We All Know What Happens When You Assume
The Tea Party wasn't responsible for this one, either.
by: jayme evans | published: 05 10, 2010
Presidential Spokesgullet Robert Gibbs said last week that the near-miss in Times Square did not represent a "systemic failure", but I would argue that the government's response was indeed just that. I would even go a step further. I would argue that the government's failure to actually stop Shahzad's attempt to detonate a Vehicle-Borne-IED in Times Square also exemplifies just how dangerous the entire Progressive approach to terrorism is. Let's not forget, this incident did not occur in a vacuum.
Shortly after the arrest of Carlos Bledsoe, a.k.a. Abdul Hakim Muhammad, we learned that there were warning signs. We learned that this thug should have been locked up on drug and weapons charges long before he murdered Private William Long outside that Arkansas recruiting station; a failure of our justice system that points to prosecutorial negligence in Knox County, TN that has never been satisfactorily addressed to this day.
Shortly after Nidal Hasan engaged in his fratricidal jihad against Fort Hood soldiers preparing for deployment, we learned that here too, there were numerous red flags and warning signs that were either missed or completely ignored. Co-workers and colleagues spoke of increasingly belligerent and bizarre statements and behavior that screamed for intervention. But, the political correctness that now infects the Army ended any chance that his murderous plot could be stopped and a dozen soldiers and one civilian died as a result.
Shortly after the news broke of the arrest of Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab, we learned that both he and his family also gave plenty of warning signs. His father told of his radicalization and reached out to US officials for help. His one-way ticket was purchased with cash and he carried no bags - a huge, red flag that was ignored by the airline. The British refused him entry due to his deceptive answers to their questions about where he was headed, which resulted in his name being entered on the terrorist watch list and put on the radar of the JTTF and law enforcement.
And now, as the remaining puzzle pieces of Faisal Shahzad's failed attack fall into place, we see that Shahzad broadcast numerous warning signs too. He was a post-911 Pakistani applying for US citizenship and his father was in the Pakistani military, which is quite likely compromised by terrorists. He traveled numerous times back and forth to Pakistan, the last time allegedly for 5 months, which included bomb training, yet neither he nor his travels ever aroused suspicion.
While our government failed to detect or even stop him, their propaganda machine has been in full overdrive, spinning the incident as a textbook, counter-terrorism operation. Immediately after the incident was made public, the Taliban claimed responsibility. The government immediately and inexplicably discounted any foreign connection and said they were looking for a 40-ish white male. The timing of the Taliban claim coincided exactly with when they believed the bomb would have gone off, so the statement by the government that there was no Taliban connection was not only premature, but patently false. A week later, they finally acknowledged a foreign link. Much to the chagrin of Democrats, the Tea Party wasn't responsible for this one, either.
Terrorists tried many times during the Bush years to attack us, but they were always unsuccessful. In the age of Obama, we've already been the victims of several, foreign-sponsored acts of terror that have killed Americans (mostly soldiers thus far) on US soil, because Barack Obama dispensed with many of his predecessor's safeguards. In every one of these cases, the perpetrator was initially characterized by this bumbling administration as a "lone wolf"; as if some idiot with bomb training, a grudge and an appreciation for our enemies is any less threatening. But the only lone wolf was Bledsoe.
While the NYPD did a remarkable job clearing the bomb site, the fact that Shahzad was in custody within 53 hours was not that remarkable. All one had to do was retrieve one of the many VIN numbers stamped on the vehicle frame, engine block or key parts of the failed VBIED and then follow the trail. In this case, we were lucky once again, as the trail was complete. Although Shahzad was placed on the no-fly list as soon as he was identified, he was still able to board and he almost got away, had it not been for alert Customs officials.
According to Janet Napolitano, the system worked perfectly yet again (once the bomb squad disabled the device and the investigation began, of course). We're also reminded that this suspect, like all the others, is singing like a canary, telling his life story and generally being the most cooperative gent we've ever seen, despite being read his Miranda rights, if you believe the feds. I certainly don't.
The watch-listing system that has been put in place by un-schooled bureaucrats is a ticking time-bomb. As one who has nearly two decades of experience designing, programming and testing systems software, I have to ask why every single person who checks in for a flight is not matched in real-time against the entire TIDES dataset every single time they check in? I could implement that system in a couple of weeks, there's no excuse. They don't want to risk sensitive information, I'm sure, but they need to find a way, if they expect air carriers to be partners instead of obstacles.
Our entire approach to detecting terrorists in this country has been gutted, while the government focuses on tax activists and Tea Parties. And, our entire approach to fighting terrorists is based on nothing but assumptions; like the multiple layers of security are enough or that they could just stop the terrorist on the other end, if the flight takes off. But that assumes that the terrorist and everyone else will arrive at their destination, instead of being blown out of the sky.
We all know what happens when you assume.
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