Embassy closings show the War on Terror is not over yet

Over the weekend U. S. embassies across the Middle East were closed due to security concerns. Today, the U.S. embassy in Yemen was evacuated and U.S. Citizens were told to leave the country due to an al-Qaeda threat.

In the last two weeks U.S. drones 4 times have targeted leaders of al-Qaeda in Yemen and it is believed that one of the dead  believed to be Saleh Jouti, a senior al-Qaeda member. Yesterday alone U.S. drone targeted a moving car in the  Marib province, killing four alleged al-Qaeda militants.

This comes as the State Department released a statement saying that the evacuations were due "“due to the continued potential for terrorist attacks.” After last year's terrorist attack on Benghazi it seems the administration is much more concerned with making sure that diplomatic staff in foreign countries receive adequate protection.

While it has long been known that there is a strong al-Qaeda presence in Yemen, it's strength has been growing and the potential for terrorist attacks seems more and more likely in the region due to the strong presence.

 “It’s very worrisome because al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is the most effective and threatening affiliate,” Bruce Hoffman, a Georgetown University professor told the Washington Post.

“So now the leader of the most consequential affiliate has an intimate command role in the overall organization. From Zawahiri’s point of view, there’s no better exemplar of the Qaeda brand than AQAP.”

While it is true that the core group of al-Qaeda was dispersed and diminished, it has slowly evolved in countries along the gulf and in North Africa, gaining support from governmental changes occurring due to the Arab spring and the continuing unrest in the region.

"We're witnessing another chapter of the terrorist threat and we'll be living with this for years to come,"  Juan Zarate, a deputy national security adviser under President George W. Bush who's now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington told USA Today.

The regional networks are adapting to new opportunities and continue to operate despite pressure put on them by the U.S. and others, Zarate said.

"They're also taking advantage of the political, security and geographic space they operate in. We don't control all aspects of that so it's unfair to blame U.S. policy entirely," he said.

The regional groups continue their activities supported by other radical Islamist groups in Algeria, Libya, Pakistan, Yemen, and other countries in the region. Concern continues even within the U.S. of al-Qaeda affiliates perpetrating terrorist attacks in the U.S. after the Boston Bombing earlier this year.

As the U.S. and it's allies continue to put pressure on it seems clear that we are not done yet, and continued pressure needs to be applied. It seems clear though that the senior leadership continues to be affected by the drone strikes, but that even without some of the senior leadership, the group continues.

Within the U.S. and around the world the questions continue about surveillance programs. Which wonder about their effectiveness and necessity, but results seem to show that at least some of them are necessary.

If the War on Terror can be won, one thing seems clear to us now, it won't be over soon. The theater in which the war plays out may continue to change but the overall influence of Radical Islam continues throughout much of the middle east, and until something changes to diminish it's influence it seems clear that attacks will continue to occur.

Syria

By Keil Myers
The United States has exhibited some hesitancy to support the opposition to the Assad regime in the Syria civil war. One reason for this lukewarm support is most likely due to the composition of the major Syrian rebel groups where they almost all have ties to Muslim extremist organizations such as Al-Qaeda. In Addition to this opposition groups have been shown to commit various human rights abuses. Such items understandably make the United States less willing to fully commit to assisting these groups for fear of merely replacing one problem with another potentially larger one. Nevertheless, such reluctance is leading to exactly what the United States fears and further intervention is required in order to limit the damage that this war will cause.

There are several major opposition groups with some of the larger ones including the Free Syria Army which is a group primarily made up of military deserters along with multiple smaller militias note under the direct control of the main FSA. These groups have been indicted of human rights violations with the most recent case being in the last month where a video was taken of a FSA commander eating the heart of a dead Syrian soldier. Along with this the FSA has worked with groups such as Al Nusra, a group that has sworn allegiance to Al-Qaeda such ties have made the United States somewhat reluctant to become heavily involved with opposition groups like the FSA. However, with the more than the reluctant support that the United States has displayed the FSA could potentially strengthen its control of the groups and individuals currently outside of its control.

The next largest opposition group to the Assad regime is the Syrian Nation Council. This group was, until recently, widely considered the voice of the Syrian people. The SNC is a loose coalition of representatives from various groups with the organization itself based in Turkey. However, the United States was hesitant to trust the SNC due to its heavy ties with the Muslim Brotherhood with many in Syria itself seeing the SNC as
a front for the organization and one member of the council claimed that the majority of the members of the council were Muslim extremists. Ties with the Muslim Brotherhood and other extremist groups have made the United States and other western nations less willing to assist the SNC and why they chose to merge with the Syrian National Coalition. 

Formed in 2012 in order to provide a more inclusive government than the Syrian National Coalition is the largest opposition group has been generally recognized as the legitimate government of the Syrian people. The National Coalition consists of a larger number of groups including members of the Syrian National Council, the Free Syria Army, various local committees, as well as other religious and secular groups.  While not all of these groups have ties to extremist Islam many of them do. Nevertheless, the majority of the coalition is made up of individuals and groups that would be willing to moderate their position as the situation required and they deserve more than the weak support that the United States has provided so far.



So while the United States reluctance to support the rebel groups is understandable as things stand not intervening in Syria is more likely to cause more damage than intervening. In the last few weeks reports from Washington and the United Nations Security Council has stated that they are almost certain that members of the Assad regime have employed chemical weapons on the rebels. Last year President Obama proclaimed that the use of chemical weapons was the red line, which if crossed would prompt a response from the United States. Use of these weapons is unethical and their use should prompt the United States to abandon its reluctance to assist the rebels in order to limit the collateral damage to civilians. In addition to this such actions would serve to let the world know that the use of weapons of mass destruction will not be tolerated.

In addition to this, the United States reluctance to help the rebels is helping to radicalize the revolution in Syria. Similar to Ho Chi Minh and other revolutionaries the rebels in Syria and willing to adopt the philosophies and attitudes of those who are willing to help them in their revolution and as a result the number of Islamic radicals in the opposition is growing. For instance, The Economist recently reported that due to the western world's hesitancy to support the opposition, members of the opposition haveturned to Islamist groups for support. This support has led to those who are more extreme to become more powerful and to have greater influence in the revolution. This radicalization has made the made increased involvement distasteful to western governments leading to moderate politics to enter a death spiral in the opposition. The United States should shed its reluctance to assist the rebels in order to ingratiate itself to the rebels and increase the influence of voices favorable to the United States in the coming government.

The United States reluctance to increase its involvement with the Syrian is understandable considering the most of the opposition may be worse than the Assad regime. Their hesitance has driven the opposition towards greater radicalization and  weakened the moderates in the opposition. Nevertheless in the face of the increasing  radicalization and the use of chemical weapons the United States should forgo their fears and become further involved in supporting the Syrian opposition in order to limit the damage of this civil war to the Syrian people as well as the spread of Islamic radicalism in the Middle East.

Here’s a brief summary of the different rebel factions in case anyone is interested.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15798218

NSA and FBI Compel Verizon to Hand Over Phone Records How Much is Too Much?

By Tim Newton
Last night the Guardian reported that the FBI and NSA obtained a search warrant to obtain all telephone records of individuals in its systems on an ongoing daily basis. As you may know Verizon is a significant provider within the U.S. of phone service. This order was provided by the  Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA) and was authorized on April 25th for a three month period until the end of July

Over the last few weeks I have not minced my words about government overreach. After trying to plow over the first and second amendments to the constitution, the Obama administration has set it's eyes on a new one: the fourth. It reads;  "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." 

Now we do know that the Patriot act allows for both wiretapping and seizing of said records. This law was of course in reaction to the 9/11 terror attack. I understand why it was passed, but it has long been a great concern for many Americans, because we know that great power is often abused.

 The response from the White House was that laws governing such orders "are something that have been in place for a number of years now" and that they are vital to national security. I don't understand though, how my phone records are so vital to national security. The concerns of course come from how this information is used. Even  former vice-president Al Gore called the "secret blanket surveillance" as "obscenely outrageous".

In response to this news, Senator Dean Heller (R-NV) said "Of course, keeping American citizens safe is one of government’s most important responsibilities, but there is a fine line between protecting our nation and protecting our Fourth Amendment rights. Our government continues to come close to that line and in some areas may have even crossed it. It is exactly these types of concerning reports that spotlight the need for transparency and access to information that I have fought for in Congress and will continue to work towards.”

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) also spoke out on this issue, he said "The Bill of Rights was designed to protect us from evil, too, particularly that which always correlates with concentrated government power, and particularly Executive power. If the President and Congress would obey the Fourth Amendment we all swore to uphold, this new shocking revelation that the government is now spying on citizens' phone data en masse would never have happened."

There is always in government a concern to balance the defense of the nation while maintaining the rights of the individual. I do understand that there is a concern for national security, something which we know is of continuing concern to many of us. After the Boston Bombing attack we all must have wondered if there were warning signs that might have been seen. I do not think however that millions should have their privacy eliminated by the actions of a few. Specifically where there is no just cause to do so. It not only sets up for possible abuse of power, but it also leads to continuing increased lack of privacy and more intrusion by government in the future, if they can seize your phone records, why not your email?Why not your facebook account? Why not all of your banking records? There was a reason we instituted the fourth amendment, so that government stays within the bounds of a set of laws, and does not exceed those bounds and infringe upon the rights of the citizens of our nation. 
 

Boston Bombing...The Plot Thickens.

By Jessica Keith
 About a week ago we found out new details about the Boston Bombers.  We learned that while Dzhokhar was stashed away in the boat, he left the authorities a little love note. There was some pretty graphic and unnecessary language, but the gist of it was that America is the great Satan and "when you attack one Muslim, you attack us all."  In said note, he claims that he is not sad about his brother being dead, "because he is a martyr in paradise."  He also states that the victims at the marathon were "collateral damage." (http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/16/us/boston-bombing-investigation/index.html)  This guy gets a top notch defense team yet four families lost their loved ones.  Hardly seems fair to me.

Well, the last time I checked, it was the Muslim fanatics who attacked Americans on 9/11.  You attack one of us, you best believe the full force of America is going to come after you, your children, your children's children, and your children's children's children.  To quote from Independence Day:" We will not go quietly into the night!" We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive!" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116629/trivia?tab=qt&ref_=tt_trv_qu).  

You cannot come into our back yard, break our toys and stomp on home and think we won't come after you.  WE WILL COME.  WE ALWAYS COME.

That all having been said, I pose this question, why, if America is so horrible, did you stay here for 15 years Dzhokhar?  Why, in 2012, did you decide to become an American Citizen and take all the rights and privileges given to you?  Why did you immerse yourself in your school and community?  I am sure Chechnya would have loved to take you back.  WHY DID YOU STAY if America is so awful? 

According to NBC Nightly News (http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nightly-news/51971493/#51971493) Tamerlan was allegedly involved in a homicide in a Boston suburb in 2011.  This coming from a suspected terrorist who later attacked FBI agents and was shot and killed, but nonetheless, this guy was serious bad news, and we failed to stop him from inflecting harm on Americans.

Can we go ahead and classify these fanatics as what they are? TERRORISTS. There does not seem to be any gray area here.  He [Dzhokhar] made it very clear what the motives were behind the attack on April 15, 2013.  Stop sugar coating what he is.  Call a spade a spade. Ronald Reagan said "Facts are stubborn things."  You cannot ignore the fact that this was and always will be a terrorist attack.  Plain and simple.

George W. Bush said "Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America.  These acts shatter steel, but they can not dent the steel of American resolve."( http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/g/george_w_bush.html#CpvZv4rtbB2LyLiQ.99  )

To Dzhokhar and Tamerlan, I say this, YOU LOSE.  We cannot be broken.  Americans are resilient people.  We will always come back stronger than before with a resolve to fight on.  We will live to fulfill our dream.  You won't.  America wins again. 

The RNC Benghazi Attack Campaign Ad That Never Ran.

By Tim Newton This ad was one which the RNC created but never ran during the campaign.
Why did the RNC decide not to run this ad focused on Benghazi, which could have put further heat on a president who was nowhere to be found in the aftermath of a deadly terrorist attack on a Libyan mission?



The ad states:"It's 3am and your children are safe asleep but there's a phone in the white house that's ringing, something's happened in the world." It then says: “The Call Came … On September 12, 2012.”  After the screen goes black, the words continue: “Security Requests Denied. Four Americans Dead. And an Administration whose story is still changing. The Call Came.”

ABC News reported:”A source familiar with the creation of the ad says the RNC leadership approved the ad but it was scrapped at the last minute because of objections from the Romney campaign, which was concerned the ad would distract from Romney’s efforts to focus on the economy.”


Upcoming soon, one of our authors will cover the Benghazi story in depth, giving us some understanding of what happened, who's to blame and why it still matters now. But I leave you with one question: Should the RNC and Romney Campaign run this ad? Tell us what you think below.

Thank you, President Bush.

By Jessica Keith

Dear Mr. President,

Growing up my parents taught me what to look for in a leader.  Someone who always stands by their word, believed in the greatness of the individual, believed in the founding principles of America and all her greatness and most importantly, someone who never gave up. 

In 2000, I was just a little girl, but I knew there was someone who was a real leader running for the Office of The President.  I was too young then to really understand the politics of it all, but I understood there was a difference between the two candidates running that year.  I watched the debates, listened to the news, and read the papers.  I started to get a taste for the political process.

So on November 7, 2000, I proudly walked into my school with my Bush/Cheney sticker on my shirt and prayed for a win for the good guys.  As the weeks went on after Election Day, I would wake up every morning and ask my mom and dad if you were president yet.  The waiting was killing me.  Finally, they declared you the winner.  I could not have been happier. 

A few months later, things changed.  I will never forget where I was when I heard about what happened on 9/11, and the world stopped.  But, for some reason, I knew that having you and Mrs. Bush in the White House, everything would be okay.  When you declared from Ground Zero that you heard them, that rest of the world could hear them, and the people who knocked those buildings down would hear from all of us, I knew you meant it.  You would do what was right by the American People, and protect us to the core.  And you did just that.

As time went on, I began to really start to look deeper into politics and how it all worked, when it entailed and how I might fit into it all. 

2004.  I had some pretty vocal teachers at this point in my education and they were focused, pretty heavily on this election.  I decided this was my shot.  So, at the age of 16, I had my mom drive me down to the Burbank California official headquarters for your reelection campaign after school so I could volunteer for your campaign.  This was my official start into the political world I am now full immersed in. 

So come November 2, 2004, I marched into school with my Bush/Cheney sticker and again played the waiting game.  I had never felt more a part of something so important in my whole life then I did at that moment.  Even though I was not eligible to vote, I had a small part in helping to elect a President that I truly believed in.

President Bush, I know you had the toughest job on the planet.  You were the leader of the free world.  You were the captain of the shining city on a hill, a beacon of hope.  You were the President for the people.  You did what was best for America at the time.  You put aside your own agenda and fought for America.  

The love and dedication you showed and continue to show, for this country, the men and women who fought to secure our freedoms and the freedom of people all over the world is a true inspiration to us all.  Thank you for respecting what they do, and showing us all just how special and important they are to us.

For eight years I went to sleep every night knowing that you were in the White House making tough decisions to keep me safe.  You were praying for guidance on what to do, and how to keep us safe and to end the terror the world faced.  I never once worried where America stood in the eyes of the world.  You were and are a true leader.  A hero in my heart.  Then and now.

On November 20, 2009 I watched you and Mrs. Bush board Marine One for the last time, and with tears in my eyes, uttered the words “Thank you President Bush” in the hope that you felt the thanks and love we have for you. 

Watching the dedication of your Presidential Center, I again had tears in my eyes as I listened to you speak about your time in office and the tough decisions you were forced to make.  So many years later, I am still beyond grateful you made those decisions and kept your promise to keep America safe, and that shining city on a hill.

Thank you will never be enough, Mr. President.  I can never truly express to you the love and respect I have for you.  I am honored to call you my President.  Privileged to have chance to tell people that I volunteered for your campaign.  And eternally thankful to you.

May God continue to bless you and your family President Bush.