1/04/10 

On Christmas day, a terrorist came perilously close to successfully staging an attack within the US.  The event points to weaknesses and limitations in our intelligence, screening and information-sharing capabilities. The administration has set out to carefully review how this attempt could have taken place, with the President vowing to strengthen the system protecting Americans and to hold his administration accountable for its mistakes.  This careful, sober response has become a hallmark of the administration's strategy for countering terrorism, an approach which at its core emphasizes integration, consistency with our laws and values, and a refusal to engage in the over-reaction and fear mongering that our enemies hope to produce.  Praising the President's reformulated approach to counterterrorism, the Washington Post wrote that his administration has "demonstrated tenacity and pragmatism blended with a necessary reassessment of the flawed policies of his predecessors and a recommitment to the rule of law."

Sadly, the attempt has also confirmed some conservatives' unwillingness to answer the President's call for unity and calm.  Within a day, conservatives had begun discussing preventive war on Yemen, confidently asserting that Obama's policies had caused the attack, and using the incident for fundraising purposes. The implications of such threat-hyping - war in every country where extremists operate - play directly into Al Qaeda's strategy: forcing the U.S. to over-extend itself through limitless military operations.  And by leaping to inject partisan politics into what could have been a national tragedy, conservatives once again exhibited a worrisome refusal to act constructively when it comes to national security.  For the sake of Americans' security, conservatives should abandon these dangerous tactics, and take up the administration's call for unity in countering the terrorist threat.

Administration's cool-headed approach is the right way to deal with terrorist threat.  Since the attempted terrorist attack on Christmas Day in Detroit, the Obama administration has moved swiftly and soberly to ensure that everything possible is done to protect Americans' security.  Following the failed attack, President Obama launched a comprehensive review to determine how the attempt could have taken place.  The Administration's response highlights several key principles of its counterterrorism approach: 

Countering terrorism using an integrated approach: On Sunday, White House Counterterrorism and Homeland Security Advisor John Brennan explained how the reviews would feed into the administration's integrated approach for countering terrorism: "There's no single silver bullet that's going to be able to allow us to have that type of assurance that we're going to be able to stop individuals from coming aboard planes. It's -- has to be a package of things. It has to be technology, it has to be expertise, it has to be intelligence, it has to be cooperation with our international partners. And so all this has to come together seamlessly, and it has to be done on a daily basis."  [John Brennan, Meet the Press, 1/03/10]

Fighting extremism without letting the fight distort all our foreign and domestic policy: As he has in the past, Brennan also situated the administration's response within the President's broader commitment to security, prosperity and the rule of law:  "Well, because, first of all, we're a country of laws, and what we're going to do is to make sure that we treat each individual case appropriately. In the past Richard Reid, the former shoe bomber; Zacarias Moussaoui; Jose Padilla; Iyman Faris; all of them were charged in criminal court, were sentenced some in -- in some cases to life imprisonment. We have these tools available, whether it's an enemy combatant avenue or to charge them criminally. We look at the cases, and in this case we decided it was best, in fact, to charge him criminally." Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) chairwoman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence also stressed that holding true to America's values is important to maintaining security.  She told the Washington Post that "Civil liberties matter, and we must stay mindful that an overreaction has the potential to overwhelm the system and fail to make us more safe," [John Brennan, Meet the Press, 1/03/10. Jane Harman, via Washington Post, 12/28/09.]

Refusing to overreact or give in to fear: In his address to the nation, the President made clear that he would not have his policies ruled by fear: "But as we go forward, let us remember this-our adversaries are those who would attack our country, not our fellow Americans, not each other. Let's never forget what has always carried us through times of trial, including those attacks eight Septembers ago. Instead of giving in to fear and cynicism, let's renew that timeless American spirit of resolve and confidence and optimism.  Instead of succumbing to partisanship and division, let's summon the unity that this moment demands.  Let's work together, with a seriousness of purpose, to do what must be done to keep our country safe." The CATO Institute's Jim Harper commented:  "attacks would likely increase if it appeared that attacking the U.S. and its interests could visibly fluster the U.S. president. The discipline shown by the White House during this event is an important contribution to our security from the next attack. Politicians beneath President Obama's grade should take a lesson and control their reactions as well. " [President Obama, 1/02/10. Jim Harper, 12/30/09.]

[President Obama, 1/02/10]

Fear mongering does nothing for our security - but it does play into Al Qaeda's hands.  Marc Lynch, senior fellow at CNAS and professor at George Washington University, explains, "In fact, this risks becoming a classic case of massive overreaction playing right into the hands of a terrorist group. The Obama administration, which actually has been working on the Yemen issue all year, now risks falling right back into the classic catalog of Bush-era conceptual and practical mistakes as it scrambles for a response. To get Yemen right will require getting the complicated terrain of Yemeni and Gulf politics right -- not just looking for some kind of military intervention or an influx of foreign aid in order to be seen to have ‘done something', and not reducing it to an Al Qaeda or COIN problem.  Direct American military intervention in Yemen is so obviously ludicrous that it shouldn't even need to be said. Osama bin Laden himself explains in a 2004 video "We [Al Qaeda] are continuing this policy in bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy. Allah willing, and nothing is too great for Allah."  In the video bin Laden, referring to the fight against the Soviet Union, said, "using guerrilla warfare and the war of attrition to fight tyrannical superpowers. We, alongside the mujahedeen, bled Russia for 10 years until it went bankrupt and was forced to withdraw in defeat."  He also said Al Qaeda has found it "easy for us to provoke and bait" the Bush administration.

Disappointingly, the initial response from conservatives fell right into that trap.  Rep. Peter King (R-NY), the ranking Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, first responded by saying that "This was the real deal... This could have been devastating."  Charles Krauthammer  offers Al Qaeda the grandiosity and uniqueness that it seeks: "A man who shoots abortion doctors is an extremist. An eco-fanatic who torches logging sites is an extremist. Abdulmutallab is not one of these. He is a jihadist. And unlike the guys who shoot abortion doctors, jihadists have cells all over the world; they blow up trains in London, nightclubs in Bali and airplanes over Detroit (if they can); and are openly pledged to war on America." Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I- CT) even went as far as to suggest that a future war in Yemen may be the solution to international terrorism.  He said on ABC's This Week that "Senator Collins and I, with a few colleagues, were in Yemen in August. And one of our American personnel there said to us -- and I thought quite wisely -- that Iraq is yesterday's war, Afghanistan is today's war, and if we don't act preemptively, Yemen will be tomorrow's war." [Peter King, via NY Times, 12/25/09. Charles Krauthammer, 1/1/10.  Joe Lieberman, ABC News, 1/3/10.  Marc Lynch, 1/2/10. Al Qaeda video via CNN, 11/1/2004]

Conservatives use attempted attack as a chance to politicize national security, but counter-terrorism professionals push back.   As Peter Baker documented for the New York Times Magazine, former senior Bush administration officials don't agree with the rhetoric of their former bosses.  "A half-dozen former senior Bush officials involved in counterterrorism told me before the Christmas Day incident that for the most part, they were comfortable with Obama's policies, although they were reluctant to say so on the record," reported Baker.  On Fox News Sunday, President Obama's counterterrorism advisor John Brennan criticized these attempts to politicize national security issues.  "I just think that, you know, partisan politics should be put aside when something as important to national security as the threat of terrorism -- it's a serious threat. It continues to haunt us. And we have to make sure that we stay focused on Al Qaida. And so that's what I'm going to do in this job."  He went on to says that "It's disappointing to me that either the vice president and others have willfully mischaracterized President Obama's position and actions, or they're just ignorant of the facts...I'm neither a Republican nor a Democrat. I've worked for the previous five administrations, and this president is determined, and I think it is demonstrated in his language. He says that we're at war with Al Qaida. We're going to destroy Al Qaida the organization." But conservatives have chosen to use the incident for partisan ends and even for fundraising:   [NY Times, 1/4/10. John Brennan, FOX News Sunday, 1/03/10]

Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI), the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, within 72 hours of the attack, sent out a fundraising letter that strongly politicized the failed Christmas day airline bombing.  Hoekstra, who is running for governor in Michigan, used the event to try and scrape up a few extra dollars for his campaign. After comically mentioning that "there should be no partisan rancor when it comes to keeping our citizens safe," Hoekstra attacked Obama and "his left-wing cronies" in an attempt to exploit national security issues raise money for a political campaign.  The fundraising letter said "They just don't get it. The system didn't ‘work' here. Far from it! It is insulting that The Obama administration would make such a claim, but then again, these are the same weak-kneed liberals who have recently tried to bring Guantanamo Bay terrorists right here to Michigan!" [Pete Hoekstra fundraising letter, 12/28/09]

Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC), who has continually politicized national security by blocking important nominations, is also blocking President Obama's nominee to head the Transportation Security Administration, putting partisan politics ahead of national security priorities.  USA Today reports that "Sen. Jim DeMint, the Republican senator who is blocking the president's choice to head the Transportation Security Administration...  DeMint is blocking Erroll Southers appointment over labor issues -- including possibly giving TSA employees collective bargaining rights." [USA Today, 1/4/10]

Former Vice President Dick Cheney has once again emerged, leading the attacks on the Obama administration.  In a letter to Politico, Cheney attacked President Obama saying that he is "trying to pretend we are not at war... Why doesn't he want to admit we're at war? It doesn't fit with the view of the world he brought with him to the Oval Office. It doesn't fit with what seems to be the goal of his presidency - social transformation - the restructuring of American society." [Dick Cheney via Politico, 12/30/09]

Bill Kristol, in an attempt to gain political ground, says pronounces al Qaeda victorious.  He said, "We can't protect our own embassy in Yemen, a place where we have special operations forces? A place we say we're working with the government on the front lines of the war on terror?  And there's a terror threat, and we close the embassy? That's a victory for al Qaeda." [Bill Kristol via the Atlantic Wire 1/3/10]

What We're Reading

A recent bombing which left 8 CIA agents dead was claimed as retaliation for U.S. drone strikes in the Afghan-Pakistan border region by a senior Afghan Taliban commander. Local Afghans, with the support of NATO and Afghan forces, are being organized as auxiliary security units tasked with ameliorating the security situation in eastern provinces and are beginning to see some positive effects. Meanwhile, Afghan President Hamid Karzai saw Parliament rejecting most of his nominees for cabinet posts and expressing discontent with the candidates' competence.

Crackdowns on bars and nightclubs signal a new push by Iraq's Central Government to promote stronger regulations of social norms.

Iranian media reported Tehran will conduct a large-scale defensive military exercise next month, coinciding with what Iranian government officials now say is a deadline for the West to respond to its counteroffer to a nuclear-fuel deal. Chinese companies banned from doing business in the U.S. for allegedly selling missile technology to Iran continue to do a brisk trade with American companies, according to records. Iranian filmmakers have used their celebrity to keep the public focused on the turmoil that has roiled Iran since the presidential election in June

The Ogiek people of Kenya are again forced to move from their ancestral lands, in another example of government corruption in the East African nation.

Russian and Ukrainian authorities continue to negotiate tariffs on the transportation of natural gas from Russia to European markets. 

Mexican authorities announced over the weekend the capture of another brother of the cartel leader whose death last month sparked brutal revenge attacks around Mexico.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak renewed a proposal that South and North Korea open liaison offices in each other's capitals to facilitate dialogue.

The head of the military junta in Myanmar confirmed that the regime was planning to hold national elections sometime this year.

Hamas inmates in West Bank prisons have indicated that Palestinian security forces have stopped torturing Hamas prisoners, purportedly ending two years of abuse.

Commentary of the Day

The New York Times does not approve of the Supreme Court and the Justice Department's rejection of reviewing cases of authorized torture who were never charged with any crime at Guantanamo Bay.

Jay Bahadur suggests enlisting Puntland, a self-governing region in northeastern Somalia, in helping combat the unabated threat of Somali pirates.

Masha Hamilton writes about Afghan women who participated in her women's writing project, and describes their struggles against misogyny and war.