The President who cried lone wolf

[ericire12]

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/the_prez_who_cried_lone_wolf_MpuLVRY9v8XlyIhAraVUlM

ONE of the most troubling tics of Team Obama is the frantic rush to de clare that every terror attack on American soil is carried out by an isolated individual with no connection to al Qaeda or other groups. It was the gist of their rapid response to the failed airline bombing on Christmas Day, to the Fort Hood shooter and, most recently, to the plot by Faisal Shahzad to set off a car bomb in Times Square.

On the surface, the aim is obvious: to minimize the fear that radical Islamic organizations have penetrated homeland defenses. The working assumption is that Americans will be less frightened of isolated individuals who appear not to be capable of large-scale mayhem of the kind that rocked the nation on 9/11.

It's a reasonable theory, but it has a problem. The claims have been dead wrong in all three cases.

Each "lone wolf" was quickly shown to have had contacts with or received training from a terror group abroad.

The result is the opposite of what the White House wants. Instead of calming fears, the links provoke suspicions that officials don't know what they are doing or are intentionally hiding the deadly overseas connections. Either option serves to ratchet up public fear and decrease confidence in the government.

The effect of this uncertainty has been dramatic in New York. The city has been on edge since the smoking Nissan Pathfinder failed to detonate on May 1, with routine events such as truck breakdowns and unattended packages drawing hundreds of emergency calls.

On Friday alone, parts of Times Square were cleared twice after reports of suspicious packages.

Beyond adding to the jitters, the larger problem with the White House approach is that it reeks of an agenda. It is as though President Obama and his team are jumping to the "lone wolf" theory to vindicate their view that more engagement with the Muslim world is depriving the terror groups of anti-American fuel and neutralizing the jihadist movement.

Again, it's a reasonable theory, but it, too, comes with a problem. It's not working because it can't.

From Iran to Iraq to Afghanistan, and now on the streets of New York, the make-nice policies have not slowed the savage killing or the attempts. With the attacks and plots increasing, we are no safer for our efforts over the last 17 months to engage the enemy.

It is time the White House faces the fundamental fact: The jihadist movement is not a rational response to American policies or life's vagaries. Nor are its leaders especially impressed by Obama's race or Muslim-heritage name.

[fightingquaker13]

Good article. I think it hits the nail on the head. I think BOs policy of engagement was sound. I think it was worth a try.Thing is, we've tried it. We made a good faith effort, both with the Arabs and Iran. Even the EU acknowledges that. The world has seen we've gone the extra mile.
HOWEVER; it has failed. We've done our part. The Arabs, as usual "never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity". We, appropriately and wisely offered an open hand and a fresh start. We were slapped in the face.
Fine. If thats the way they want it, we can play that way too. My advice? Put Rahm Emmanuel as Sec Def. Lets start playing the "Chicago Way". F them and their families too. You want war? We can do that. All it takes is BO to start treating the Middle East like Republicans.
FQ3

[bulldog75]

FQ I agree with most of what you are saying except that he assumed that a white police officer was a racist right off of the bat without having any information at all. The others he ignored the intellegence community assesments and made asinie statements.

[tombogan03884]

Good article. I think it hits the nail on the head. I think BOs policy of engagement was sound. I think it was worth a try.Thing is, we've tried it. We made a good faith effort, both with the Arabs and Iran. Even the EU acknowledges that. The world has seen we've gone the extra mile.
HOWEVER; it has failed. We've done our part. The Arabs, as usual "never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity". We, appropriately and wisely offered an open hand and a fresh start. We were slapped in the face.
Fine. If thats the way they want it, we can play that way too. My advice? Put Rahm Emmanuel as Sec Def. Lets start playing the "Chicago Way". F them and their families too. You want war? We can do that. All it takes is BO to start treating the Middle East like Republicans.
FQ3

"Engagement" is the dumbest thing any one could possibly try with Iran or N Korea.
We have been attempting to talk nicely to these "people" for 30 and 60 years respectively.
Are you people slow learners ?
It's time to start trying to exterminate them like any other type of vermin.

[Rastus]

"Engagement" is the dumbest thing any one could possibly try with Iran or N Korea.
We have been attempting to talk nicely to these "people" for 30 and 60 years respectively.
Are you people slow learners ?
It's time to start trying to exterminate them like any other type of vermin.

We had to wait until it was a fair fight and they could kill us with nukes.  Didn't you know?   Did you not get the memo?

[Sponsor]

[tombogan03884]

 I like the idea of nuking Japan again just to let them know we remember Pearl Harbor.
And remind them who won the war.