Terrorism « Ed's Blog

October 23, 2011 • 11:58 AM 14

KILLING QADDAFI

There’s an obvious difference between SEAL Team 6 putting a bullet in Osama Bin Laden’s head and Libyan rebels summarily executing Muammar Qaddafi after capturing him. Ample legal precedent supports killing illegal enemy combatants in time of war. There is no legal precedent, internationally or otherwise, for the summary execution of a captured Qaddafi, nor is it consistent with the “American values” we’ve heard so much about with regard to the George W. Bush administrations conduct of the war on terror. (More)

Filed under: Politics, Terrorism, American values, Anwar al-Awlaki, CIA Anwar al Awlaki, Colonel Qaddafi, drones, Ed Ross, EITs, enhanced interrogation techniques, ewross, George W. Bush, Hilllary Clinton, hypocrites, killing Qaddafi, Libya, Libyan, Libyan government, Libyan rebels, Muammar al-Gaddafi, Muammar Qaddafi, National Transitional Council, NATO, Osama Bin Laden, Pan Am Flight 103, precision guided munitions, President Obama, Qaddafi, Saddam Hussein, SEAL Team 6, Secretary of State, summary execution, UCMJ, Uniform Code of Military Justice, United Nations Human Rights Council, US Congress

October 16, 2011 • 1:00 PM 53

IT’S TIME TO DO WHAT’S NECESSARY TO BRING ABOUT A CHANGE OF GOVERNMENT IN IRAN

The revelation by Attorney General Eric Holder that elements of the government of Iran were behind a plot to assassinate the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United States, Adel Al-Jubier, with an explosive device in a crowded restaurant and set off bombs at embassies in Washington, D.C., takes Iranian provocation of the U.S. to a whole new level. It’s time for The U.S. to go beyond sanctions and do what’s necessary to bring about a change of government in Iran.

Filed under: Terrorism, Adel Al-Jubier, Ali Khamenie, Argentina, assassinate, assassination plot, Attorney General Eric Holder, axis of evil, barack obama, Bill Clinton, Buenos Aries, Darrell Issa, DC, Ed Ross, ewross, Fast and Furious, FBI, George W. Bush, Gholam Shakuri, government of Iran, Green Revolution, Iran-Contra Affair, Iran-Iraq War, Islamic Republic of Iran, Israeli Embassy, Jewish center, Jimmy Carter, Justice Department officials, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Manssor Arbabsiar, Mexican Los Zetas drug cartel, nuclear weapons program, olive branch, Politics of Iran, Quds Force, Revolutionary Guard Corps, Saddam Hussein, Saudi Arabian Ambassador, Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United States, Stuxnet virus, subpoenas, Teheran, terrorism, Washington

September 4, 2011 • 11:55 AM 6

THE LEGACY OF 9/11 IS ABOUT MUCH MORE THAN TERRORISM

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To say that 9/11 changed America is a gross understatement. It could well prove to be the lynchpin in a series of events that will determine the course of American history in the 21st century. Like the aggression and rise of nationalism in the early 20th century, which led to World War I, World War II, and the Cold War with it’s Korean and Vietnam wars, the 9/11 attacks and the Islamic Jihadism that spawned them will have lasting and profound effects on America for generations. (More)

Filed under: Politics, Terrorism, 21st century, 9/11, Afghanistan, al-Qaeda, American Exceptionalism, American history, Arab Spring, barack obama, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, china, cold war, competition of ideas, connecting the dots, defense budgets, Ed Ross, ewross, foreign policy, fossile fuels, fundamental islamist, George W. Bush, History of the United States, Iran, Iraq, Korean War, lowest common denominator, north korea, police the world, rebirth of tolerance, russia, September 11 attacks, social-welfare establishments, Steve Jobs, superpower, terrorism, Twentieth Century, Vietnam War, White House, World War I, world war II

July 10, 2011 • 10:45 AM 8

HOLDER DETERMINED TO PROSECUTE UNLAWFUL ENEMY COMBATANTS IN U.S. FEDERAL COURTS

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Attorney General Eric Holder is determined to prosecute unlawful enemy combatants (UECs) captured overseas in U.S. federal courts. And he has decided to do so with Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, a Somali national accused of terrorism captured in the Persian Gulf region in April and detained aboard a U.S. Navy ship. Bipartisan action in Congress prevented the Obama administration from trying terrorists held at Guantanamo in U.S. federal courts. Now Congress must close the loophole in the law to prevent Holder from trying UECs held on U.S. Navy ships in federal court. (More)

Filed under: National Security, Terrorism, Ahmed Abdulkdir Warsame, al-Qaeda, Attorney General, Congress, democrats, Ed Ross, Eric Holder, ewross, Guantanamo, Inter-Continental Hotel, Kabul, Karen Greenberg, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, military tribunals, Mitch McConnell, Mumbai, New York City, obama administration, Persian Gulf, republicans, Senate Minority Leader, Supreme Court, teorrist, U.S. Federal Courts, U.S. Navy ship, United States federal courts, United States Navy, Unlawful combatant, Unlawful Enemy Combatants

June 26, 2011 • 12:43 PM 19

ISOLATIONIST REPUBLICANS VS. INTERVENTIONIST DEMOCRAT

Are Republicans returning to their isolationist roots while Democrats under President Barack Obama become more interventionist?

Polling results and recent statements by Republican presidential hopefuls suggest that Republicans are becoming more isolationists. Conversely, while the far left remains staunchly anti-war and non-interventionist, President Barack Obama, in the mold of his post-World War II Democratic predecessors, appears to be leading Democrats, albeit unwillingly, toward greater interventionism. He seeks to maintain substantial U.S. forces in Iraq. He continues the war in Afghanistan. He’s intervened in Libya. And he is conducting not-so-secret wars in Pakistan and Yemen. (More)

Filed under: National Security, Terrorism, 1945, 9/11, Afghanistan, anit-war, anti-interventionist, Bay of Pigs, Bill Clinton, Bosnia, Chinese Civil War, CIA, conservative Republicans, counterinsurgency, counterterrorism, Democratic Party, Dwight Eisenhower, Ed Ross, ewross, Facebook, French Indochina, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Germany, GOP New Hampshire debate, Grenada, Hamid Karzai, harry truman, insurgents, intervened in Libya, interventionist Democrats, Iraq, isolationist Republicans, isolationist roots, Japan, Korea, Kosovo, Kuwait, Lyndon Johnson, military over extension, Mitt Romney, nation building, NATO, Panama, Pat Buchanan, Pew Poll, post Vietnam War, President Barack Obama, republican party, Ronald Reagan, Rwanda, sarah palin, Sen John McCain, South Korea, terrorists, U.S. Marines, Vietnam, war in Afghanistan, war weariness, world war II

June 19, 2011 • 12:45 PM 9

NEGOTIATING WITH THE TALIBAN: A SMART MOVE WITH THE RIGHT CARROTS AND STICKS

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The United States of America does not negotiate with terrorists (individuals or states); at least not the kind that plot and carry out terrorist attacks in U.S. cities or that holds hostages and makes unacceptable demands. It does negotiate with its enemies on the battlefield; and President Hamid Karzai’s announcement Saturday that Afghanistan and the United States are engaged in peace talks with the Taliban is a smart move with the right carrots and sticks. (More)

Filed under: National Security, Terrorism, 1973 Paris Peace Accords, Afghan National Army, Afghanistan, al-Qaeda, American public opinion, anti-war protests, automony, carrots and sticks, cease hostilities, china, corruption, Ed Ross, ewross, fall of Saigon, Hamid Karzai, incentives and disincentives, Indochina, International Security Assistance Force, international terrorist organization, Islamist militia group, Kabul, nationalists, negotiating with the Taliban, North Vietnamese, North Vietnamese Communists, opium trade, outrageous demands, peace settlement, peace talks, political solution, President Barack Obama, quid pro quo, Republican challengers, Richard Nixon, Soviet Forces, soviet union, split hairs, stealth helicopter, Taliban leaders, terrorists, tribal culture, tribal regions, U.S. Navy SEAL, U.S. Presidential election, unconditional surrender, Viet Cong, Vietnan

May 15, 2011 • 12:00 PM 46

ENHANCED INTERROGATION TECHNIQUES: It’s Time for a Law That Authorizes Their Use

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As we learned following the killing of Osama bin Laden, enhanced interrogation techniques (EITs) played an important role in the CIA eventually tracking him to his Abbottabad, Pakistan, compound. It’s time to stop the spurious arguments about EITs and for Congress to enact a law permitting the President of the United States, and only the President, to authorize the use of well defined and limited EITs when he determines they are essential to the national security of the United States. (More)

Filed under: Terrorism, 9/11, Abbottabad, Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti, abu Faraj al-Libbi, Abu Zubaydah, Adb al-Rahim al-Nashiri, al-Qaeda, Attorney General Eric Holder, Central Intelligence Agency, Chris Wallace, CIA, CIA interrogators, Congress, courier, detainee, Ed Ross, EITs, enact a law, enhanced interrogation techniques, ewross, Fox News Sunday, George W. Bush, House of Representatives, Islamist-Jihadism, John McCain, Jose Rodriguez, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, KSM, Leon Panetta, majority leader, Michael Hayden, Michael Mukasey, Mike McConnell, minority leader, obama administration, Op-ed, Osama Bin Laden, Pakistan, President of the United States, presidential candidate, Senate, Speaker, Tom Donilon, torture, Washington Post

May 8, 2011 • 12:00 PM 10

U.S. MILITARY ASSISTANCE TO PAKISTAN: There’s a Lot of Explaining to Do

Image by Nokes via Flickr

U.S. military assistance to Pakistan has been much debated since U.S. Navy SEALs killed Osama Bin Laden not far from the doorstep of the national military academy in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and only a short drive from downtown Islamabad. It’s inconceivable, many knowledgeable people believe, that the Pakistan government, or at the very least its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) organization, didn’t know Bin Laden was there. How can we continue to give Pakistan billions of dollars in military assistance each year if they are knowingly harboring our worst enemies? (More)

Filed under: National Security, Terrorism, Abbottabad, Afghanistan, al-Qaeda, Charles Krauthammer, classified, Democratic, Ed Ross, ewross, F-16s, FY11, FY12, game changer, Government, hearings, Inter-Services Intelligence, ISI, Islamabad, Islamist-Jihadism, israel, Jonathan Pollard, Kkabul, middle east, military assistance, Mullah Omar, Mumbai attacks, Muslim world, North Africa, obama administration, Osama Bin Laden, Pakistan, Pakistani, Pat Buchannan, People's Liberation Army, PLA, PLAAF, Rabat, republican, Robert Gates, Taliban, United States Navy SEALs, US Congress, US Navy SEALs

March 27, 2011 • 5:12 PM 5

QADHAFI WREAKS HAVOC ON THE AMERICAN POLITICAL CONSCIENCE

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Moammar Gadhafi once again is wreaking havoc. This time it’s not over the skies of Lockerbie, Scotland, in a night club in Germany, or just in the cities and villages of Libya. He’s wreaking havoc on the American political conscience. With a reluctant president and the far left and the far right ganging up on the middle, the debate often resembles the chaos of a Marx brother’s movie. The situation, however, is deadly serious. How we deal with Qadhafi sends a message to repressors and rebels that will have a major impact on the course of events. And the sooner we have a doctrine that forms the basis of coherent strategy in the region, the more likely “Arab Spring” won’t turn out in Libya and other countries like “Prague Spring.” (More)

Filed under: National Security, Terrorism, Admiral Samuel Locklear, Afghanistan, American political class, arms embargo, Bahrain, barack obama, Britain, civil war, Congress, democrats, Ed Ross, Egypt, ewross, far left, far right, France, General Charles Bouchard, Germany, Groucho Marx, interior decorator, international community, Iraq, iron lady, Jordan, Latin America, Libya, Lockerbie, London, Marx Brother's Movie, Mediterranean, middle east, mission creep, Moammar Qadhafi, Muammar al-Gaddafi, Naples, NATO, no-fly zone, non-war, obama administration, oil, Paris, protect Libyan civilians, rebels, repressive dictators, republicans, San Francisco, Saudi Arabia, Scottland, Secretary Hillary Clinton, Secretary Robert Gates, Security Council resolutions, Syria, talk-show circut, tanks and artillery, Tunisia, UN, Venezuela, Washington D.C., wreak havoc

March 6, 2011 • 1:20 PM 2

OBAMA’S AVERSION TO LABELING TERRORISTS

President Barack Obama speaks at Fort Hood mem...

Image by The U.S. Army via Flickr

Listen: Ed Ross, behind the column.

Barack Obama has an aversion to labeling people who attack America in the name of Islam as terrorists. As conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer observed, on March 2 when President Obama made his brief appearance before the White House press corps to speak about the two U.S. airmen killed and two wounded at the Frankfurt airport in Germany, “he talked about it as if it was like a bus accident, a tragedy.” As he did following the shootings at Ft. Hood, Texas, and other recent incidents, he couldn’t bring himself to call the attacker a terrorist. How can the President of the United States successfully lead America in a war against terrorists if he refuses to accept them for what they are? (More)

Filed under: Terrorism, Afghanistan, Allen West, Arif Uka, aversion to terrorism, barack obama, Cairo speech, Charles Krauthammer, Chicago, Columbia, criminal justice, criminologist, culture, economically marginalized, Ed Ross, ewross, Fox News, Frankfort airport, Ft. Hood Texas, Gabby Giffords, Germany, Harvard, ideology, in cold blood, Jared Loughner, jihadists, Kosovar, liberal philosophy, liberal thinking, Muslim fanatics, Muslim world, Muslin, Nidal Hisan, P.J. Crowley, Religion, socially excluded, Special Report, university, US Airmen, US Military, war with Islam, White House press corps

February 24, 2011 • 8:47 AM 0

JIHADIST OPPORTUNITIES IN LIBYA

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The global intelligence company STRATFOR‘s analysis of Jihadist Opportunities in Lybia just out today provides an excellent summary of the history and prospects for the jihadist movement gaining another foothold in an Islamic country. “Libyans have long participated in militant operations in places like Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya and Iraq. After leaving Afghanistan in the early 1990s, a sizable group of Libyan jihadists returned home and launched a militant campaign aimed at toppling Gadhafi, whom they considered an infidel.” It concludes that, “While it seems unlikely at this point that the jihadists could somehow gain control of Libya, if Gadhafi falls and there is a period of chaos in Libya, these militants may find themselves with far more operating space inside the country than they have experienced in decades. If the regime does not fall and there is civil war between the eastern and western parts of the country, they could likewise find a great deal of operational space amid the chaos.”

Filed under: Terrorism, Afghanistan, Africa, Chechnya, Iraq, Libya, Stratfor

January 9, 2011 • 10:33 AM 2

THE SHOOTING OF GABRIELLE GIFFORDS AND 19 OTHERS IN ARIZONA

The mentally unbalanced and criminally insane are with us always. American politics is a rough and tumble arena with highly charged rhetoric. It always has been and always will be; and the politically unscrupulous will always seek to take advantage of events like the Oklahoma bombing or the Arizona shootings. What we must do at times like these, however, is focus not on politics but on the facts of the situation and what practical things we can learn from them. Can we protect members of Congress from this kind of attack? If we build walls between our representatives and senators and the people they represent, what effect will it have on our democracy? This is a time for cool heads, rational thought, and objective analysis. Our thoughts and prayers should be with the victims and their families. Our words and actions going forward should be those we would expect from a crime-scene investigator, not those we would expect from an ambulance chaser.

Filed under: Politics, Terrorism, American politics, Arizona, Arizona shooting, criminally insane, democracy, Gabrielle Giffords, Member of Congress, Oklahoma bombing, rhetoric, Tucson Arizona, United States House of Representatives

November 14, 2010 • 3:00 PM 11

TSA SCREENERS HAVE THEIR HANDS FULL

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U.S. Transportation Security Agency (TSA) screeners literally have their hands full these days groping the flying public. Travelers that refuse screening by newly installed full-body “naked” scanners are subjected to invasive pat-downs that include touching children’s and adult’s genitals and women’s breasts. Is all this really necessary, or are there better ways to keep terrorists from blowing up airplanes? (More)

Filed under: Terrorism, or are there better ways to keep terrorists from blowing up airplanes?, U.S. Transportation Security Agency (TSA) screeners literally have their hands full these days groping the flying public. Travelers that refuse screening by newly installed full-body “naked” scann

October 17, 2010 • 2:42 PM 2

KILLING TERRORISTS: Is There a Real Mitch Rapp?

Vince Flynn

In Bob Woodward’s new book, Obama’s Wars, he reveals highly classified and sensitive information about lethal CIA clandestine counterterrorism operations, including drone attacks and secret CIA-run “counterterrorism pursuit teams” to kill terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Woodward does not reveal the identities of CIA covert operatives, but his and other revelations, including that President Barack Obama has authorized the killing of an American citizen, Anwar al-Awlaki, suggest that one or more “assassins” not unlike Vince Flynn’s fictional Mitch Rapp are out there. (More)

Filed under: Terrorism, Afghanistan, Anwar al-Awlaki, battlefiedl, Bob Woodward, Central Intelligence Agency, Church Committee, CIA clandestine operations, congressional oversight, Ed Ross, ewross, Fidel Castro, foreign leaders, George W. Bush, intelligence, Irene Kennedy, Islamist-Jihadist, John F. Kennedy, killing terrorists, lacrosse team, law enforcement, Lockerby Scottland, media, Mitch Rapp, Obama's Wars, Orion Team, Pakistan, Pan Am 103, political appointees, presidential advisors, Syracuse University, terrorists, United States, Vice Flynn, Washington DC

September 12, 2010 • 1:29 PM 7

THE CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS: Seeing the Forest for the Trees

In his 1998 book, “The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of the World Order,” political scientist Samuel P. Huntington wrote that “cultural and religious identities will be the primary source of conflict in the post-Cold War world.” Nine years after 9/11, Huntington’s thesis has become reality. The attacks on 9/11 and the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and with al-Qaeda that followed are part of a larger conflict with a growing segment of the Muslim world that adheres to cultural and religious identities that are antithetical to and threaten Western philosophy and values. (More)

Filed under: National Security, Terrorism, 9/11, Afghanistan, al-Qaeda, barack obama, Christianity, clash of civilizations, commander-in-chief, Cordoba House, Crusaders, cultural and religious identities, David Petraeus, Ed Ross, ewross, Ganesville Florida, George W. Bush, Ground Zero, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, Iraq, islam, Islamist, Islamophobic, jihad, jihadist, Muslim Americans, Muslim street, Muslim world, New York City, obama administration, Political correctness, Political science, post Cold-War world, Quran, Robert Gates, Saladin, Samuel P. Huntington, Terry Jones, Western philosophy

Ed's Blog

KILLING QADDAFI

IT’S TIME TO DO WHAT’S NECESSARY TO BRING ABOUT A CHANGE OF GOVERNMENT IN IRAN

HOLDER DETERMINED TO PROSECUTE UNLAWFUL ENEMY COMBATANTS IN U.S. FEDERAL COURTS

ISOLATIONIST REPUBLICANS VS. INTERVENTIONIST DEMOCRAT

NEGOTIATING WITH THE TALIBAN: A SMART MOVE WITH THE RIGHT CARROTS AND STICKS

Listen to Ed’s Audio Blog:

ENHANCED INTERROGATION TECHNIQUES: It’s Time for a Law That Authorizes Their Use

Listen to Ed’s Audio Blog:

U.S. MILITARY ASSISTANCE TO PAKISTAN: There’s a Lot of Explaining to Do

QADHAFI WREAKS HAVOC ON THE AMERICAN POLITICAL CONSCIENCE

Listen to Ed’s Audio Blog:

OBAMA’S AVERSION TO LABELING TERRORISTS

Listen: Ed Ross, behind the column.

JIHADIST OPPORTUNITIES IN LIBYA

THE SHOOTING OF GABRIELLE GIFFORDS AND 19 OTHERS IN ARIZONA

TSA SCREENERS HAVE THEIR HANDS FULL

KILLING TERRORISTS: Is There a Real Mitch Rapp?

THE CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS: Seeing the Forest for the Trees

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