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Terrorism's Triumphant Techniques: Why the US is behind the power curve
NY Post ^ | January 4, 2010 | Ralph Peters

Posted on 01/04/2010 3:23:47 AM PST by Scanian

Our terrorist enemies are out-thinking us. It's not only embarrassing, but deadly.

The Taliban's latest innovation was on display again last week, when a suicide bomber, reportedly garbed in an Afghan army uniform, killed seven Americans, including a CIA mission chief.

The terrorists are "inside the wire." Everywhere. From eastern Afghanistan to Texas. And we're stalled. For all of our wealth, technology and power, our enemies have the strategic and psychological initiative.

The low-tech nature of most reported combat in our recent conflicts obscures the advent of four powerful innovations in warfare. Unfortunately, three of those revolutionary techniques belong to our enemies.

(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: afghanistan; infiltration; suicidebombs; taliban

1 posted on 01/04/2010 3:23:49 AM PST by Scanian
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To: Scanian

Maybe I’m jaded, but my first thought is “I’m surprised it isn’t much worse.”


2 posted on 01/04/2010 3:24:53 AM PST by HiTech RedNeck (I am in America but not of America (per bible: am in the world but not of it))
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To: HiTech RedNeck

You said it!


3 posted on 01/04/2010 3:29:09 AM PST by Biggirl (Happy 2010!=^..^==^..^==^..^==^..^==^..^=)
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To: Scanian

“....And we’re stalled. For all of our wealth, technology and power, our enemies have the strategic and psychological initiative.”

They have the Left at their side. We have the Left within at their side. It’s like two against one.


4 posted on 01/04/2010 3:29:33 AM PST by rockinqsranch (Dems, Libs, Socialists...Call 'em What you Will, They ALL have Fairies Living In Their Trees.)
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To: Scanian

MFLR.


5 posted on 01/04/2010 3:30:28 AM PST by Rummyfan (Iraq: it's not about Iraq anymore, it's about the USA!)
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To: Scanian

I was laughing out loud reading this.

The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent terrorist threats and have raised their security level from “Miffed” to “Peeved.”

Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to “Irritated” or even “A Bit Cross.”

The English have not been “A Bit Cross” since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies all but ran out. Terrorists have been re-categorized from “Tiresome” to a “Bloody Nuisance.” The last time the British issued a “Bloody Nuisance” warning level was during the great fire of 1666.

The Scots raised their threat level from “Pissed Off” to “Let’s get the Bastards”. They don’t have any other levels. This is the reason they have been used on the front line in the British army for the last 300 years.

The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from “Run” to “Hide”. The only two higher levels in France are “Collaborate” and “Surrender.” The rise was thought to be precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France’s white flag factory, effectively paralyzing the country’s military capability.

However, it’s not only the French who are on a heightened level of alert. Italy has increased the alert level from “Shout Loudly and Excitedly” to “Elaborate Military Posturing.” Two more levels remain: “Ineffective Combat Operations” and “Change Sides Now”.

Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual, and the only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels.

The Spanish are all terribly excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy.

The Canadian Government has changed its threat level from “Don’t Blame Us”, to “You gotta be kidding”.
In response to the US security demands, the Honourable Steven Harper has declared that Canada could soon see the dreaded “You want us to do what?”.


6 posted on 01/04/2010 3:35:45 AM PST by Eye of Unk (Phobos, kerdos, and doxa, said the Time Traveler. “Fear, self-interest, and honor.”)
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To: Scanian

We have to be more ruthless than they are. Profiling, etc.. Ask Dick Cheney for advice. And then do it. Of course, Zero won’t, so get ready for something extremely nasty right here on Main Street, USA.


7 posted on 01/04/2010 3:41:38 AM PST by hershey
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To: Scanian

It’s about time that people get to thinking “right” about this and realizing that Islam is engaged in a war against the West and will not stop until the West (all the countries involved) puts a stop to it themselves.

It’s about time we put a stop to Islam, just like we’ve had to do in the West in history past, too.


8 posted on 01/04/2010 3:44:03 AM PST by Star Traveler (Remember to keep the Messiah of Israel in the One-World Government that we look forward to coming)
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To: Scanian
We make up fairy tales about the power of development projects to deter religious fanatics. We impose rules of engagement on our troops that protect our enemies. We ground our air power. We grant terrorists "legal" rights with no basis in existing law...And our enemies do whatever it takes to win.

Excellent article! Peters is thoroughly disgusted with our military approach, which he points out is based on complete fantasy, and does not have the one objective it requires: victory. As he points out, this is not the fault of our soldiers, but of their commanders and the politicians who dictate their policies.

I just read this morning that four more of our troops were killed in Afghanistan. Obama's just throwing them away.

9 posted on 01/04/2010 3:48:07 AM PST by livius
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To: Scanian

Back when Noah was building his ark, I was a boy helping my father work a trap line through a few winters. In those days of old, you did what you had to and lived, or didn’t and died. We sometimes took “wrong” animals from the traps. Dad did all he could to prevent it, but it did happen.

If, for example, someone in a robe looks “bulky” and, told to open the robe, advances, I’d check for a “maybe wrong” situation — carefully, and with the someone down and still. Of course, I value American lives above all, and will NEVER apologize for my nation or my priorities!


10 posted on 01/04/2010 3:49:37 AM PST by JohnQ1 ("(BHO) can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know." - A Lincoln)
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To: livius
Obama's just throwing them away.

I believe the ROE were altered for the purpose of increasing our losses. That will make it easier for us to give up and abandon the country at a future date. Obama is the first president who plans to benefit from American losses.

11 posted on 01/04/2010 3:52:49 AM PST by ClearCase_guy (We have the 1st so that we can call on people to rebel. We have 2nd so that they can.)
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To: Scanian
“We make up fairy tales about the power of development projects to deter religious fanatics.”

We are governed by fools. These incompetent people are going to get a lot of Americans killed.

12 posted on 01/04/2010 4:12:51 AM PST by Shane (I'll keep my guns, money and freedom, you can keep the change.)
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To: Eye of Unk

That is great!


13 posted on 01/04/2010 5:04:58 AM PST by caver (Obama's first goals: allow more killing of innocents and allow the killers of innocents to go free.)
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To: HiTech RedNeck
re: “I’m surprised it isn’t much worse.”

IMHO, the cowboy nature of Dubya, and Reagan before him, kept them off balance. They could do us harm in so many ways, every day. It's not that they can't, but rather that they don't. Why? I think under Bush they feared success. They could do all sorts of harm, but the knew it would be at a cost. And with a cowboy as President they weren't sure what the price would be, but knew there would be a price.

We no longer have that edge on them. We have a ‘leader’ who has no idea how to use the raw power at his disposal. And worse still, again IMHO, his heart is on their side. If you had set about outlining a plan of action that would hurt us and help our avowed enemy you couldn't come up with a more effective game plan that what we're seeing used every day.

It doesn't take much of an ability to see the future to know where this is all going. Just look at education. Same thing. American education has been as effectively destroyed as if a plan had been set in motion to do just that 30 or 40 years ago.

And they're doing the same thing to our industrial and manufacturing base and our economy.

14 posted on 01/04/2010 5:24:24 AM PST by jwparkerjr
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To: Scanian

“For all of our wealth, technology and power, our enemies have the strategic and psychological initiative.”

I feel the need to correct people who think we are a wealthy country. We are in fact BANKRUPT by any reasonable definition of the word. Until people realize this, govt will continue to compound the problem.


15 posted on 01/04/2010 5:27:18 AM PST by Hacklehead (Liberalism is the art of taking what works, breaking it, and then blaming conservatives.)
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To: Scanian
For all of our wealth, technology and power, our enemies have the strategic and psychological initiative.

IMHO, there are two reasons for this:

  1. We scan for things, not people. The terrorists change their MO on a continuous basis, meaning we will forever be playing catchup
  2. The reason for the first reason is political correctness, an evil, malevolent plague that has seriously infected our country for the last 15 or 20 years. It is a scourge that killed 3000 people on 09/11/2001 and will cause the death of thousands more people in the future.
Just MHO.
16 posted on 01/04/2010 6:07:02 AM PST by upchuck (The horse is in the pasture. The barn door is wide-open. Obama wants to know who made the hinges.)
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To: Scanian

Unfortunately, the people inside the Beltway who run the government view this war as a use case study in a graduate seminar. They are all trying to impress their professor with the depth of their intellect and the imagination of their response that best reflects the prime directives of multiculturalism and diversity. The reward for them is a better paying job with more political power, bumping them up the social ladder. They could care less about the effect of their actions on the country or her Armed Forces.


17 posted on 01/04/2010 6:47:22 AM PST by centurion316
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To: ClearCase_guy
Obama is the first president who plans to benefit from American losses.

I think you're right. Other presidents may have caused them accidentally, but he's aware of it and it is, as you point out, a strategy for achieving his goal (which is NOT victory).

18 posted on 01/04/2010 7:45:28 AM PST by livius
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To: jwparkerjr

Palin or even Hillary would spell trouble for them.


19 posted on 01/04/2010 1:56:59 PM PST by HiTech RedNeck (I am in America but not of America (per bible: am in the world but not of it))
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To: Hacklehead

Most other countries would kill to be so “bankrupt.”


20 posted on 01/04/2010 1:58:37 PM PST by HiTech RedNeck (I am in America but not of America (per bible: am in the world but not of it))
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