The Obama Administration is taking serious and effectual steps to protect U.S. safety and halt the recent epidemic of attempted slaughters on U.S. soil.
Once upon a time, desert tribesmen in the Middle East, Asia Minor and Southern Asia (pre-Muslim actually) slaughtered each other with abandon. Islam came, and at least some of the internecine slaughter was abated, though not totally. The hostility of these desert tribes to outsiders, however, did not cease. Except of course when "commercial", read extortion opportunities arose on the Silk Road and other travel routes that traversed the region. Aside from Constantinople, the Muslim invaders met little resistance until they got as far as Tourres, France, the gates of Vienna, and India. When the Crusades (really a push-back against this violence) ended the Muslims were of little concern to the West. They built ships in order to avoid the necessity for overland crossings of hostile and dangerous lands. While there were some colonization and missionary efforts, in general the Ummah was paid little heed until the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.
Fast forward to modern times. While making little productive use of Ummah lands, the Muslims pushed back violently at Western attempts to utilize even small parts of the areas now including the State of Israel and the Kingdom of Jordan. But not all violence was related to Arab-Israeli problems.
After the end of the Viet Nam war, when it became clear that the West had little appetite for displays of military power, Arab atacks in Western lands became increasingly bold. The Munich 1972 Massacre, which has for whatever reason faded from memory, was utterly senseless and purposeless. This and other attacks, such as a German disco attack and Lockerbie (all addressed by coordinated cries of anguish and orchestrated hand-wringing) culmninated in September 11. The Western blow-back from that, the Afghan and Iraq wars (yes, Iraq had nothing to do with September 11 but lots to do with other thumbs in Western eyes) halted attacks on U.S. soil, at least until the Fort Hood, the attempted attack on the Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas 2009 and the attempted Times Square Massacre.
Clearly these attacks cannot and should not be addressed in criminal courts. The use of civilian due process gives the terrorists a platform to create a circus. Even worse, in "discovery" it creates an opportunity to expose counter-terror methods and endanger information assets. In other words, you dont' fight a war in Court.
Finally, the Obama Administration is conceding that there may be more to these attacks than individual madmen. See excerpts (indented) below:
May 5, 2010
Evidence Mounts for Taliban Role in Bomb Plot
By MARK MAZZETTI and SCOTT SHANE
WASHINGTON — American officials said Wednesday that it was very likely that a radical group once thought unable to attack the United States had played a role in the bombing attempt in Times Square, elevating concerns about whether other militant groups could deliver at least a glancing blow on American soil.
Officials said that after two days of intense questioning of the bombing suspect, Faisal Shahzad, evidence was mounting that the group, the Pakistani Taliban, had helped inspire and train Mr. Shahzad in the months before he is alleged to have parked an explosives-filled sport utility vehicle in a busy Manhattan intersection on Saturday night. Officials said Mr. Shahzad had discussed his contacts with the group, and investigators had accumulated other evidence that they would not disclose.
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May 9, 2010
Obama Seeks to Ease Rules on Questioning Terror Suspects
By CHARLIE SAVAGE
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration said Sunday it would seek a new law allowing the prolonged interrogation of terrorism suspects without their being informed of their constitutional rights, as Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. flatly asserted that the suspect arrested in the Times Square bombing attempt had received training and probably money from the Taliban in Pakistan.
Mr. Holder proposed carving out a broad new exception to the Miranda rights established in a landmark 1966 Supreme Court ruling, which limits how prosecutors can use statements made by suspects before suspects have been warned that they have a right to remain silent and to consult a lawyer. Mr. Holder said interrogators needed greater flexibility to question terrorism suspects than is provided by existing exceptions.
The proposal to ask Congress to loosen the Miranda rule comes against the backdrop of sharp criticism by Republicans who have argued that terrorism suspects — including United States citizens, like Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani immigrant who was arrested in the Times Square case as he attempted to flee the country last week — should be imprisoned and interrogated as military detainees, rather than handled as ordinary criminal defendants.
Mr. Holder, in an appearance on "Meet the Press" on NBC, characterized the administration’s stance as a "new priority" and "big news."
"We’re now dealing with international terrorists," he said, "and I think that we have to think about perhaps modifying the rules that interrogators have and somehow coming up with something that is flexible and is more consistent with the threat that we now face."
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When I was in 9th Grade, we were taught the importance of "respecting indigenous cultures". If those cultures were prepared to live and let live, fine. Clearly they are bent on slaughter.
It is essential that leaders in "independent" Muslim lands must understand that unless they stop the operation of "training camps" and terminate the commute between their lands and the West of inflamed, trained operatives, serious harm will come. The West may be forced to inflict massive casualties and remove "independent status" if these lands are unwilling to ensure that their countries are not used as safe havens for lawlessness and terror.