Israeli citizenship).
April 17, 2006: Homicide bombing at the Rosh Ha'ir restaurant in Tel Aviv: Daniel Wultz, 16, of Weston, Florida, died one month after receiving his wounds in this bombing.
And you know the most offensive thing you purposely omitted? That over 4,000 Americans were killed by terrorist activities in Iraq since 2003.
Jay, you wrote about CLINTON, NOT Bush!
Did I not quote the Clinton Feb. 26, 1993 to Sept 11, 2001 timeline? YES I DID.
Thats IS WHY I posted the link. GEEEEEEZ!
I read the whole list!
"Jay McDonough: Mitch - what "facts" did I make up? By the way, the time between U.S. attacks was longer under Bill Clinton. (Feb. 26, 1993 to Sept 11, 2001)"
THIS is what you wrote that I contended! Noting about Bush!
Your statement is wrong. Thats all I was saying.
Let's step back and regroup.
Mitch said "Remember, there were no attacks after September 11, 2001...........under PRESIDENT Bush"
The argument usually made is that no attacks have occurred on the homeland since 9/11 and that is some testament to President Bush's job performance. (Mitch's claim is patently false - but I presumed he was making the standard claim about the homeland).
I wrote back, sloppily I admit, that the time between the first and second World Trade Center attacks is longer than the term since 9/11 and, therefore, Clinton's record is, stictly speaking, better than Bush's in terms of attacks on the homeland.
The context of the question was a comparison between the Clinton years and Bush years.
Your inclusion of other terrorist attacks during the Clinton years is fair game, just as are the attacks during the Bush years.
Context was key. This whole discussion shows we have been at war with Islamic terrorists for DECADES. They declared war on the US. We need to win it.
Well, I would have said a radical Muslim element declared war on the West.
And I think we have some major differences over the term "win" and the strategies and tactics required.
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