January 5, 2009
Question #1 – What lapses in the American counter terrorism apparatus made the Christmas Day bombing plot possible? Is it inevitable that certain plots will succeed?
The short answer to the second sentence is: Yes, it is inevitable that “certain plots will succeed.”
3 comments:
But several NCTC veterans, none of whom would agree to be identified because of their ongoing involvement with the intelligence community, discussed chronic shortfalls of manpower at the agency. One NCTC veteran described an single analyst — “yes, singular,” a different former NCTC analyst emphasized — who until recently was responsible for analysis of terrorism on the entire Arabian Peninsula, apparently during the time when al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has emerged as what Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday termed a “global threat.” http://attackerman.firedoglake.com/2010/01/05/eight-or-nine-analysts-comprise-the-national-counterterrorism-centers-middle-east-branch/
There is no accountability by members of congress. How can we expect oversight when the government is run by hypocrites?
You start your article by commenting on the important question of why the terrorists hate us.
You say this is, at least in the case of KSM, largely due to our support for Israel. Certainly Israelis have brutalized Palestinians, but Palestinians have brutalized Israelis. It is an endless cycle of violence.
So why do we not see Israeli suicide bombers? Surely they have just as good reasons to wish vengeance Palestinians do?
What makes sense to me is that our real problem is cultural. For some reason, Palestinians are schooled to believe that the Israelis are monsters and that revenge should be their highest priority.
Now, personally, I tend to have a negative impression of people who visit schools, restaurants or markets and blow themselves up in order to inflict the maximum damage on people.
This makes me sympathize with the Israelis and side with them, quite reasonably in my view.
If they do hate us for taking the side of the Israelis, I don't see anything realistic we can do about it, then.
If we change sides, after all, we are supporting red-handed murderers in their opposition to one of the few decent places in the Middle East, Israel.
So in view of this, what if anything can be done to make them hate us less? It seems to me that it's basically impossible.
Another possibility is that it is Western culture, with its highly sexed, non-religious viewpoint, that is the real threat. The existence of Israel, after all, does not threaten any aspect of the lifestyles lived elsewhere in the Middle East. Westernization does.
I wonder what would happen to Al Queda if they were able to eliminate Israel. My guess is that they would pick a new enemy and keep moving. Just like a bureaucratic organization, they will try and save themselves.
In the end, then, I don't see anything we can do that would succeed in causing them to stop attacking us other than killing or demoralizing all of them.
That's not a pleasant conclusion to come to, and I would be very interested in hearing better informed views than my own.
D
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