Today we celebrate our victories against “Terrorism” by applauding that we caught the bad guy, how fast and with such professional skills, and I take nothing away from our dedicated “Agents” , “Soldiers”, and “Law Enforcement” involved, but am somewhat miffed by it all when I think of it. We caught the “Bad Guy” at Ft. Hood only after he killed 17, wounding many more, of our heroes. We caught the “Bad Guy” when, while on an aircraft, he lit his crotch on fire and the hidden explosive failed and he was taken down by passengers. And we are currently celebrating the quick action of catching the “Bad Guy” after his attempt to blow up a SUV filled with explosives failed; fizzling out when a heroic street vendor (Vietnam Veteran) notified the police and it was extinguished by responding firemen. Each event was followed by our current President making a statement on how fast we reacted and that we will get all those involved.
I recall a time in the intelligence community when we silently celebrated preventing acts of terrorism from taking place, watching Americans, and citizens of other countries, go about their business never knowing that anything at all ever took place. “Ignorance is Bliss” is or was a truism that has meaning to those of us who help create an environment of “Blissful Ignorance” enjoyed by so many! Believe me when I say our then President, and those of us in the Intelligent community, went through a few prior to 9/11, and then more silent celebrations for another eight years after. But, that was before this self indulged egotist enjoys his power and unending presence of his face on our flat screen televisions reassuring us that our “Law Enforcement” actions will continue to keep us safe while putting on trial those captured fools who, thank God, either screwed it up or after killing so many managed to get wounded so he was unable to escape. All the while, this President, for political reasons only, is coming to the realization that he is going to have to call “Terror” what it is, but only with great reluctance.
My mind keep going back to the days when I was stationed in Africa, under a conservative President, and was involved in assisting providing the intelligence to get an intelligence (collection ship, details will remain unmentioned) activity that was captured by a foreign government, released without the American people ever being made aware of the near disaster and potentially devastating end result where families would have lost their loved ones. But, it was celebrated in silence, by those involved in providing that intelligence, which back then was kept secret, and there were no public announcements of our success. We did not need what this administration needs, recognition, glory, praise, and the unending love of his oblivious and ignorant followers. All we needed was to succeed and know we got the job done, and people lived, be Americans or those loved ones of other countries, who went home to their families never knowing they might have died had it not been for those dedicated silent warriors of the secret war against our enemies.
Only under Liberal and or progressive Presidents can I recall the missed opportunities and or plain mismanagement of the greatest intelligence resources known to mankind. Does Beirut Lebanon and USS Pueblo ring a bell? How about Clinton refusing to accept Osama bin Laden when offered by Yemen, and other times not mentioned, along with the attack of the USS Cole, where we lost 17 patriot heroes, and I could go on but it depresses me, and should depress you as well. Where were the celebrations then? Why did these failures, regardless of President, not cause more of a reaction than lobbing a few cruise missiles into deserted terrorist camps, as we warned many of our pending superficial attacks to demonstrate we can? We lost our edge when we President Clinton ended or seriously reduced our HUMINT “Human Intelligence” efforts as we did not want to depend on sources of “questionable” character. And it was under President Carter where he nearly destroyed our intelligence collection efforts (I am not at liberty to say, but those who were serving then know, and that is all that is important to me), and not only that, but it was under his watch that our Embassy in Iran was seized by thugs, one who now calls himself “President” (The so called President Ahmadinejad) who is close to having the ability to not only have a nuclear warhead, but deliver it! Where is the deterrence that would stop him? Will the great and powerful “America” depend on the tiny country to go in and take out the threat that would destroy them as not only a country, but as a people? Who will be celebrating then?
I can recall times when we in the intelligent communities silently celebrated victories as we prevented so many events of terror that would have taken place had so many dedicated young men and women not been at their stations doing what no one knows about, and should never know about. We did not need the glory and attention then, and I am certain that these young men and women do not need the glory or attention now. But every other day we read in the New York Times, or other news media about secrets of our methods, success, when we have them, and recently our own Secretary of State (Another Clinton) providing to the world, what had been one of our most sacred secrets, the total number of Nuclear warheads, and I believe even providing the location of our intercontinental missile launch sites. Where is the logic of this thought process? If I recall the headline on ABC News was; “Clinton, Pentagon Reveal State Secret: Size of U.S. Nuclear Arsenal”! Who is celebrating this I wonder? ABC reported that “For those who doubt that the United States will do its part on disarmament, this is our record, these are our commitments, and they send a clear, unmistakable signal,” said U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton before the U.N.’s conference on Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. (Her comments were a direct rebuke to those made earlier that day by Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad) Since when does the United States respond to any leader or Head of State of a country who is a “Terrorist State”, trains, supports, and provides logistical support to Terrorist groups with weapons and materials to make the IED’s (Improvised Explosive Devices) that are killing and maiming our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan? Who is celebrating now? I’ll bet those who harbor, assist, and provide the “Terrorists” who hate and kill Americans and their allies.
All of America can celebrate our victories, known and unknown, but none of us should be celebrating the compromising our threats, our secrets, our capabilities, all the things this Administration believes will cause an Ideology that is intent on destroying Israel, many places is Western Europe (most our allies) and of course the people of the United States to pick flowers and kiss our feet, because we are so nice. Who are they (This Administration) fooling? I think they are fooling only themselves as each progressive Administration has; only far more so than anything any of us have ever witnessed. The ignorance of this congress, this Administration, those who elected and still are happy they did, is beyond anything I have seen in my 65 years, certainly my 20 plus years serving in the Intelligence community. The terror to me is becoming more and more that my own Government and its incredible lack of ability to understand the threats or the pending results of those threats, and our Government’s own ignorance will actually cause a disaster beyond anything America has ever witnessed. If that happens, who will be celebrating then? I think we can all guess.
Well, if this inept Administration, led by an inexperienced President, unless you consider his service as a “Community Organizer” credentials for being the leader of the free world does not get us destroyed before November, we have a chance. Just look at the places where he was a community leader, any major success that come to mind that can be celebrated? In November we will not have to celebrate in silence as we did with our successes during my days in the serving our country while in the Intelligence Community. We can shout out the joy of winning back the Congress, both House and Senate, Oh, and of course the biggest celebration will be in November, only in 2012 when America elects a conservative to office of “President of the United States of America”. We can give great credit to our hard working , behind the scenes heroes in Law Enforcement, and the Intelligence Community, along with any ordinary citizen who assisted in providing the information needed to not only apprehend this “Terrorist” who recently became a citizen of the United States. Born in Pakistan, now U.S. Citizen Fisal Shahzad has admitted trying to set off a car bomb in Times Square will be facing “Terrorism and mass destruction charges” accordingly to Attorney General Eric Holder, another radical of this Administration, who said: “Based on what we know so far, it is clear that this was a terrorist plot aimed at murdering Americans in one of the busiest places in our country”. Do ya think? I am ready to celebrate whatever intelligence is gathered to help protect this country against those who would harm us. But I’ll never celebrate those who are gloating over “luck” rather than solid intelligence gathering that might have prevented it in the first place.
I’ll wait till November of this year and again in 2012, and along with most of you, will then celebrate as we foiled the transformation of America, and planed redistribution of wealth, that would destroy the strongest economy in the world. Together we can shout out our joy of not “winning” but more important, not loosing! And you can bet this old beat up Vietnam veteran will be celebrating, wishing my father, mother, brother and son could be here to witness what returning America back to “We the People”, my America, the one I love so much and miss right now. We will see her come home. (Ho, to be back in the silent, secret war!)
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