Tag: terrorism

UN Remains Deadlocked on Defining Terrorism

UNITED NATIONS – When Israeli commandos killed nine mostly Turkish activists during a raid on a flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian aid to Palestinians last May, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the attack as a prime example of “state terrorism.” “Even tyrants, bandits, and pirates have their own rules of ethics,” he said, … Continue reading “UN Remains Deadlocked on Defining Terrorism”

Government Sexual Molestation in Airports Is ‘Over the Top’

After the initial hysterical security response to the 9/11 attacks – inane measures included posting 19-year-old National Guardsmen with automatic weapons at crowded airports and the temporary discontinuation of electronic tickets – lasting security augmentation entailed hardening of aircraft cockpit doors and beefing up passenger screening in airports. The latter has continued after each subsequent … Continue reading “Government Sexual Molestation in Airports Is ‘Over the Top’”

Off-Base America

Last year, it was Kuwait, Qatar, and Iraq. This year, it’s Germany, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Next year, it could easily be Afghanistan, Pakistan, Diego Garcia, Bahrain, and Turkey. Or of course they could choose to play in Japan (with a special stop in Okinawa), South Korea, Colombia, and for a … Continue reading “Off-Base America”

Muslim Americans Foil Terror Threats

A new report on violent extremists in the United States finds that terrorism plots by non-Muslims greatly outnumber those attempted by Muslims, and that Muslim-American communities helped foil close to a third of al-Qaeda-related terror plots threatening the country since Sept. 11, 2001. The report comes from the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), a not-for-profit … Continue reading “Muslim Americans Foil Terror Threats”

Obama Lawyers Defend ‘Kill Lists’

Lawyers for the Barack Obama administration told a federal judge Monday that the U.S. government has authority to kill U.S. citizens whom the executive branch has unilaterally determined pose a threat to national security. That claim came in federal court in Washington, D.C., in response to a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union … Continue reading “Obama Lawyers Defend ‘Kill Lists’”

$80 Billion Down the Plumbing

Intelligence is like statistics. Both can be manipulated to tell you anything you want to hear, and you seldom get the real story from either one. But there is one major difference between intelligence and statistics: we didn’t spend $80 billion on statistics last year. Our government announced on Thursday that it has spent $80.1 … Continue reading “$80 Billion Down the Plumbing”

The Odyssey of David Coleman Headley

When the city of Mumbai, India, was attacked by terrorists allegedly from the Lashkar-i- Taiba (LeT) group – a Muslim separatist organization fighting for independence for Kashmir from Indian occupiers – the CIA chief at the time, Gen. Michael Hayden, reportedly confronted his Pakistani counterpart, Lieutenant Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, and, according to Bob Woodward, … Continue reading “The Odyssey of David Coleman Headley”

Better Safe Than Sorry?

“Better safe than sorry” is a popular English idiom that can be traced back to Irish novelist Samuel Lover’s Rory O’More (1837). Essentially, it means that it is better to take precautionary actions rather than be sorry that you didn’t if something bad happens. One example was when we were worried about the H1N1 (or … Continue reading “Better Safe Than Sorry?”

On the Bloated Intelligence Bureaucracy

Listen to Ron Paul deliver these remarks here. I have often spoken about the excessive size of government, and most recently how waste and inefficiency needs to be eliminated from our military budget. Our foreign policy is not only bankrupting us, but actively creating and antagonizing enemies of the United States and compromising our national … Continue reading “On the Bloated Intelligence Bureaucracy”