Tuesday, December 9, 2014
From: Gary L. Bauer
A Risky Report
Senate Democrats today released a highly controversial report on the CIA’s use of enhanced interrogation techniques in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. The Associated Press reports that U.S. embassies and military installations worldwide are bolstering security, bracing for possible jihadist attacks using the report’s conclusions as an excuse.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest conceded yesterday that “release of the report could lead to a greater risk that is posed to U.S. facilities and individuals all around the world.” So why do it now? (Perhaps to distract everyone from Dr. Jonathan Gruber’s testimony.)
We have had this debate already. President Obama banned the use of such interrogation methods hours after his 2009 inauguration. Meanwhile, as we engage in this exercise of self-flagellation over our alleged excesses, we are still fighting jihadists who cut the throats of babies.
Congressional Republicans and former CIA officials are blasting the administration and Senate Democrats for failing to “interview a single CIA official,” downplaying the usefulness of intelligence that was gathered, ignoring pleas from our allies for discretion and putting more lives at risk.
Does ISIS Have Dirty Bomb?
Unconfirmed reports have been swirling for weeks that ISIS may have a dirty nuclear bomb. Such a device is not necessarily a weapon of mass destruction, but more likely a “weapon of mass disruption.”
Fears first materialized this summer when the Iraqi government warned the United Nations that “Terrorist groups have seized control of nuclear material” used for scientific research at Mosul University. The July letter continued, “These nuclear materials . . . can enable terrorist groups . . . to use it separate or in combination with other materials in its terrorist acts.”
In late November security experts took notice of a claim posted on Twitter: “Islamic State does have a dirty bomb. We found some radioactive material from Mosul university.” That post was made by a jihadist, Muslim Al-Britani, who is believed to be a weapons expert for ISIS. A few days ago, Al-Britani tweeted, “A Radioactive Device has entered somewhere in Europe.”
The stock market unexpectedly fell more than two hundred points this morning. The dramatic drop was blamed on slowing growth in China. But as we recently reported, European intelligence agencies are bracing for a “spectacular attack” sometime before Christmas.
Former Pentagon official Michael Rubin got it right when he said: “Maybe Britani is lying, maybe he’s not. . . . Perhaps it’s also time to recognize that open borders and successful counter-terrorism are mutually exclusive.”
Jewish Student Attacked In Synagogue
Twenty-two year-old Israeli student Levi Rosenviat was attacked in a synagogue today. The attack took place not in Jerusalem, but in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights. Rosenviat was stabbed in the head and is in serious but stable condition.
While there is no known motivation for the attack, witnesses said the assailant, Calvin Peters, repeatedly muttered, “I want to kill the Jew!” He was shot and killed by police when he charged at them.
There have been similar knife attacks in Israel in recent weeks, including last month’s devastating attack on a Jerusalem synagogue by Palestinians armed with meat cleavers.
Values Matter
A new Bloomberg poll finds that just 39% of Americans approve of Barack Obama’s job performance. That’s interesting. The economy is clearly improving — job creation is up, gas prices are down — and Obama’s numbers are falling. Politicians and pundits who repeat the mantra “It’s the economy, stupid” should stop and think about what this poll means.
Of course the economy matters, but there are many other issues — broadly categorized as values issues — that also matter. Issues like the sanctity of life, the definition of marriage, religious liberty.
I believe it also includes how we think about our nation. Are our borders worth defending? Does American citizenship mean anything? Are we the good guys or are we imperialist oppressors?
It includes how we judge one another. Will we follow Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream and judge one another by the content of one’s character? Or we will follow the left’s distorted view that asks us to judge too much by the color of one’s skin?
Values, broadly speaking, includes how we deal with those who have waged war against us. We were reminded this weekend that the president sides with those who believe we have denied our enemies their “rights,” and he sends them off Uruguay even though previously freed detainees have gone back to the battlefield to fight against us.
I don’t understand why more conservatives aren’t speaking up on all these issues. They must stop talking like accountants and only about tax cuts, and stop allowing the left to define what America’s “values” are.
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