Bin Laden Dead

Osama Bin Laden is dead.  I think it's time we declare the "war" on terror over.

TSA Body Scan Controversy

There is quite an uproar over the TSA's insistence that passengers undergo a full body scan.  Something I find very ironic, is that most of the uproar is coming from republicans, Fox News, etc, the very groups that have always wholeheartedly supported the TSA and the Department of Homeland Security.  These scanners actually appear to do a much better job of screening passengers than an x-ray machine.  However, I think there is still a problem with luggage, since it is likely still easy to camouflage items in a carry-on.

Anyway, there is a video circulating where a passenger told the TSA agent not to touch "his junk" and is now upset he may be fined $10,000 for leaving the screening.  People are aghast that you can't leave the screening once it starts.  But if you let people leave the screening, the screening is even less effective, since a potential terrorist could just keep trying until he did not get selected.  Anyway, I don't have too much of a problem with the scanners, or the new regulations.  I actually think this is one of the first steps the TSA has taken that addresses security, unlike the ID checks, and other nonsense.

9 years later...

A great piece by Fareek Zakaria on the true costs of 9/11.

Taking photographs of airplanes is terrorist activity?

I often go to a public park in Arlington, VA called Gravelly Point.  It is just across the river from DC, and it is about 500 feet from the National Airport (DCA) runway.  I've taken many visitors there, since it is a great place to watch planes land; they are only a few hundred feet above your head and you can even feel their jet engines.  Most people I know like to take photos of the planes behind when they pass.  Apparently, this is terrorist activity.

Thus begins the governments war on photographers...  What the fuck does taking a photo of an airplane have to do with aviation security?

Holocaust museum terrorist details emerge

Here is a post from the alleged shooter today, in which he verbally attacks then-president elect Obama.

It likely wasn't him that posted it, but what is disburbing are the amount of people who seemed to agree with him.

We are starting to see the right wing terrorists come out of the woodwork, and it is best we keep and eye on them. And one thing to keep in mind, they are not all Nazis - even right wing Jewish terrorist groups exist.

Taibbi on terrorism

He brings some sense to the issue

Watch out for big brother?

Do you fit the profile of who they are looking for?

Bush's GITMO did not keep us safe

Here is proof that Bush's GITMO did not keep us safe:

One of the captured terrorists that Bush's administration let go free is now leading the war against us in Afghanistan.  Good job George.  Maybe if we'd have let these guys work through the justice system, he'd be in Supermax now, not in an opium field.

What happens to the detainees?

There's a lot of questions about how to handle the GITMO detainees once they are transferred out.

Put them into our criminal justice system.  If we can prosecute Timothy McVeigh, the Unabomber, and countless other criminals, why not these guys?

There are 245 of them.  We aren't talking about an army.  In the case where there is no evidence of wrongdoing, they will have to be released, but that's something we've already done, even under Bush.

Israel blinks

On the eve of a new US President, Israel has blinked, and is accelerating a pullout from Gaza, with the goal of completely withdrawing before Barack Obama is sworn in at noon tomorrow.

Unlike the past few weeks, where we had a "when the cat is away" scenario, with Bush as the lamest of ducks, we now have a President who is willing to re-engage in the Middle East.

Domestic groups a cause for concern

Domestic hate groups, of all kinds, may be the biggest security threat to the new presidency.

It is amazing how many people still engage in hating.  There are still the usual suspects: KKK, Aryan Nations, etc.  But there are also a good number of Anti-Jewish groups, Anti-Arab groups (usual reciprocal in terms of membership), Anti-Latino groups, and general hate groups.

The best source for information on who these groups are and where they operate is the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Most, if not all, of these groups of have engaged in domestic terrorism at one time or another.

These are the types of people whose cycles of hate threaten our country and the world.  They are the people that must be isolated, embarrassed, and assimilated, if we are to achieve true security.

What we can learn from the Israel/Gaza conflict

A ceasefire has been declared in the Israel/Gaza conflict...for now.

A lot has happened over the past 2 weeks and we can learn much.  A few takeaways:

1.  Civilian casualties on any side are unacceptable.  Israeli's were killed and injured by rockets fired from Hamas and Palestinian civilians (including an Israeli trained doctor's children) were killed by poorly(?) aimed Israeli mortars.

2.  Ceasefires with an end-date should not be entered into.  It pre-supposes that at the end of the ceasefire, hostilities can and should resume.

3. In the Middle East conflict, the United States' interest is for their not to be a conflict.  We do not have any good allies in the Middle East.  Period.

4.  There is enough blame to go around, and the only people who get hurt are civilians.  As a friend of mine so rightly said on facebook: "don't you see what your stupid religions cause?  Fuck you Israel and fuck you Hamas" or something along those lines.  So rightly said.

Mumbai Terrorist Attacks

Terrorists have struck Mumbai today, killing possibly 100 or more people and injuring many more. The attacks appear to target foreigners, since most of them took place at or near hotels. These attacks were coordinated and everything from hospitals to hotels to a Jewish center were attacked. One group has claimed responsibility, but nothing is confirmed right now.

I have a team that works in India, they are in Bangalore, not Mumbai, but last year our office was affected by a much smaller incident in that area.

India has become a real democracy in South Asia and I think we only need to look to their neighbors to the East and West to see where these attacks could have come from, though they may have come from within.

By targeting foreigners, the terrorist may think that they have a shot at reducing foreign influence and investment within the country, though I doubt that this will seriously hinder growth in India.

My thoughts are with the Indian people. We as Americans know all too well what happens when terrorists target a major city. I can only say that I hope that the Indian authorities react well with a properly measured response.

McCain Calls Terrorists Freedom Fighters

Something which I myself did not notice during the debate, but Radley Balko has pointed out is that during the debate, McCain made the following remark:

First of all, I won’t repeat the mistake that I regret enormously, and that is, after we were able to help the Afghan freedom fighters and drive the Russians out of Afghanistan, we basically washed our hands of the region.

And the result over time was the Taliban, Al Qaida, and a lot of the difficulties we are facing today. So we can’t ignore those lessons of history.

These "freedom fighters" included Osama and the Taliban.  While it is true that we left them hanging around with a lot of guns, and now we don't quite have peace in the region.  

It is also true that at the time they were fighting for their freedom, something that can be said of many groups that are also called terrorists.  I'm not here to pass judgment on where freedom fighters end and terrorists begin, but you can bet your ass if Barack Obama had made that comment Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly would be up in arms.

How 9/11 became 9/11™

Tomorrow we mark the seventh anniversary of one of the largest terrorist attacks in the history of the world. What was once a national day of memory has since become a rallying cry for one side of the argument. Watch Keith's special comment below on this issue, if you wish.

The questions to ask: "Who was the president on September 11, 2001? Who was the president for the 9 months prior to September 11, 2001? Between Barack Obama and John McCain, who is most like that man who went on vacation for 96 days in 2001 prior to 9/11?"

Don't give in to the fear.

Anthrax Redux

Almost 7 years ago, a month after 9/11, we were hit with anthrax attacks. How did our leaders react?

McCain used it as a talking point as to why we should invade Iraq.

There are only two questions:
1. Did this guy act alone?
2. Was it a suicide?

Think about it: government employee takes anthrax out of ultra-secure laboratory, mails it to congressional offices. People die. Republicans use it as a reason to invade Iraq (remember, Iraq supposedly had WMD's like anthrax). We go into Iraq, over 4,000 soldiers die, and we find no WMD's. The FBI takes 7 years to even attempt to indict this guy, he is not arrested, and now supposedly commits suicide.

I'm not one to promote conspiracy theories, but those who do are going to go nuts over this one.