MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'al qaeda'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:30:02 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181762&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F2wBwW5zdM10%2F By Malou InnocentOver the past decade, American taxpayers have lost as much as $60 billion dollars to massive fraud and waste in the nation building campaigns of Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a report released today by the Commission on Wartime Contracting. The independent panel confirms much of what we already know about rent-seeking in wartime; nevertheless, the panel details specific reconstruction projects and programs that display a stunning array of mismanagement: A modest $60 million agricultural development program in northern Afghanistan expanded to the south and east to the tune of $360 million. The cash-for-work program was intended to distribute vouchers for wheat-seed and fertilizer in drought-stricken areas. Today, the program spends $1 million a day. The panel reports,... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181762 Wed, 31 Aug 2011 18:54:37 +0100 5181762 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5169612&cid=t_121389_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FFullosseousflapsDentalBlog%2F%7E3%2FpkpiJjHjOyI%2F Day By Day by Chris Muir American troops are cooking with gas today after knocking off Al Qaeda’s second in command. Al-Qaida’s second-in-command, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, has been killed in Pakistan, delivering another big blow to a terrorist group that the U.S. believes to be on the verge of defeat, U.S. officials said Saturday. The Libyan national had been the network’s operational leader before rising to al-Qaida’s No. 2 spot after the U.S. killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden during a raid on his Pakistan compound in May. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said last month that al-Qaida’s defeat was within reach if the U.S. could mount a string of successful attacks on the group’s weakened leadership. “Now is the moment, following what happened with... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5169612 Sat, 27 Aug 2011 20:09:02 +0100 5169612 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5077655&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FrcxAW_y4kgo%2F By Malou InnocentThe same week U.S. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta declared “we’re within reach of strategically defeating al-Qaeda”—an assessment that many believe reflects the efforts of seven years of CIA drone strikes—former director of national intelligence Dennis Blair called America’s “unilateral” drone war in countries like Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia a mistake. “Because we’re alienating the countries concerned,” Blair said, “because we’re treating countries just as places where we go attack groups that threaten us, we are threatening the prospects of long-term reform.” Given that our Nobel Peace Prize–winning president has drastically escalated the use of these flying, robotic hitmen, there seems to be some confusion at the White House. Speaking t... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5077655 Fri, 29 Jul 2011 18:05:04 +0100 5077655 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5008143&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F0Oghdzknxb8%2F By Benjamin H. FriedmanThe mythical al Qaeda is a hierarchical organization. After losing its haven in Afghanistan, it cleverly decentralized authority and shifted its headquarters to Pakistan. But central management still dispatches operatives globally and manages affiliates according to a strategy. The real al Qaeda is a fragmented and unmanageable movement. In the 1990s, it achieved limited success in getting other jihadists to join in attacking the West. It was not managerial innovation but the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and other governments’ pressures that destroyed  the limited hierarchy al Qaeda Central had achieved. Its scattered remnant in Pakistan controls little locally and less abroad. The leaders have cachet but lack the material incentives that real managers distribute ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5008143 Thu, 07 Jul 2011 14:53:48 +0100 5008143 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4975832&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F95kWXhww15U%2F By Gene HealyMy Washington Examiner column this week is on TSA, the federal agency that’s its own reductio ad absurdum. In the latest TSA atrocity, the agency forced a wheelchair-bound, 95-year-old leukemia patient to remove her adult diaper, for fear she might be wired to explode. “It’s something I couldn’t imagine happening on American soil,” her distraught daughter told the press: “Here is my mother, 95 years old, 105 pounds, barely able to stand, and then this.” My God, what is she on about? Proper procedure was followed! As I point out in the column: in a classic case of “mission creep,” TSA is taking its show on the road and the rails. Remember when, pushing his bullet-train boondoggle in the 2011 State of the Union, President Obama cracked that it would... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4975832 Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:29:46 +0100 4975832 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4960042&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FdIgkSA8z8qo%2F By Malou InnocentIn the last three years, the United States has tripled the number of troops in Afghanistan, increased the number of drone strikes in neighboring Pakistan, and killed Osama bin Laden—the highest of high-value targets. President Obama has more than enough victories under his belt to stick to his timeline and substantially draw down the number of troops from Afghanistan. Still, the pace of America’s withdrawal and the size of its residual combat presence, even after his decision Wednesday, will depend on two things: negotiations with the Taliban and political pressure to stay the course. These two factors will feature prominently in the months ahead, as the administration reconfigures the strategy and objectives for winding down the 10-year campaign. First, although many ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4960042 Wed, 22 Jun 2011 15:33:35 +0100 4960042 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841449&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FN95MFU-TZlQ%2F By Christopher PrebleThe news media is abuzz with speculation about what President Obama will say in an address this Thursday at the State Department. The topic is the Middle East, and White House Press Secretary Jay Carney explained, “we’ve gone through a remarkable period in the first several months of this year…in the Middle East and North Africa,” and the president has “some important things to say about how he views the upheaval and how he has approached the U.S. response to the events in the region.” The speech, Carney hinted to reporters, would be “fairly sweeping and comprehensive.” If I were advising the president, I would urge him to say many of the same things that he said in his June 2009 speech in Cairo, this time with some timely references... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841449 Tue, 17 May 2011 13:44:14 +0100 4841449 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4789207&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fcst2r3NddJM%2F By Benjamin H. FriedmanThe tendency to treat Osama bin Laden’s killing as national holiday akin to V-E day is both understandable and unfortunate. Everyone with a sense of justice appreciates the death of mass murderers, particularly the terrorist sort. But celebrating as if we killed Hitler or won a war plays into al Qaeda’s self-serving myth. Paul Pillar put it well: An unfortunate irony of the huge reaction to the killing of Bin Ladin is that it continues to give him in death what he worked so hard to achieve in life: the status of arch foe of the most powerful nation on earth. It is a status that conforms with Bin Ladin’s narrative of himself as the leader of the Muslim world, protecting that world against the predations of the Judeo-Christian West, the leader of which is the... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4789207 Thu, 05 May 2011 18:36:02 +0100 4789207 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4789214&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FBS1K4C03CSs%2F By Christopher PrebleNot that I think it will happen for the next several days, but it’s time for the chattering class to move past the White House’s decision not to release death photographs of Osama bin Laden. The focus on this largely media-driven issue is an unnecessary distraction from what should be a broader discussion about the direction of U.S. counterterrorism efforts. Photographic evidence is not necessary to establish Osama bin Laden’s death. Al Qaeda has not disputed that its founder and leader is, in fact, dead. And photographic evidence has not stopped the conspiracy theorists from claiming that Americans never landed on the moon. If anything, AQ might wish for the photos to be released to keep the focus on them, and on bin Laden. Pakistan’s civilian and mil... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4789214 Thu, 05 May 2011 13:52:24 +0100 4789214 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4789221&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FDFJHbY9hE34%2F By Malou InnocentOsama Bin Laden’s death marks a significant achievement in the fight against al Qaeda. It also highlights the fact that our ostensible objective for continuing the war in Afghanistan has been achieved. Although some lawmakers have been quick to claim that bin Laden’s demise proves that our nation-building mission is showing signs of success, others recognize that this momentous achievement justifies scaling down our presence in Afghanistan. Indeed, rather than expansive counterinsurgency campaigns, targeted counterterrorism measures would suffice. It is encouraging that Republican members of Congress are questioning the mission. Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, expressed his concern yesterday: [Senator Lugar] s... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4789221 Wed, 04 May 2011 17:48:52 +0100 4789221 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4780295&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Frgl-wP5da0Q%2F By George Scoville “Given America’s large-scale, long-term nation-building mission in Afghanistan, another chapter remains unfinished.” “It doesn’t make a lot of sense to refer to a government whose intelligence service assists military efforts by al Qaeda and the Taliban against U.S. troops in Afghanistan as an ‘ally.’” “Terrorists are not superhuman.” “Physicians must either make up for this shortfall by shifting costs to those patients with insurance — meaning those of us with insurance pay more — or treat patients at a loss.” Is America in a libertarian moment? Tuesday Links is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4780295 Tue, 03 May 2011 14:51:15 +0100 4780295 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4775373&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FIn343nt1Z4k%2F By George Scoville Habeas corpus applies to anyone, citizen or not, in custody under American law, no matter what President Bush and President Obama decree. House Republicans’ cuts to the Department of Education, which will spend over $70 billion next year, didn’t even amount to $1 billion. “Regardless of whether Pakistan gets its way, its impudence in pushing Afghanistan to abandon America exposes the real balance of power in the region.” “It doesn’t make a lot of sense to refer to a government whose intelligence service assists military efforts by al Qaeda and the Taliban against U.S. troops in Afghanistan as an ‘ally.’” Here are five ways to cut military spending today without changing our strategic focus: Monday Links is a post f... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4775373 Mon, 02 May 2011 14:29:08 +0100 4775373 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4631467&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FDa5dQRKJp3A%2F By Christopher PrebleDoyle McManus at the Los Angeles Times highlights the zigging and zagging of some leading Republican presidential contenders when it comes to war with Libya. Particularly noteworthy is Newt Gingrich. "Two weeks ago," McManus writes:  the former House speaker and possible presidential candidate denounced Obama for not intervening forcefully against Kadafi. "This is a moment to get rid of [Kadafi]," he urged. "Do it. Get it over with." Then Obama intervened in Libya. Was Gingrich pleased? "It is impossible to make sense of the standard for intervention in Libya except opportunism and news media publicity," Gingrich said Sunday. "Iran and North Korea are vastly bigger threats…. There are a lot of bad dictators doing bad things." That sounded like a flip-flop, so I aske... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4631467 Thu, 24 Mar 2011 14:46:28 +0100 4631467 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4610798&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FnOK001C_VOY%2F By George Scoville What are Republicans doing to stop ObamaCare? Not much. Conflating the Taliban with al Qaeda isn't helping our foreign policy dialogue. "Sitting in a Volt that would not start at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show, a GM engineer swore to me that the internal combustion engine in the machine only served as a generator, kicking in when the overnight-charged lithium-ion batteries began to run down." The new issue of Regulation looks at price gouging, soda taxes, the Durbin Amendment, and more. Who should decide when we tap into strategic oil reserves: The president? Or market forces?  Friday Links is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4610798 Fri, 18 Mar 2011 14:46:11 +0100 4610798 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4464481&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FebYl7scavds%2F By Christopher PrebleI'm speaking on a panel at CPAC tomorrow discussing Afghanistan ("How to Think about Afghanistan," Marriott Ballroom, 2:30 to 3:15 pm), and I'm inclined to include a few new data points, and one fresh anecdote, in my brief remarks. The first piece of information has to do with money. Our deepening military presence in Afghanistan will cost American taxpayers in excess of $100 billion in FY 2011. Some estimates put the figure closer to $120 billion. This in a country with an official GDP of about $16.6 billion (and not more than $30 billion using purchasing power parity). The second thing to consider is the current mission in Afghanistan. President Obama claimed in his December 2010 policy review that the focus of the U.S. mission is al Qaeda, but it doesn't take 100,0... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4464481 Fri, 11 Feb 2011 16:13:14 +0100 4464481 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4433084&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FFfin-h0xPaY%2F By Malou InnocentOverall, President Obama was right to applaud the Egyptian military for defending (at least for now) rather than killing Egyptian civilians, potentially avoiding  the Arab world’s Tienanmen Square. Whether Obama’s rhetoric could have been more supportive, as we saw with Tunisia, is up for debate. But it appears that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s attempt to shape an orderly transition is running into trouble. The New Yorker’s Jane Mayer reports that Mubarak’s recently appointed Vice President, Omar Suleiman, was “the C.I.A.’s point man in Egypt for renditions—the covert program in which the C.I.A. snatched terror suspects from around the world and returned them to Egypt and elsewhere for interrogation, often under brutal circumstances.” Suleiman... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4433084 Thu, 03 Feb 2011 18:02:31 +0100 4433084 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4399495&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FyhLfQ9Z-SoI%2F By David RittgersIn November, a New York jury found Al Qaeda bomber Ahmed Ghailani guilty on only one of 285 charges for his role in the Kenya and Tanzania embassy bombings. I called it “a good outcome” for a number of reasons, largely agreeing with Ben Wittes. I’ve disagreed with Wittes on lawfare issues before, but he and Chesney are right on this case: (1) the defendant will serve a minimum of twenty years in jail, possibly life; (2) it’s not certain that the military commissions would have allowed evidence obtained by coercion (Charlie Savage also made this point in his article for the New York Times), (3) the conspiracy conviction in civilian court is solid on appeal, but not necessarily so in a military commission (conspiracy is not a traditional law of war violation, and thr... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4399495 Wed, 26 Jan 2011 16:02:11 +0100 4399495 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4265687&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FueRzNG8I_pU%2F By Malou InnocentPresident Obama released his Afghanistan war review today. It highlights progress on the battlefield against insurgents, the success of Special Forces operations and drone strikes, and achievements in training the Afghan security forces. I have four thoughts on the matter: First, scattered throughout the document are passages such as “al-Qa’ida’s senior leadership in Pakistan is weaker,” “[a]l-Qa’ida’s senior leadership has been depleted,” and “al-Qa’ida’s leadership cadre have diminished.” However, can we deter more jihadists than our efforts help to inspire? After all, “fighting them over there so they don’t fight us here” did not deter Pakistani-American Faisal Shahzad and his inco... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4265687 Thu, 16 Dec 2010 18:31:24 +0100 4265687 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4207280&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fn04V4GSo1dE%2F By Jim HarperWriting in the Washington Post, George Washington University law professor Jeffrey Rosen carefully concludes, “there’s a strong argument that the TSA’s measures violate the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures.” The strip/grope policy doesn’t carefully escalate through levels of intrusion the way a better designed program using more privacy protective technology could. It’s a good constutional technician’s analysis. But Professor Rosen doesn’t broach one of the most important likely determinants of Fourth Amendment reasonableness: the risk to air travel these searches are meant to reduce. Writing in Politico last week, I pointed out that there have been 99 million domestic flights in the last decad... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4207280 Sun, 28 Nov 2010 23:30:32 +0100 4207280 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4183284&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FaYRbtb2N_LI%2F By David RittgersYou’ve probably heard that a jury found Al Qaeda bomber Ahmed Ghailani guilty on only one out of 286 charges associated with the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. A predictable debate followed. Glenn Greenwald cited the outcome as proof that the system works, while Liz Cheney, Debra Burlingame and Bill Kristol described the trial as a reckless experiment. Thomas Joscelyn called the trial a miscarriage of justice. The most insightful commentary I’ve seen is over at Lawfare. Benjamin Wittes and Robert Chesney summed things up pretty well: “Trial in federal court didn’t work out the way the Obama administration wanted, but it wasn’t a disaster–and we can’t honestly say it worked out worse than the military commission alternative would likely have done... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4183284 Thu, 18 Nov 2010 22:51:29 +0100 4183284 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3880839&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Ff0-lqsIiPms%2F In a recent interview with the New York Times, top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, argued “against any precipitous withdrawal of forces by July 2011,” and added he did not take over merely to “preside over a ‘graceful exit.’” That an active-duty army general is committed to a pending military engagement is nothing new. Nevertheless, I have some thoughts about this interview, and the rest of the general’s weekend “media blitz,” that I think are worth sharing. First off, that Petraeus is against a “precipitous withdrawal” reminds me of the many straw man arguments bandied about during the most explosive days in Iraq. However, back then, even the staunchest (and more serious) anti-Iraq War critics did n... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3880839 Tue, 17 Aug 2010 13:56:16 +0100 3880839 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3812958&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FNhpJ8Yzav-A%2F By Jim HarperEarly this year, the New York Times published a story entitled “Senators Warned of Terror Attack on U.S. by July.” America’s top intelligence official told lawmakers on Tuesday [Feb. 2] that Al Qaeda and its affiliates had made it a high priority to attempt a large-scale attack on American soil within the next six months. The assessment by Dennis C. Blair, the director of national intelligence, was much starker than his view last year, when he emphasized the considerable progress in the campaign to debilitate Al Qaeda and said that the global economic meltdown, rather than the prospect of a major terrorist attack, was the “primary near-term security concern of the United States.” At Tuesday’s hearing, Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California and cha... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3812958 Mon, 02 Aug 2010 15:09:30 +0100 3812958 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3714160&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F1AkCw1hQxbw%2F By Jim HarperThomas L. Norman’s Risk Analysis and Security Countermeasure Selection is a relentlessly practical book intended to aid security consultants, of which Norman is one. There are literally dozens of codes, standards, and risk assessment methodologies that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security accepts for different institutions and infrastructures. As he details the excruciating process of assessing the risks from all “threat actors,” including economic criminals, nonterrorist violent criminals, “subversives,” and petty criminals, he gets around to saying some important things about terrorists. [T]errorists are not necessarily interested in taking out a facility but are very interested in communicating through the use of violence. . . . Terrorist... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3714160 Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:58:17 +0100 3714160 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3603574&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FfDM9_O3USl4%2F By Christopher PrebleEarlier today, I attended a lecture at CSIS by John Brennan, a leading counterterrorism and homeland security adviser to President Obama. His speech highlighted some of the key elements of the administration’s counterterrorism strategy, in advance of tomorrow’s release of the National Security Strategy (NSS). I hope that many people will take the opportunity to read (.pdf) or listen to/watch Brennan’s speech, as opposed to merely reading what other people said that he said. Echoing key themes that Brennan put forward last year, also at CSIS, today’s talk reflected a level of sophistication that is required when addressing the difficult but eminently manageable problem of terrorism. Brennan was most eloquent in talking about the nature of t... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3603574 Wed, 26 May 2010 20:52:26 +0100 3603574 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3538078&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FBab5R3VnWa4%2F By Benjamin H. FriedmanBusinessweek has a story quoting a former federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, Michael Wildes, speculating that Faisal Shahzad, the would-be Times Square bomber, made so many mistakes (leaving his house keys in the car, not knowing about the vehicle identification number, making calls from his cellphone, getting filmed, buying the car himself) that he may be the “dumbest terrorist in the world.” But Wildes can’t accept the idea that an al Qaeda type terrorist would be so incompetent and suggests that Shahzad was “purposefully hapless” to generate intelligence about the police reaction for the edification of his buddies back in Pakistan. Give me a break. This incompetence is hardly unprecedented. Three years ago Bruce Schneier wrote an art... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3538078 Wed, 05 May 2010 18:14:44 +0100 3538078 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3494294&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FXK8hOYawhTw%2F By Jim HarperSince they were announced recently, I’ve been working to make sense of new security procedures that TSA is applying to flights coming into the U.S. “These new measures utilize real-time, threat-based intelligence along with multiple, random layers of security, both seen and unseen, to more effectively mitigate evolving terrorist threats,” says Secretary Napolitano. That reveals essentially nothing of what they are, of course. Indeed, “For security reasons, the specific details of the directives are not public.” But we in the public aren’t so many potted plants. We need to know what they are, both because our freedoms are at stake and because our tax money will be spent on these measures. Let’s start at the beginning, with identity-based scr... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3494294 Thu, 22 Apr 2010 12:45:06 +0100 3494294 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3453870&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Fread-it-like-a-man-conspiracy-theory-books%2F photo: Thinkstock Patrick Sauer is funny. This is his second “Read It Like a Man” weekly column for Blisstree. Read the first installment here. Chapter 2: Conspiracy Theories The Overton Window is a political theory that goes something like this: Previously unaccepted theories become more mainstream when ideas from the fringe are thrown out, thus making the previously stated ideas seem less radical and extreme. (It’s also the title of Glenn Beck’s upcoming novel, natch.) The Overton Window explains why conspiracy theories are no longer the provenance of loons and how they root themselves in mainstream thought. In a word, the Internet. Remember a year ago when everyone believed in global warming? HOAX! So, conspiracy theories are everywhere, but they’re losing... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3453870 Fri, 09 Apr 2010 14:02:52 +0100 3453870 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3411094&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FnHXpN68eSsE%2F By Jim HarperExcellent recent posts by my colleague David Rittgers have covered the legal (and practical) issues involved in terrorist detention. Take a look at “The Case against Domestic Military Detention” and his follow-up, “Playing Chicken Again.” He has also lectured on the Hill about terrorism strategy, relating themes I used to open our 2009 and 2010 counterterrorism conferences. The gist is that terrorism seeks overreaction on the part of the victim state. Lacking power of their own, terrorists try to goad states into overzealous and misdirected responses that serve their aims. A prominent aim among members of the al-Qaeda franchise is mobilization of others, one of five strategies that U.S. National War College professor of strategy Audrey Kurth Cronin la... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3411094 Fri, 26 Mar 2010 18:05:43 +0100 3411094 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3322345&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F0UC1gBFocaw%2F By Julian SanchezI’ve been meaning to follow up on Gene Healy’s post from last week on the interrogation and prosecution of terror suspects.  I share Gene’s bemusement at the howls emanating from Republicans who have abruptly decided that George Bush’s longstanding policy of dealing with terrorism cases through the criminal justice system is unacceptable with a Democrat in the White House.  But I also think it’s worth stressing that the arguments being offered — both in the specific case of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab and more generally — aren’t very persuasive even if we suppose that they’re not politically motivated. Two caveats.  First, folks on both sides would do well to take initial reports about the degree of cooperation terror ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3322345 Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:45:01 +0100 3322345 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3298301&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FWyI3OXjBna0%2F By Gene HealyIn recent weeks, conservatives have worked themselves into a self-righteous lather over how the Obama administration handled the would-be Christmas bomber.  It’s a complaint you could hear again and again at last weekend’s Conservative Political Action Conference: Mirandizing the 23-year-old Nigerian Muslim was a big mistake, the story goes, because it denied us valuable intelligence, and it’s just so typical of Barack Obama’s callow, weak, law-enforcement-oriented approach to the terrorist threat. As a constitutional matter, I’ve never been entirely comfortable with the Miranda decision, which smacks of judicial lawmaking, and I don’t think liberty stands or falls on whether one failed terrorist got read his rights.  In fact, I think Mirandizing Abdulmu... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3298301 Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:39:03 +0100 3298301 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3287802&cid=t_121389_109_f&fid=34817&url=http%3A%2F%2Fshrinkwrapped.blogs.com%2Fblog%2F2010%2F02%2Fwhat-are-you-willing-to-die-for.html [Update at end] In post-religious, secularized Western countries, the answer to the title question tends to devolve to "nothing" beyond the self and its interests.  Western elites are fond of instructing their inferiors to sacrifice for their Utopian ideal of the moment but sacrificing one's life for the "life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness" for others is typically seen as the province of less well educated, less sophisticated, non-members of the elite.  America still has enough young people who value what this country has to offer that they are willing to put their lives on the line for us, but Europe has long since surrendered to the progressive forces of history and eschews self-defence of their ideals.   For Western elites, people who... ShrinkWrapped blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3287802 Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:47:28 +0100 3287802 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3193691&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FSeMdr0X7CSc%2F By Jim HarperTerrorism is a strategy of the weak. Without power of their own, terrorists seek to goad states into overreactions that bestow favors on their otherwise inconsequential movements and ideologies. When a state goes to war, for example, this wastes its own blood and treasure, driving the costs of its own policies higher and weakening its own military and economy. Overreaction drives support to terrorism when innocents or perceived innocents are harmed or killed by overreacting states. And overreaction tends to energize and promote terrorism worldwide by confirming the narrative that incumbent powers are evil—the portrayal of the United States as an occupier of Muslim lands and exploiter of Muslim people is an example. With the logic of terrorism in hand, the appropr... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3193691 Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:30:22 +0100 3193691 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3153439&cid=t_121389_109_f&fid=34817&url=http%3A%2F%2Fshrinkwrapped.blogs.com%2Fblog%2F2010%2F01%2Fwho-are-we-fighting.html In Synthesis I noted that among other problems in our current confrontation with those who wish to do us harm is a conspicuous lacunae in our acknowledgement and naming of the enemy.  According to the Bush administration we were fighting "Terror", a tactic and a first order derivative of an enemy entity; according to the Obama administration, we are now fighting "man caused disasters" or some other second derivative of the enemy.  In my humble opinion, our enemy is radical, expansionist, fundamentalist Islam in all its iterations.  One version of this is that of Thomas Friedman, who believes we are involved bystanders to the real struggle within Islam: Father Knows Best Every faith has its violent extreme. The West is not immune. It’s a... ShrinkWrapped blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3153439 Thu, 07 Jan 2010 18:28:37 +0100 3153439 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3145956&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FpQ1G5OFa8Hk%2F By Christopher PrebleThat is the question posed at the National Journal’s National Security experts blog. My response: We shouldn’t even be contemplating war in Yemen, but we should also understand that the proposed expansion of security assistance to the government there is likely to pay only meager dividends. Steven Metz gets at the nub of this problem in his two thoughtful posts (here and here). We have an unreliable ally. We have minimal capacity for making them more reliable. Neither of these observations are unique to Yemen. The same could be said of many other countries. Accordingly, we should concentrate our limited resources in a proactive and strategic – as opposed to a reactive and haphazard — way.  Contrast that with Jim Carafano’s invocatio... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3145956 Tue, 05 Jan 2010 22:01:17 +0100 3145956 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3142578&cid=t_121389_93_f&fid=35707&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FHemodynamics%2F%7E3%2FH3oN-omTeq0%2Fdoctor-with-bomb.html Above: Radovan Karadzic, psychiatrist and perpetrator of the Srebrenica massacre and other atrocities in Bosnia. Below: Ikuo Hayashi, a neurosurgeon and one of the perpetrators of the Tokyo subway sarin gas attack.Yet another doctor has apparently joined the ranks of violent absolutists, as a Jordanian doctor working as a CIA informant turned out to be a double agent, and blew up CIA agents and a Jordanian intelligence agent. This particular man, having blown up a bunch of people who can reasonably be described as combatants, can't be said to be a terrorist as much as a kamikaze, but apparently in the cause of advancing jihadist and terrorist ideology. (Or so says the CIA; take that for what it's worth.) Still, as Simon Wessely explained in the New England Journal of Medicine in his 2007 e... hemodynamics blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3142578 Tue, 05 Jan 2010 04:02:00 +0100 3142578 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3133581&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FEgsu2MhNEgs%2F By Jim HarperTerrorism presents a complex set of security problems. That’s easy to see in the welter of discussion about the recent attempted bombing on a plane flying from Amsterdam into Detroit. The media and blogs are poring over the many different security systems implicated by this story. Unfortunately, many are reviewing them all at once, which is very confusing. Each security system aimed to protect against terror attacks and other threats involves difficult and complex balancing among many different interests and values. Each system deserves separate consideration, along with analysis of how they interact with one another. A helpful way to unpack security is by thinking in terms of “layers.” Calling it security “layering” is a way of describing the many d... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3133581 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 17:55:04 +0100 3133581 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3133582&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FKKgp8fSDho8%2F By Benjamin H. FriedmanTerrorists are named after an emotion for a reason. They use violence to produce widespread fear for a political purpose. The number of those they kill or injure will always be a small fraction of those they frighten. This creates problems for leaders, and even analysts, when they talk publicly about terrorism. On one hand, leaders need to convince the public that they are on the case in protecting them, or else they won’t be leaders for long. On the other hand, good leaders try to minimize unwarranted fear. One reason is that we shouldn’t give terrorists what they want. Another is that fear is a real social harm, particularly when it is exaggerated. Stress from fear harms health. It causes bad decisions. For example, if people avoid flying and drive inst... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3133582 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:27:10 +0100 3133582 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3067018&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fcm-z88jSw5E%2F By Malou InnocentSecretary Gates and Secretary Clinton, among other administration officials, indicated this weekend that the July 2011 date for troop withdrawal from Afghanistan should not be interpreted as an exit strategy, but as a “ramp rather than a cliff.” It now appears the president will not be obligated to adhere to any withdrawal date and can adjust as he deems fit. President Obama’s decision to include a withdrawal date in his speech sends a mixed message to allies and enemies about America’s commitment to the region. It is a misguided effort to placate the American public’s waning support for the mission. Obama should instead be looking for ways to leave Afghanistan, not excuses to dig us in deeper. Essentially, the strategy is to apply the Iraq mo... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3067018 Mon, 07 Dec 2009 20:56:41 +0100 3067018 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3044730&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fuw-CyuxtMzo%2F There are two things that President Obama’s plan won’t do: win the war, or end the war. While all Americans hope that the mission in Afghanistan will turn out well, the U.S. military’s counterinsurgency doctrine says that stabilizing a country the size of Afghanistan would require far more troops than the most wild-eyed hawk has proposed: about 600,000 troops. An additional 30 to 40,000 troops isn’t just a case of too little, too late; it holds almost no prospect of winning the war. Accordingly, this likely won’t be the last prime-time address in which the president proposes sending many more troops to Afghanistan; my greatest fear is that this is only the first of many. But we shouldn’t just commit still more troops. President Obama should have recogniz... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3044730 Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:55:33 +0100 3044730 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2999606&cid=t_121389_109_f&fid=34817&url=http%3A%2F%2Fshrinkwrapped.blogs.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F11%2Fsocietal-regression-watch-1.html From Terror and Societal Regression: After a national trauma, there are a number of signs of "large group" regression.  (I will not here go into some of the characteristics of what constitutes a large group; it relates to elements that I have referred to in the past as our tribal nature; see also here.)  The panel chair, Vamik Volkan, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and founder of the Center for the Study of the Mind and Human Interaction at the University of Virginia and Emeritus Training and Supervising Analyst of the Washington Psychoanalytic Institute, described 14 major symptoms of large-group regression: ... 9) Reactivation of a "chosen trauma" whereby a large group unconsciously "chooses" to make a shared mental representation of an event ... ShrinkWrapped blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2999606 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:15:46 +0100 2999606 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2977263&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FMKdMzR_2CCI%2F The country is unpacking the recent shooting at Fort Hood and analyzing the perpetrator intensely. Along with natural shock and curiosity, a principle reason for doing so is to discover what can prevent incidents like this in the future. When faced with any risk, including rampaging gunmen, there are four options: Prevention—the alteration of the target or its circumstances to diminish the risk of the bad thing happening. Interdiction—any confrontation with, or influence exerted on, an attacker to eliminate or limit its movement toward causing harm. Mitigation—preparation so that, in the event of the bad thing happening, its consequences are reduced. Acceptance—a rational alternative often chosen when the threat has low probability, low consequence, or both. (Ther... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2977263 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:51:16 +0100 2977263 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2977265&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F4Q16OtSUC8I%2F According to CBS News, President Barack Obama will send most, if not all, of the 40,000 additional troops that General Stanley McChrystal requested and reportedly plans to keep those troops in Afghanistan for the long-term. Watch CBS News Videos Online If the CBS report turns out to be true—the White House has backed away, and other news outlets are leaving the story alone for the moment—the president’s decision is disappointing, but expected. Last month, the administration ruled out the notion of a near-term U.S. exit from Afghanistan, arguing that the Taliban and al Qaeda would perceive an early pullout as a victory over the United States. But if avoiding a perception of weakness is the rationale that the administration is operating under then we have already lost by allowing our ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2977265 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:57:18 +0100 2977265 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2934655&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FEcV3_ZrZU5M%2F Former Marine captain Matthew Hoh became the first U.S. official known to resign in protest over the Afghan war. His letter of resignation echoes some arguments I have made earlier this year, namely, that what we are witnessing is a local and regional ethnic Pashtun population fighting against what they perceive to be a foreign occupation of their region; that our current strategy does not answer why and to what end we are pursuing  this war; and that Afghanistan holds little intrinsic strategic value to the security of the United States. In his own words: The Pashtun insurgency, which is composed of multiple, seemingly infinite, local groups, is fed by what is perceived by the Pashtun people as a continued and sustained assault, going back centuries, on Pashtun land, culture, traditions ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2934655 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:39:35 +0100 2934655 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2904859&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FZNjmx3H1Gk0%2F A. It’s encouraging to see Rahm Emanuel and John Kerry saying that we shouldn’t up force levels in Afghanistan without a reliable partner. But if we shouldn’t send 40,000 more troops to prop up a crooked government, why keep the 68,000 we have there? A focused counter-terrorism mission would require far less than that. B. According to Dexter Filkins’ article in the New York Times Magazine, the war in Iraq taught General Stanley McChrystal the following: No situation, no matter how dire, is ever irredeemable — if you have the time, resources and the correct strategy. In the spring of 2006, Iraq seemed lost. The dead were piling up. The society was disintegrating. One possible conclusion was that it was time for the United States to cut its losses in a country that it n... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2904859 Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:51:04 +0100 2904859 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2898921&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FaLvOQkVlIs0%2F Last week, I wrote a piece for Reason in which I took a close look at the USA PATRIOT Act’s “lone wolf” provision—set to expire at the end of the year, though almost certain to be renewed—and argued that it should be allowed to lapse. Originally, I’d planned to survey the whole array of authorities that are either sunsetting or candidates for reform, but ultimately decided it made more sense to give a thorough treatment to one than trying to squeeze an inevitably shallow gloss on four or five complex areas of law into the same space. But the Internets are infinite, so I’ve decided I’d turn the Reason piece into Part I of a continuing series on PATRIOT powers.  In this edition: Section 206, roving wiretap authority. The idea behind a roving wiretap s... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2898921 Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:58:07 +0100 2898921 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2879392&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fb7kFuiLywKI%2F Hours after thanking the world for the Nobel Peace Prize this morning, President Obama will gather with his war advisers to ponder sending 60,000 more troops into a country where our national security objectives are unclear at best. Instead of embracing General McChrystal’s proposal for a substantial increase in the U.S. military presence — or even adopting a “McChrystal-Light” strategy — the Obama administration should begin a phased withdrawal of troops over the next 18 months, retaining only a small military footprint relying on special forces personnel. Otherwise, America will be entangled for years — or decades — in pursuit of unattainable goals. We need to “define success down” in Afghanistan. That means abandoning any notion of transforming ethn... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2879392 Fri, 09 Oct 2009 16:15:18 +0100 2879392 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2871570&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F7Nb5MHLP8HM%2F Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan’s former ambassador to Washington, and Anatol Lieven, a professor at King’s College London, discuss in the Financial Times how we can exit the Afghan quagmire: The west should therefore pursue a political solution, open negotiations with the Taliban and offer a timetable for a phased withdrawal in return for a ceasefire. This should begin with the military pulling out of specific areas in return for Taliban guarantees not to attack western bases and Afghan authorities in those areas. If the Taliban refuses such terms, then military pressure should continue. The point should not be to eliminate the Taliban – which is impossible – but to persuade it to agree to a deal. Lodhi and Lieven’s argument echoes one that David Axe, Jason Reich, and I made yesterday o... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2871570 Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:54:41 +0100 2871570 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2862464&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FzqF1IuaYnrM%2F In the New York Times this weekend, columnist Thomas Friedman wrote, “[W]e may be tired of this ‘war on terrorism,’ but the bad guys are not. They are getting even more ‘creative.’” On September 26th, the New York Times reported in a story by Scott Shane: Many students of terrorism believe that in important ways, Al Qaeda and its ideology of global jihad are in a pronounced decline — with its central leadership thrown off balance as operatives are increasingly picked off by missiles and manhunts and, more important, with its tactics discredited in public opinion across the Muslim world. Who’s right? Should we be more concerned or less? Well, the statements are not inconsistent. But unlike the analysts cited in the news story, columnist Friedman uses ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2862464 Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:26:30 +0100 2862464 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2851745&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FWsYz2_gUlgQ%2F To its credit, the Department of Homeland Security distributes important documents via email. (Subscribe on their home page by scrolling down to find the “Subscribe to E-mail Updates:” box in the right column, then select your preferences.) Yesterday DHS sent me a copy of the written testimony by Michael E. Leiter, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, for a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing titled: “Eight Years After 9/11: Confronting the Terrorist Threat to the Homeland.” As I read Leiter’s (relatively brief) testimony, I wondered how well it squares with the strategic counsel offered by Audrey Kurth Cronin, Professor of Strategy at the U.S. National War College, Senior Research Associate in the Changing Charact... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2851745 Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:36:31 +0100 2851745 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2842507&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FnPRKpXKkfxM%2F Max Boot, fellow for National Security Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and perhaps one of America’s most radical neo-imperialists, eight years ago this month likened the Afghan mission to British colonial rule: Afghanistan and other troubled lands today cry out for the sort of enlightened foreign administration once provided by self-confident Englishmen in jodhpurs and pith helmets…This was supposed to be ‘for the good of the natives,’ a phrase that once made progressives snort in derision, but may be taken more seriously after the left’s conversion (or, rather, reversion) in the 1990s to the cause of ‘humanitarian’ interventions. [emphasis mine] Just yesterday, this “stay-the-course” proponent said President Obama should fight on in Afghanistan and properly r... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2842507 Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:55:25 +0100 2842507 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2814394&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F6bMD9IbPKQo%2F In his review of the war in Afghanistan,  states that “failure to gain the initiative and reverse insurgent momentum in the near-term (next 12 months)—while Afghan security capacity matures—risks an outcome where defeating the insurgency is no longer possible.” I would hope that Congress and the American people hold McChrystal to his “12 month” prediction, because if President Obama sticks to McChrystal’s ambitious strategy, U.S. forces could remain in Central Asia for decades. McChrystal argues that the U.S. military must devote more effort to interacting with the local population and elevating the importance of governance. How? Does America defeat the Taliban in order to build an Afghan state, or does America build an Afghan state in order to defeat the Taliban? Winning t... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2814394 Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:53:36 +0100 2814394 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2814397&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FdOUTrF4ueVU%2F Pakistan long has tottered on the edge of being a failed state:  created amidst a bloody partition from India, suffered under ineffective democratic rule and disastrous military rule, destabilized through military suppression of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) by dominant West Pakistan, dismembered in a losing war with India, misgoverned by a corrupt and wastrel government, linked to the most extremist Afghan factions during the Soviet occupation, allied with the later Taliban regime, and now destabilized by the war in Afghanistan.  Along the way the regime built nuclear weapons, turned a blind eye to A.Q. Khan’s proliferation market, suppressed democracy, tolerated religious persecution, elected Asif Ali “Mr. Ten Percent” Zardari as president, and wasted billion... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2814397 Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:45:20 +0100 2814397 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2803893&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FOcSb6u6tsWM%2F Andrew C. McCarthy has an article up  at National Review criticizing a recent decision by Obama administration officials to improve the detention procedures in Bagram, Afghanistan. McCarthy calls the decision an example of pandering to a “despotic” judiciary that is imposing its will on a war that should be run by the political branches. McCarthy’s essay is factually misleading, ignores the history of wartime detention in counterterrorism and counterinsurgency, and encourages the President to ignore national security decisions coming out of the federal courts. More details after the jump. McCarthy is Factually Misleading McCarthy begins by criticizing a decision by District Judge John Bates to allow three detainees in Bagram, Afghanistan, to file habeas corpus petitions testing the... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2803893 Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:42:23 +0100 2803893 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2796402&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FQC5hrp9VWks%2F Columbia University IR guru Robert Jervis has a smart post at Foreign Policy’s “Af-Pak” blog.  For those who couldn’t get enough at yesterday’s Cato forum on Afghanistan, Jervis’ post is well worth a look: Prof. Robert Jervis Most discussion about Afghanistan has concentrated on whether and how we can defeat the Taliban. Less attention has been paid to the probable consequences of a withdrawal without winning, an option toward which I incline. What is most striking is not that what I take to be the majority view is wrong, but that it has not been adequately defended. This is especially important because the U.S. has embarked on a war that will require great effort with prospects that are uncertain at best. Furthermore, it appears that Obama’s com... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2796402 Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:21:55 +0100 2796402 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2757728&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FMZL5KtX9OaY%2F Obsidian Wings echoes my frustrations about the debate surrounding the war in Afghanistan. Publius notes, “The goal of preventing Taliban control isn’t a sufficient reason to stay.” That analysis is absolutely right. As I mention in my forthcoming white paper (co-authored with TGC), Escaping the Graveyard of Empires: A Strategy to Exit Afghanistan, the resurrection of the Taliban’s fundamentalist regime doesn’t threaten America’s sovereignty or physical security. The Taliban is a guerilla-jihadi Pashtun-dominated movement with no international agenda or shadowy global mission. Even if their parochial fighters took over a contiguous fraction of Afghan territory it is not compelling enough of a rationale to maintain an indefinite, large-scale military presence in the region, ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2757728 Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:58:58 +0100 2757728 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2712067&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FyK7_ZPAakUg%2F Yesterday, President Obama defended his new approach to the war in Afghanistan. According to the president, our strategy is to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al Qaeda and its extremist allies. In order to accomplish this goal, Obama’s strategy indicates we must create a functioning national state there. Why? Beltway orthodoxy tells us it’s because extremists will emerge in ungoverned parts of the world and attack the United States. As my colleagues Justin Logan and Chris Preble point out here, there’s reason to doubt whether state failure or poor governance in itself poses a threat. But responsible leaders would be upfront about the expected costs of our policy: to transform what is a deeply divided, poverty stricken, tribal-based society into a self-sufficient, non-corrupt, stable ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2712067 Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:59:28 +0100 2712067 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2681876&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FcYKFOKpEk38%2F While American officials have yet to confirm his death, Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which operates as Pakistan’s version of the Taliban, may have been killed Wednesday in an American missile attack in South Waziristan. Pakistan viewed Mehsud as its top internal threat. He was blamed for a wave of attacks that killed nearly 2,000 people in the past two years. He was also suspected of killing former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, and of having connections to al Qaeda. Three things: Number one, Mehsud’s death may or may not be a big blow to the TTP. Other deputies can easily take his place. In fact, shortly after Mehsud’s purported death, the Taliban Shura (an advisory council meeting) convened to elect a new TTP chief. (Among those being con... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2681876 Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:24:02 +0100 2681876 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2553006&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F7UyyRIzgbNo%2F The Obama administration performed another Friday afternoon Guantanamo news dump last week, indicating that it will probably maintain administrative military detention of combatants under a forthcoming executive order. This is unnecessary executive unilateralism. As Benjamin Wittes and Jack Goldsmith point out in today’s Washington Post, this is a debate that ought to be held in Congress. This would not be a tough push for Obama. The Obama administration already amended its claim of authority in a filing with the District Court for the District of Columbia, the judicial body sorting through the detainees remaining at Gitmo. Convincing Congress to ratify this decision should not be hard; the differences between the Bush administration’s “enemy combatant” criteria and... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2553006 Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:31:33 +0100 2553006 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2458040&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FUEOvs9puy04%2F Obama Speaks to the Muslim World In Cairo on Thursday, President Obama asked for a “new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world,” and spoke at some length on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Cato scholar Christopher Preble comments, “At times, it sounded like a state of the union address, with a litany of promises intended to appeal to particular interest groups. …That said, I thought the president hit the essential points without overpromising.” Preble goes on to say: He did not ignore that which divides the United States from the world at large, and many Muslims in particular, nor was he afraid to address squarely the lies and distortions — including the implication that 9/11 never happened, or was not... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2458040 Fri, 05 Jun 2009 20:44:16 +0100 2458040 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2452378&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FRIkypU_0spk%2F I listened live to the president’s Cairo speech this morning on my ride into work. I know that it will be parsed and dissected. Passages will be taken out of context, and sentences twisted beyond recognition. At times, it sounded like a state of the union address, with a litany of promises intended to appeal to particular interest groups. That said, I thought the president hit the essential points without overpromising. He did not ignore that which divides the United States from the world at large, and many Muslims in particular, nor was he afraid to address squarely the lies and distortions — including the implication that 9/11 never happened, or was not the product of al Qaeda — that have made the situation worse than it should be. He stressed the common interests th... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2452378 Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:44:17 +0100 2452378 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2398592&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FOYz7MGa3phk%2F Conclusion The cases above illustrate that the general principles of detention have not changed significantly with adjusted definitions. The terms “enemy combatant,” “direct participation in hostilities,” and “substantial support” will be interpreted by judges on a case-by-case basis much like a finding of probable cause to issue a warrant or justify a search. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2398592 Thu, 07 May 2009 19:16:43 +0100 2398592 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2382262&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FcaICLqS9N7s%2F Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri pleaded guilty to conspiring with al Qaeda leaders to commit acts of terrorism yesterday.  He could be sentenced up to 15 years in prison, though he has spent nearly half that awaiting trial and may get credit for the time already served. Al-Marri was an exchange student who arrived in the United States on September 10th, 2001 as an al Qaeda sleeper agent.  Read the government’s declaration of facts used to detain him.  This is the stuff of movies; the FBI took a dangerous man off the streets when it arrested him. Unfortunately, the government took him out of the criminal justice system and asked that the charges against him be dismissed with prejudice (meaning that they cannot be re-filed in the future).  He became a domestically detained enemy combatan... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2382262 Fri, 01 May 2009 15:23:19 +0100 2382262 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2364918&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fwf8wiFjD-Cw%2F Oh, the war in Afghanistan. The more I learn, the more I’m convinced that we need to get out. As I described the situation to my Cato colleague Chris Preble, for lack of a better analogy, the Afghanistan–Pakistan border is like a balloon: pushing down on one side forces elements to move to another — it doesn’t eliminate the threat. The fate of Pakistan — a nuclear-armed Muslim-majority country plagued by a powerful jihadist insurgency — will matter more to regional and global stability than economic and political developments in Afghanistan. But if our attempts to stabilize Afghanistan destabilize Pakistan, where does that leave us? Like A.I.G., is Afghanistan too big to fail? No. President Obama earlier this month issued a wide-ranging strategic review of the war and ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2364918 Fri, 24 Apr 2009 15:22:32 +0100 2364918 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2284351&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FG4sn7-Jrx5c%2F Regardless of whether the threat of terrorism is still real and eminent, bureaucratic inertia will keep the so-called war on terror on auto-pilot for years to come, says John Mueller, professor of political science at Ohio State University. Author of the book, Overblown: How Politicians and the Terrorism Industry Inflate National Security Threats and Why We Believe Them, Mueller spoke at Cato’s January Counterterrorism conference. In Tuesday’s Cato Daily Podcast, he discusses why terrorism is no longer the prominent issue in the nation and how the government should react to the perceived threat: My concern is that the threat that we’re trying to protect ourselves against has been massively exaggerated. Al Qaeda consists of about 150 people riding around in the hills in Paki... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2284351 Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:18:10 +0100 2284351 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2270277&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F-y1gVavF3_w%2F Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, the exchange student from Qatar who was detained by the FBI with alleged ties to al-Qaeda, sat for years in a military brig in South Carolina as the only domestically detained enemy combatant. The Bush Administration used al-Marri to test a legal theory aimed at keeping suspected terrorists in military prisons indefinitely. President Obama has reversed that ruling, and has moved al-Marri into civilian courts. The Supreme Court is no longer hearing al-Marri’s appeal. In Monday’s Cato Daily Podcast, Legal Policy Analyst David Rittgers says that there’s nothing that will stop future administrations from again reversing the policy. This is creating this legal cul-de-sac where we can have military detention domestically…and the reason that they... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2270277 Mon, 16 Mar 2009 22:08:11 +0100 2270277 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2270281&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FHKJ7CAVzCLU%2F This weekend, protesters supporting Pakistani opposition leader Nawaz Sharif (PML-N) clashed with police in riot gear in downtown Lahore. The sight of lawyers being tear-gassed is shocking to many Americans. But what should be more shocking—yet extremely more complicated to work through as explained below—is America’s continued backing of Pakistan’s unpopular president, Asif Ali Zardari, who continues to obstruct his democratic opposition and (until recently) the reappointment of ousted Chief Justice Iftikar Chaudrhy. It’s easy for people in the West to dismiss these demonstrations as the outgrowth of the country’s petty political infighting. But Americans must recognize that historically, U.S. policy and assistance has either enhanced the position of Pakistan’s military at t... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2270281 Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:56:54 +0100 2270281 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2249690&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Ff3_bKB4CWEE%2F The Supreme Court previously granted certiorari to the appeal of Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, the only enemy combatant taken into custody domestically and detained in a military brig. The Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that he could continue to be detained as an alleged al Qaeda operative without trial. The Supreme Court reversed its decision to hear the case today. The Obama administration moved him back into the civilian criminal justice system, and denied that it was doing so to keep the lower domestic detainee precedent intact. It argued that denying review while vacating the Fourth Circuit’s decision would serve the ends of justice. Apparently, the Court agreed. As I have said before, domestic counterterrorism is a law enforcement task, not a military one. The Wash... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2249690 Fri, 06 Mar 2009 19:02:18 +0100 2249690 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2122197&cid=t_121389_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F519133662%2F Within a day of Barack Obama’s inauguration, he has asked the military commissions judges to halt all trials in Guantanamo.  All indications point toward detainees being tried in federal courts.  This is a good decision for a couple of reasons. First, the military commissions play into the propaganda game that terrorists thrive on.  It confirms their message that normal courts can’t address the threat that they pose.  In fact, the opposite is true.  When you convict a terrorist and lock him up with murderers and rapists, you take away his freedom fighter mystique. Second, the trial of Omar Khadr was about to start.  Khadr fought alongside a band of Al Qaeda-affiliated terrorists and allegedly killed Special Forces medic Christopher Speer with a hand grenade.  Khadr deser... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2122197 Wed, 21 Jan 2009 22:06:39 +0100 2122197 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1516430&cid=t_121389_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F2008%2F06%2F13%2Fday-by-day-by-chris-muir-june-13-2008%2F Day by Day by Chris Muir When the United States Supreme Court begins to subvert the Constitution by making its own law it is time for the people to rise up and control the court. The awarding “The Privilege of Habeas Corpus To Terrorists” may be the death knell for respect of the court. Justice Scalia in dissent: America is at war with radical Islamists. The enemy began by killing Americans and American allies abroad: 241 at the Marine barracks in Lebanon, 19 at the Khobar Towers in Dhahran, 224 at our embassies in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi, and 17 on the USS Cole in Yemen. See National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, The 9/11 Commission Report, pp. 60–61, 70, 190 (2004). On September 11, 2001, the enemy brought the battle to American soil, killing 2,7... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1516430 Fri, 13 Jun 2008 17:15:15 +0100 1516430 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1315340&cid=t_121389_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D6622 One of the Mohammed cartoons that sparked riots last year throughout the Muslim world Al Qaeda’s Osama bin Laden issued a new video today (actually a graphic and audio recording). In the recording Osama bin Laden addressed the “wise men” of the European Union, slamming the publication of drawings insulting to the Prophet Muhammad and vowing a strong reaction. The message, which appeared on a militant Web site that has carried al-Qaida statements in the past and bore the logo of the extremist group’s media wing al-Sahab, showed a still image of bin Laden aiming with an AK-47. A voice believed to be bin Laden’s described the attacks of the Europeans on women and children but said these “paled (in comparison) when you went overboard in your unbelief and fr... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1315340 Thu, 20 Mar 2008 08:03:51 +0100 1315340 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1287792&cid=t_121389_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D6557 Adam Gadahn as featured on the FBI’s Most Wanted List The rumors continue that California Jihadist, late of Al Qaeda was killed in Pakistan some weeks ago. As US and Pakistani intelligence attempted to determine who else might have been killed in the Jan. 29 US airstrike in North Waziristan that took the life of al Qaeda commander Abu Laith al Libi, a new, unconfirmed report claimed Adam Gadahn, Laith’s American deputy, died in the strike, as did two Kuwaitis and four other terrorists. Sources inside Pakistan told the Nine/Eleven Finding Answers Foundation that US traitor Adam Gadahn was killed, along with Abu Suhail, Laith’s former deputy; Hamza al Somali, who is presumably of Australian or US nationality; Abu Ubayda Tawari Rakhis al Mutairi, a Kuwaiti national; Abu Adil al ... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1287792 Sat, 08 Mar 2008 09:02:00 +0100 1287792 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1263368&cid=t_121389_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D6504 Adam Gadahn as featured on the FBI’s Most Wanted List Adam Gadahn, the American spokesman for Al Qaeda is missing. Where is accused terrorist Adam Gadahn? That’s what Taliban sources along the Afghan-Pakistan border are wondering about the American-born al-Qaida member. Gadahn, known as Azzam al-Ameriki (Azzam the American), joined al-Qaida in 2003 and has appeared in several bombastic al-Qaida videos since then.U.S. intelligence officials have heard the same rumors, but tell NBC News that they have no information to suggest Gadahn is dead. They specifically deny that Gadahn was killed in the same Predator missile attack that killed al-Qaida’s #4, Abu Laith al-Libi, last week near the town of Mir Ali in Pakistan’s North Waziristan province. Gadahn was visiting Mir Ali at the ti... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1263368 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 08:57:47 +0100 1263368 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1132123&cid=t_121389_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D6214 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s87cLZ5V8F8 Video courtesy of MEMRI TV. California-born Al Qaeda member Adam Gadahn called on his fellow terrorists to greet President Bush with “bombs and booby-trapped vehicles” when Bush travels to the Middle East this week. You remember Gadahn who is wanted in the USA for treason/aiding terrorists and faces the death penalty when convicted. Rudy Giuliani said last week that the United States should redouble its efforts in Afghanistan and bring Osama bin Laden to justice. Flap can think of nothing better strategically in accomplishing a victory in the war on terror than bring Osama, Gadahn, et. al. back to the United States to stand trial and for execution. And, Gadahn, your symbolic destruction of your American passport was weak. America will... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1132123 Mon, 07 Jan 2008 00:21:06 +0100 1132123 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=976311&cid=t_121389_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D5775 Michael Ramirez has it RIGHT. California is being set on fire. Al Qaeda or another terrorist plot? There was warning. Didn’t the Japanese during World War II attempt to set the California Redwood forests on fire? Technorati Tags: Fire, California Wildfire, Al Qaeda, Michael Ramirez Subscribe to FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog by Email Facebook Flap! (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=976311 Thu, 25 Oct 2007 00:42:45 +0100 976311 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=861690&cid=t_121389_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D5563 NEVER FORGET God Bless America Technorati Tags: 9/11, September11, September112001 Subscribe to FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog by Email Facebook Flap! (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=861690 Tue, 11 Sep 2007 15:38:42 +0100 861690 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=858228&cid=t_121389_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D5558 Republican presidential hopeful Fred Thompson poses for a photo during a campaign stop in Greenville, S.C., Monday, Sept. 10, 2007. Are Champagne corks popping in Rudy Giuliani’s campaign office? You betcha……… Flap cannot believe such a GAFFE……. Previous: Fred Thompson Watch: NO to Ice Cream But YES to Huckabee Debate? Fred Thompson’s Past Support for Campaign Finance Reform Scrutinized Fred Thompson Watch: Jim Mills Quote of the Day Fred Thompson Watch: ANOTHER Campaign Aide OUT Fred Thompson Scores “Direct Hit on Romney” Fred Thompson Watch: Thompson to Announce September 6 - Ducks GOP Debate Fred Thompson to Announce for the Presidency Today Fred Thompson to Announce an Announcement Date Today? Technorati Tags: Fred Thompson ... FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=858228 Tue, 11 Sep 2007 01:10:18 +0100 858228 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=718784&cid=t_121389_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D5253 Dr. Bilal Abdulla arrested at the Glasgow Airport bombing Dr. Bilal Talal Abdul Samad Abdulla, an Iraqi from Baghdad who arrived in the UK in April 2006.  Dr. Bilal Abdulla has been transferred to Paddington Green high-security prison in London as the investigation continues Man charged with London and Glasgow bomb plots Iraqi doctor Bilal Abdullah tonight [...] (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=718784 Sat, 07 Jul 2007 06:46:09 +0100 718784 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=716432&cid=t_121389_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D5247 Cyber-terrorists: Tariq Daour, Younis Tsouli and Waseem Mughal 45 Muslim doctors planned US terror raids A group of 45 Muslim doctors threatened to use car bombs and rocket grenades in terrorist attacks in the United States during discussions on an extremist internet chat site. Police found details of the discussions on a site run by one of [...] (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=716432 Fri, 06 Jul 2007 08:03:34 +0100 716432 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=716430&cid=t_121389_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D5249 Cox & Forkum: What’s in a Name From the Daily Express: Brown: Don’t say terrorists are Muslims Gordon Brown has banned ministers from using the word “Muslim” in connection with the terrorism crisis.The Prime Minister has also instructed his team – including new Home Secretary Jacqui Smith – that the phrase “war on terror” is to be [...] (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=716430 Fri, 06 Jul 2007 08:03:34 +0100 716430 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=714680&cid=t_121389_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D5238 Metastasis ‘Those who cure you will kill you’ An al-Qaeda leader in Iraq boasted before last week’s failed bombings in London and Glasgow that his group was planning to attack British targets and that “those who cure you will kill you”, The Times has learnt. The warning was delivered to Canon Andrew White, a senior British cleric [...] (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=714680 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 05:57:47 +0100 714680 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=714679&cid=t_121389_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D5239 Web Sites Hint at New Bin Laden Tape An Internet site deemed close to al-Qaida’s leadership announced on Wednesday that “good news” will be coming soon. The flashing red banner was interpreted by several other Islamist Web sites as a sign that Osama bin Laden would issue a new taped message soon. Such announcements have usually been followed [...] (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=714679 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 05:57:47 +0100 714679 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=714677&cid=t_121389_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D5241 A Mercedes car, which contained a suspected car bomb, is loaded onto a removals truck in Haymarket Street, near Piccadilly, in central London, last Friday. U.K. Terror Plot — Why the Bombs Failed The London bomb plot allegedly planned by a cell of doctors failed early last Friday morning because a medical syringe used as part [...] (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=714677 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 05:57:47 +0100 714677 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=714676&cid=t_121389_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D5242 Dr. Kahlid Ahmed has been identified as the driver of the Glasgow Car Bomb Iowa Hawk: Well, That Didn’t Work Out So Great Iowahawk Guest Commentary By Kahlid Ahmed, MD Board Certified Gastroenterologist and former Jihad Associate, al Qaeda UK Ever have “one of those days?” Sure, all of us go through the occasional rough patch, but I swear there [...] (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=714676 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 05:57:47 +0100 714676 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=710231&cid=t_121389_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D5228 Asha’s father says son innocent Asha Not Linked To Terror, Says Dad The father of one of the men arrested over the failed bomb attacks in London and Glasgow has protested his son’s innocence. Abdul Qader Asha said Dr Mohammed Asha did not have “any links” to terrorism. Dr Asha, who is Jordanian, was one of two people [...] (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=710231 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 03:11:23 +0100 710231 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=710229&cid=t_121389_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D5225 *****Scroll Down for Updates***** Dr Mohammed Asha: Arrested on the M6 Caring face: Dr Asha with his son Anaf, then two, in Amman, Jordan, last year Held: The couple are arrested on the M6 Jamil Abdelqader Asha, a 26-year-old neurologist who was born in Saudi Arabia but is of Palestinian origin and was travelling on a Jordanian passport. He [...] (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=710229 Tue, 03 Jul 2007 03:11:23 +0100 710229 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=708758&cid=t_121389_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D5224 A vehicle burned on Saturday after it hit a section of Glasgow Airport. To recap from yesterday: OVER 36 HOURS… THE TIMETABLE OF TERROR 1.25AM Green Mercedes packed with 13 gallons of petrol, gas cylinders and nails left outside Tiger Tiger nightclub in central London’s Haymarket. Paramedics treating a drunken reveller spot smoke in the car and call police [...] (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=708758 Mon, 02 Jul 2007 16:38:44 +0100 708758 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=707610&cid=t_121389_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D5219 ******Scroll Down for Updates***** Bomber: An off duty policeman sprays water at a burning bomber who tried to ignite explosives at Glasgow Airport Five arrested over car bomb terror attacks Homes searched as risk of attack in Britain is ‘imminent’ Five people have been arrested as Britain moved to its highest state of terror alert after three [...] (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=707610 Mon, 02 Jul 2007 02:59:49 +0100 707610 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=707338&cid=t_121389_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D5218 CNN: Witnesses: Glascow attack suspects shouted “Allah,” appeared to be of south Asian descent One of the men who crashed an explosives-laden sport-utility vehicle into an entrance at the Glasgow International Airport Saturday set himself on fire, while another repeatedly shouted “Allah” as he fought with police, according to witnesses who ran to the scene after [...] (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=707338 Sun, 01 Jul 2007 16:57:26 +0100 707338 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=707337&cid=t_121389_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D5219 ******Scroll Down for Updates***** Bomber: An off duty policeman sprays water at a burning bomber who tried to ignite explosives at Glasgow Airport Five arrested over car bomb terror attacks Homes searched as risk of attack in Britain is ‘imminent’ Five people have been arrested as Britain moved to its highest state of terror alert after three [...] (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=707337 Sun, 01 Jul 2007 16:57:26 +0100 707337 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=707147&cid=t_121389_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D5214 The blazing Jeep at the doors of Terminal 1 at Glasgow Airport Flap has opened up a new thread. The suspect: BBC: Blazing car crashes into airport Photo of Glasgow Car Bomber Man Tackled Driver Video The latest update in the Glasgow incident: Sources: 3 suspects in Glasgow airport incident, one dead at scene (CNN) — Authorities believe there were three people [...] (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=707147 Sun, 01 Jul 2007 04:23:42 +0100 707147 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=707146&cid=t_121389_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D5215 Giuliani Notes: Rudy Slaps Edwards for Calling Global War on Terror a BUMPER STICKER UK Terror Watch: Flaming Car Rams into Glasgow Airport Part 2;Update - Police Have Made Two More Arrests in Cheshire, England in London, Glasgow Terror Incidents UK Terror Watch: Flaming Car Rams into Glasgow Airport; Update: U.S. Boosting Presence of Security [...] (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=707146 Sun, 01 Jul 2007 04:23:42 +0100 707146 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=707145&cid=t_121389_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D5216 Republican presidential hopeful former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani points to the 17th Street Canal levee as he talks with Lakeview residents Kelly Alfortish and Tim Alfortish, right, during a brief visit to the Hurricane Katrina-damaged area in New Orleans, Saturday, June 30, 2007. The Alfortish’s home was flooded during the storm and they [...] (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=707145 Sun, 01 Jul 2007 04:23:42 +0100 707145 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=706523&cid=t_121389_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D5212 ‘Police have crystal clear video image of car bomber’ Massive man hunt underway as second bomb found Police could have a ‘crystal clear’ video image of a man who tried to kill hundreds of people by blowing up two cars in central London. After a second bomb was found yesterday, there are now fears that other [...] (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=706523 Sat, 30 Jun 2007 17:19:43 +0100 706523 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=705650&cid=t_121389_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D5208 ******Scroll Down for Updates ******* Will be posted at top of the blog throughout the day for breaking news A British police forensic officer leaves a blue operations tent that police placed over a vehicle which contains a suspected bomb in the Haymarket area near Piccadilly Circus in central London, Friday June 29, 2007. Explosives officers on [...] (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=705650 Sat, 30 Jun 2007 03:25:29 +0100 705650 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=704385&cid=t_121389_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D5208 ******Scroll Down for Updates ******* A British police forensic officer leaves a blue operations tent that police placed over a vehicle which contains a suspected bomb in the Haymarket area near Piccadilly Circus in central London, Friday June 29, 2007. Explosives officers on Friday dealt with a suspected bomb in a vehicle parked near Piccadilly Circus [...] (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=704385 Fri, 29 Jun 2007 16:38:06 +0100 704385 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=682369&cid=t_121389_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D5140 Inside a Taliban ‘Graduation’ The “graduation” took place on June 9 somewhere in the tribal areas along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Exclusive: Suicide Bomb Teams Sent to U.S., Europe Large teams of newly trained suicide bombers are being sent to the United States and Europe, according to evidence contained on a new videotape obtained by [...] (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=682369 Wed, 20 Jun 2007 20:38:52 +0100 682369 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=644616&cid=t_121389_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D5027 Adam Gadahn who is suspected of attending an al-Qaida training camp and working as a translator for the terror group. The 28-year-old Californian, who joined al-Qaida and appeared in propaganda videos for the terrorist organization, was indicted Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006, on federal charges of treason and providing material support to terrorists, a U.S. Justice [...] (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=644616 Wed, 30 May 2007 19:01:10 +0100 644616 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=638878&cid=t_121389_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D5010 Saddam’s secretsUploaded by drzz And a 1999 ABC News Documentary: Bin Laden ties to Saddam Hussein and the 9/11 Plot A non-revisionist view of why the United States is fighting in Iraq. Technorati Tags: Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden, Iraq, Iraq War, Al Qaeda (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=638878 Sun, 27 May 2007 16:04:42 +0100 638878