United Liberty

In a speech following the attempt by Nigerian terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to kill Americans on a flight from Detroit to Amsterdam, President Obama said this:

Finally, the American people should remain vigilant, but also be confident. Those plotting against us seek not only to undermine our security, but also the open society and the values that we cherish as Americans. This incident, like several that have preceded it, demonstrates that an alert and courageous citizenry are far more resilient than an isolated extremist.

That sentence baffles in many ways. First, Obama is having us swallow an image of an incident which is similar to others perpetrated before it but is perpetrated by an “isolated” extremist. Huh? Second, this “isolated extremist” was warned of by his own father, who had spoken with the CIA and the US Embassy in Abuja to warn that he believed his son was a jihadist training in Yemen.

In June 2009,  Barack Obama delivered a speech in Egypt in which he said the following:

So long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace, and who promote conflict rather than the cooperation that can help all of our people achieve justice and prosperity. This cycle of suspicion and discord must end.

I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect; and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles – principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.

Obviously a protracted American presence isn’t an option in Iraq, based alone on the unpopularity of such a presence with just about everybody involved. However, the absence of the United States will lead to a power vaccuum, even if a supposedly stable parliamentary state with a professionally trained military is left behind. A post-American occupation Iraq will not be gumdrops and lollipops, since it wasn’t gumdrops and lollipops before the 2003 invasion either.

It’s not surprising that attacks are being increased as we lead up to American withdrawal from Iraq. Terrorists must see an opportunity here, with a major power leaving behind a strategically important Middle Eastern state, and it is most likely that they will take full advantage of it. The optimistic view would be that the military trained by US forces would be adept enough to put down an insurgency. The pessimistic view is that they’re not, and then we’ll see a Taliban situation in an oil-rich, strategically important Middle Eastern state that thousands of Americans and possibly millions of Iraqis have already died fighting for.

I came across an article with a disturbing title, “Cheney: Execute Terrorists If Cuba Prison Must Close”, published by the conservative-leaning online publication Newsmax.

By now, everyone is aware that Hamas has attacked Israel, though it was Israel itself which broke the ceasefire. I no longer have a television but I know the story is plastered on every major news network because it is also plastered on every political blog and social networking site. There is an entire network of supporters on both sides of the conflict insisting that their side is blameless and that the concerns of the other side are unremarkable. Both sides are spewing enough hyperbole and anger to warrant concern about fistfights breaking out stateside.

The conflict between Israel and it’s “neighbors” in Gaza and the West Bank is a great big mess that apparently has just one solution - according to a large group of foreign policy geniuses in America and Israel: more fighting.

The recent Israeli military incursion into Gaza has been correctly termed an “invasion”, as put by Congressman Ron Paul. It shows the world, once again, that the policy of preemptive or “preventive” war carries the day with Israel and its policies towards its neighbors. In reality, this is an extension of the U.S. foreign policy of intervention into the internal affairs of other nations, having taken its latest form in the past five years as preemptive war with the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Many staunch (i.e., blind) supporters of the state of Israel somehow believe that the latest military strategy will somehow work in staving off the threats of rockets being fired by members and supporters of Hamas.

The Los Angeles Times ran a stunning piece in this Sunday’s paper detailing the resignation of Lt. Col. Darrel J. Vandeveld, the man who was prosecuting nearly 1/3rd of the pending trials for suspected terrorists in Guantanamo Bay. Vandeveld, a self described conformist, became disenchanted with “the system” set up in Cuba over issues relating to fairness and lack of due process for the very prisoners he was suppose to prosecute. He lays out accusations of intentional withholding of exculpatory evidence from defense attorneys by military officials, and even goes so far as to say he reached out to a defense attorney to ask “how do I get myself out of this office?”.

So, much to my chagrin the House of Representatives voted to pass the bailout bill yesterday, after it was made into a mashup of the proposed bailout, the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008, and the Tax Extenders and Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2008. In addition to the EIEA to woo Democrats, and the TEAMTRA to woo Republicans, many specifically targeted pork projects were added to entice lawmakers to vote for it. The sections and their “enticements” are listed below:

Sec. 101. Extension of alternative minimum tax relief for nonrefundable personal credits.

Sec. 102. Extension of increased alternative minimum tax exemption amount.

Sec. 103. Increase of AMT refundable credit amount for individuals with longterm unused
credits for prior year minimum tax liability, etc.

Sec. 201. Deduction for State and local sales taxes.