The attack that brought the United States fully into WWII. As costly as it was, the war did end. The United States and its allies did prevail. The country re-tooled, re-built, the economy recovered and the world became a better place. God bless those who served and died fighting for our country.
And everyone thought that we would never see an attack on U.S. soil again.
related links: Naval History & Heritage Command | h/t Black & Right
Here’s a fine example of how the Obama administration, under the Justice Department, is neutering Military Commission trials for terrorists.
Today, prosecutors in the Office of Military Commissions announced they intend to ask the convening authority to refer new charges under the recently-enacted Military Commissions Act of 2009 against Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed Haza al Darbi, in connection with his alleged involvement in an al Qaeda conspiracy to attack military and commercial shipping in the Port of Aden and the Strait of Hormuz.
This announcement follows the attorney general’s determination on Nov. 13, 2009, that a military commission was the appropriate forum for prosecution of al Darbi.
The prosecutors are reviewing this and other cases identified by the attorney general as appropriate for trial in a military commission and anticipate making further announcements soon.
As part of the process of moving forward with the prosecution of al Darbi, on Nov. 25, 2009, in response to a request from the prosecutors, the convening authority withdrew and dismissed without prejudice the pending charges against al Darbi. Dismissal without prejudice is a procedural action that permits new charges to be referred at a later time.
A charge is merely an accusation; an accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Relating to this post on giving the al-Qaeda terrorists civilian trials in New York City, Secretary Gates issues his statement. Reading between the lines, the fact that it is a joint statement that includes The White House, shows he is falling in line with his boss who likes diverse opinions as long as they are his own.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said . . .
Bringing terrorists to justice is an integral part of our national security. The reform of Military Commissions and today’s announcement are important steps in that direction.
Got that? Reforming Military Commissions is not to use them.
In keeping with the President’s agenda to close Guantanamo Bay, affectionately called Club Gitmo, Obama’s Atty General Eric Holder will be bringing KSM and other prisoners who have already admitted their guilt, to New York and be given civilian trials with all the rights and privileges of regular American citizens instead of the military tribunals which are established precedent. This, after having spent $12 million at Club Gitmo constructing portable courtrooms for the military tribunals.
The purpose is not to pursue a conviction on these terrorists. They’ve admitted their guilt and have already asked to be martyred. The purpose is to put the Bush administration and the CIA on trial as an unintended (not really) consequence. Throwing a big bone to the far-left base seems more important to him than established precedent for trials of enemy combatants. More important than the families of the 3,000 people that KSM and his co-conspirators killed. And more important than the morale of those who wear the uniform to protect this country.
All this happens under the backdrop of President Obama’s inability to make a decision on what to do next in Afghanistan. It’s three months and counting.
Who is surprised about all of this? Given the contempt that the President has for the U.S. Constitution and his disdain for the military, it wouldn’t surprise me if he delegated the Commander In Chief responsibilities to a Cabinet position or a Czar. He’s apparently too busy remaking America to adequately protect it. How does Dennis Kucinich, Secretary of the Department of Peace sound?
related links:
Hot topic in Florida politics is Gov Charlie Crist, that well-tanned guy with bright smile. Not so much for his collusion with the RPOF to derail his challenger for the senate seat, but for his attempt to re-write history in his support for Obama’s so-called economic stimulus bill and subsequent loss of support. Editors on the Gulf Coast say Crist should ‘man up,’ quit pretending, and ponder what he needs to do to stop his slide in the polls.
It is demonstrative of what happens when a ‘leader’ is politically driven, instead of driven by core principles, always measuring the effects of a decision on a political bloc instead of just doing what you believe to be right.
President Obama finds himself in the same situation right now over any number of subjects. The most blatant of which is the war effort in Afghanistan. His dithering over not just what to do, but whether to do, will bite him in the butt as well. His core beliefs on that subject are beginning to show and becoming harder to disguise. If he does what is right, he ticks off his anti-war, anti-military, anti-American (as we know it) far-left base. If he caves, he loses those high-valued ‘independent’ voters who elected him.
The ‘real’ Crist is a political chameleon. Obama is the wizard of OZ. The only difference is in their motivation. Crist is denying whatever he has to, to get elected to the Senate. Obama is trying, with the help of the media, to keep people from knowing what he is all about and what his goal of remaking America is, so he can permanently stifle capitalism and personal freedom. In other words, ‘social justice.’ It’s what Marxists do.
If Obama had the guts to run on what he is doing to the economy and the private sector, Hillary Clinton would most likely be President now. Crist should man up. Obama can’t man up. But the more the folks learn about each of them, the slimmer their chances of election or re-election. And in both cases, if both lose, America wins.
In direct contrast (almost) to how President Obama jumped to conclusions about the Cambridge police ‘acting stupidly,’ after stating that he did not have any of the facts, last night in an interview on ABC’s World News Tonight with Jake Tapper, the President jumps to the conclusion, despite all the shooters’ history of pro-jihad activities, that Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan just cracked under pressure. Under pressure? Since he had not yet been sent to the war theater what is this pressure? Pre-traumatic stress disorder?
Tapper:
Are you concerned based on what you know about the case at Fort Hood that the government was not talking to itself the way that after 9/11 we tried to ensure that it would?
Obama:
We are going to complete this investigation and we are going to take whatever steps are necessary to make sure that something like this doesn’t happen again. Beyond that, I think it’s important for me to let the investigation play itself out so that we know exactly what happened, when it happened, how it happened, before — before I as president of the United States comment on it.
Tapper:
Philosophically, what separates an act of violence from an act of terrorism?
Obama:
In a country of 300 million people, uh, there are going to be acts of violence that are inexplicable, even within the extraordinary m-military that we have. Uh, and, uh, I think everybody understands how outstanding the young men and women in uniform are under the most severe stress. There are going to instances, uh, in which, uh, an individual cracks.
An individual cracks? Just ignore the radical Islamic background and contacts with the same radical Imam that two of the 9/11 terrorists followed? The very same Imam that is calling this terrorist a hero. Na, forget about that.
“It may be hard to comprehend the twisted logic that led to this tragedy,” Obama said. “But this much we do know: No faith justifies these murderous and craven acts.”
It is blatantly obvious that the Commander In Chief cannot bring himself to utter the T word, terrorist, even when it hits him (Allahu Akbar) 43 times in one day.
The memorial service at Ft. Hood today was touching, moving, and appropriate. I couldn’t help but notice that there was no mention of the enemy we’re all supposed to be fighting nor some assurance that these Americans did not die in vain. But I’ll allow that maybe the memorial service wasn’t the best time to do that. BUT, the next public appearance he makes IS the right time to do just that instead of looking for excuses for why a terrorist did what he did.
No longer do we have to jump to conclusions about Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Ft. Hood terrorist. Because we now know that’s exactly what he is. What makes it all the worse however is that he wore the uniform of an Army officer.
And it gets worse from there. As it turns out, a ‘political correctness’ attitude prevented his superiors from doing what should have been done before things got this far out of hand. And if you think that he is the only radical Islamist to have successfully infiltrated the U.S. military, then I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.
It’s time the Commander In Chief starts acting like one and have the guts to call it what it is. Lest he loses what respect that those who have sworn to serve under him may have left. Soft on terror? If the shoe fits . . .
Hasan was a terrorist, and last Thursday he acted out on it. It wasn’t a man made disaster. It was an act of terrorism inside Ft. Hood. This guy didn’t ‘act stupidly.’ He gunned down non-believers who were preparing to take the war to the enemy overseas. They were Americans first, not Muslims first. And just like the suicide bombers and the cowards that plant roadside bombs, this coward took weapons to a concentration of unarmed men and women who volunteered to fight for and serve our country.
I’m not acquainted with how the military justice system differs from the civilian criminal justice system. But I’m hoping that this guy will soon face a firing squad or a rope.
Forget about the money. China has it. One thing they don’t have that we do is President Obama. And right now we’re in need of some leadership.
Right now, two of the most important challenges the President is saying he faces are the economy, to which he has inextricably tied health insurance reform, and, the safety of our troops fighting overseas, particularly in Afghanistan.
It is difficult to believe him when he says those things are tops on his list when he continues to do fundraisers around the country, takes time for golf and recreation, and uses his bully pulpit to berate private industry and groups like the Chamber of Commerce who happen to disagree with his policies, instead of showing the leadership required to make the tough choices that he needs to make.
That making a decision whether to support his generals in the war zone, one of which is heading the NATO forces there, or support his political far-left base represents a tough choice is at the same time frightening to me and revealing of him. But apparently it is because we’re quickly approaching 60 days since Gen. McChrystal asked for more troops to carry out his mission in Afghanistan and still no decision. It’s not like this war was sprung up on him or anything. It has been ongoing for all of the 9 months he has been Commander in Chief. But, since he has only met with the general twice in that length of time, it is also hard to believe that even he thinks it is important, let alone tops on the list.
For President Obama, economic recovery now means health insurance ‘reform.’ Never mind those trillions and trillions of debt owned by China, and those stimulus packages that failed to stimulate the economy or fix what they were supposed to fix. Let’s just focus on health insurance reform. Obama’s other top concern for the country.
Where is his leadership on that? Why is he not using his bully pulpit to lay out his plan, telling us and Congress what he wants instead of beating up on his detractors? It’s a rhetorical question. It’s because there still isn’t a plan. One day it’s this, the next day it’s that. One day it’s public options, next day it’s consumers choice. It’s the Baucus bill, no it’s the house bill, no, it’s the Kennedy bill. And oh, did I mention that all of those bills have one thing in common. They aim to ultimately take control of what private sector health care remains (17- 20% of the private sector economy) after they absorb the rest of it into Medicare, which is already bankrupt. But never mind those silly details, just pass the bill. There’s no need to see it in writing first.
This isn’t leadership. This is his attempt at community organizing on a national, and global scale. Coming from someone who was touted to be, despite all the evidence to the contrary, so experienced and the right man for the job (after Hillary that is), what we see is not much different than a circus barker. And empty suit. Not a leader at all.
Oh how the Left made a big deal when W didn’t bolt out of the classroom and head to Washington on Sept 11, 2001. Now that President Obama has had over 9 months of running the war on both fronts, Iraq and Afghanistan, one would think that he is up to speed with his responsibilities he has to our (and his) troops and our (his?) allies there. So much so that it wouldn’t take him so long to make a decision on whether to support his General’s request for more troops.
General Stanley McChrystal made it clear that when he asks for more troops, he’s looking at his watch, not the calendar. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said . . .
“We are not going to just sit on our hands waiting for the outcome of this election and for the emergence of a government in Kabul,” Mr. Gates said. “We have operations under way and we will continue to conduct those operations.”
Obama botched his 3a.m. call. You just can’t be a Commander in Chief by voting ‘present.’
After nine months as President, and nearly two months since receiving a request from the General on the ground, the man who, according to his campaign, had all the answers on how to fight the war, is showing just how indecisive he is when it comes to the most important and serious problems we face. Too busy remaking America, exacerbating our economic problems, to handle this one?
So how could Americans have elected such an empty suit? You’ll have to ask the entity Hillary and McCain ran against. The media.
Hearken back to March 2008 when candidate Hillary Clinton made her famous 3a.m. ad. Mr. wishy-washy don’t-block-my-shot Wesley Clark was supporting Hillary at that time.
“One of the most important duties of the President is ensuring the safety of the American people,” said retired General Wesley Clark of the commercial. “Inevitably, another national security crisis will occur. And when it does, voters shouldn’t have to wonder whether their President will be ready. As President, Hillary will be ready to act swiftly and decisively.”
In response, candidate Barack Obama aired his own ad. From The Fix blog on the Washington Post . . .
The commercial touts Obama’s “judgment and courage” in opposing the Iraq war from the start and his clarity to see that the war distracted the country from rooting out terrorists in Afghanistan. “In a dangerous world, it’s judgment that matters,” says the ad’s narrator.
I can’t argue with that. Judgment does matter. What we need is an adult in The White House instead of an empty suit.