you can't stop all terrorist attacks you can, however, search ME muzzies before they board a plane to the USA
On Jan 6, 2:13 pm, dick thompson <[email protected]> wrote: > Posted on Wednesday, 01.06.10 > > * > Recommend > <http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/1411299.html#none> > (2) > * share > <http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/1411299.html#> > * email > > <http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/v-emailform/story/1411...> > * print > > <http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/v-print/story/1411299....> > * comment > > <http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/1411299.html#com...> > * reprint <http://www.miamiherald.com/reprints/> > > FARK it! > <http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/1411299.html#> > Send to AIM > <aim:goim?Message=http://www.miamiherald.com/851/story/1411299.html> > Seed Newsvine > <http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/1411299.html#> > Add to Reddit > <http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/1411299.html#> > Add to Google Bookmarks > <http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/1411299.html#> > Thumb this up at StumbleUpon. > <http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/1411299.html#> > Publish this post to LinkedIn > <http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/1411299.html#> > Add to del.icio.us > <http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/1411299.html#> > <http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzz?publisherurn=the_miami_herald&guid=http%3A...> > > Post to MySpace > <http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/1411299.html#> > Add to facebook > <http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/1411299.html#> > DIGG This > <http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/1411299.html#> > Bookmark this post on Twitter. > <http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/1411299.html#> > > AT LARGE > > Priority is stopping terrorists, period > > Related Content > > * Q & A at 1 p.m. | Submit questions for Leonard Pitts > <http://www.miamiherald.com/qna/forum/ask_leonard/index.html> > > By LEONARD PITTS JR. > > [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > > On Christmas Day, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a student from Nigeria, > allegedly tried to blow up a jetliner bound for Detroit. He failed due > to some defect in his explosives and the quick reflexes of passengers > who subdued him. As you might expect, this close call has some of us > asking hard, but necessary questions: > > Would full body scanners have stopped Abdulmutallab before he could > bring explosives aboard the plane? Shouldn't the fact that his father > alerted U.S. officials that his son had become radicalized have flagged > him as a security risk? How can this incident be used to hurt the Democrats? > > Granted, that last one may not have been high on /your/ list of pressing > questions, but it was obviously of vital importance to the opposition > party. As a Washington Post headline put it: /Republicans see political > opportunity; GOP says jet incident is more proof Democrats are weak on > security/. Sure enough, there followed a spate of condemnation, led by > former Vice President Dick Cheney, who accused President Obama of > ``pretending'' we are not at war. > > Just as a factual matter, it's difficult to see how the GOP can carry > off this argument with a straight face. If Abdulmutallab's bungled > attempt to blow up a jetliner on President Obama's watch proves > Democrats are soft on terrorism, it stands to reason that Richard Reid's > bungled attempt to blow up a jetliner on President Bush's watch proves > the same about Republicans. I'm just sayin'. > > Not that the GOP has a monopoly on inappropriate questions. The near > tragedy had Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano asking one of > her own: how can I cover my backside? Her solution was to suggest, on > ABC's /This Week/, that there was really nothing to be concerned about. > ``Once this incident occurred,'' she said, ``the system worked.'' One > can only wonder what color is the sky in her reality. > > *System didn't work* > > ** Perhaps Madame Secretary is unaware of this, but the system is > supposed to /prevent/ incidents; it deserves no praise for the fact that > Abdulmutallab was competently taken into custody /after/ a miracle saved > the jetliner from the explosives he managed to smuggle through security. > > Thankfully, Napolitano recanted her nonsensical blather the next day, > which, as it happens, was the day before the president belatedly > conceded the ``human and systemic failures'' that almost led to tragedy. > But I submit that her initial, defensive, reaction, taken alongside the > GOP's reflexive attempt to exploit the incident for political gain, > speaks volumes about why Washington cannot seem to fix airline security > -- or, for that matter, anything else. > > So polarized has our leadership become that it is incapable of seeing in > any dimension beyond the political. When attempted mass murder is seen > as an ``opportunity'' on the one side and a signal to circle the wagons > on the other, one can only conclude that for some, partisanship > literally matters more than life itself. > > I know what you're thinking and for the record, yes: I did indeed make > this same argument -- repeatedly -- when Democrats tried to use 9/11 to > damage George W. Bush. > > I renew it now with an urgency. Too often, our leaders cannot work for > the greater good because they acknowledge no good greater than politics. > But if that's truly our prime directive and highest imperative, God help > us all. > > *Unacceptable responses* > > ** The unacceptable fact is that, /eight years/ after the terrorist > attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Abdulmutallab was able to waltz aboard a > U.S.-bound jetliner carrying explosives. And Republicans are wondering > how they can turn this to their advantage? The White House point person > on terrorism is wondering how she can deflect the blame? > > Small wonder we have no answer for the problem of air security. Step one > in getting the right answers? Start asking the right questions.
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