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War On Terror: We've seen the enemy and it's not just the jihadists. It's also our own government, which refuses to see this very real enemy. How can we fight and defeat what we refuse to see? First it was the Pentagon, which whitewashed jihad's obvious role in the Fort Hood massacre. Then it was the attorney general, who during congressional testimony couldn't bring himself to say that "radical Islam" motivated the turncoat Muslim soldier who opened fire at the base. Or the Muslim terrorist who tried to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner. Or the Muslim terrorist who tried to...

Note: The following text is a quote: New National Strategy Takes ‘Whole-of-Government’ Approach By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, May 27, 2010 – The Obama Administration has instituted a “whole-of-government” approach within the new National Security Strategy presented to Congress today. The security strategy is the first presented by President Barack Obama, and it builds on the lessons learned from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and on the research conducted for the Quadrennial Defense Review issued in February. The National Security Strategy is used to formulate the National Defense Strategy and the National Military Strategy. “Our strategy...

In a broad redefinition of U.S. strategic priorities, President Obama has said that the United States must revitalize its own economic, moral and innovative strength if it is to continue to lead the world. Just as it did following World War II, the United States today must also shape a new international order and system of global institutions that reflect a 21st century reality in which "America's greatness is not assured," Obama says in a 52-page "National Security Strategy" released Thursday morning. "As we fight the wars in front of us, we must see the horizon beyond them," he writes...

Implicitly rejecting the antiterrorism rhetoric of the Bush administration, Brennan said that "our enemy is not terrorism, because terrorism is but a tactic. Our enemy is not terror, because terror is a state of mind and, as Americans, we refuse to live in fear." "Nor do we describe our enemy as jihadists or Islamists," Brennan said, because use of these religious terms would "play into the false perception" that al-Qaeda and its affiliates are "religious leaders and defending a holy cause, when in fact, they are nothing more than murderers." "...an action that eliminates a single terrorist but causes civilian...

www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-assistant-president-homeland-security-and-counterterrorism-john-brennan-csi # Note: The following text is a quote: Home • Briefing Room • Statements & Releases The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release May 26, 2010 Remarks by Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism John Brennan at CSIS “Securing the Homeland by Renewing American Strength, Resilience and Values” Thank you very much John, and I would like to take a moment to express my appreciation to CSIS for inviting me back. You invited me here a little after six months after I came into this administration and I greatly appreciate the invitation...

President Obama's firing of retired Adm. Dennis C. Blair as director of national intelligence highlights a pattern of problems involving senior officials in Obama's administration who once served in the upper ranks of the military. In addition to Blair, national security adviser James L. Jones, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl W. Eikenberry and Sudan special envoy L. Scott Gration have faced questions about their performance inside and outside the government. All four achieved the rank of admiral or general before joining the administration. White House officials say that, other than Blair, the men have largely succeeded after sometimes difficult starts,...

Best Opinion: Riehl World View, Wash. Independent, Power Line President Obama has outlined a new national security strategy rooted in diplomacy and international alliances, which some see as a repudiation of George W. Bush's policy emphasizing America's right to wage pre-emptive war. Obama previewed his new approach in a commencement address at West Point — the same place his predecessor had introduced what became known as "the Bush doctrine" in the aftermath of 9/11. Is Obama's strategy wise, or is he going soft on terrorism? (Watch Obama's comments on "international order") Obama's weak, like past Democratic presidents: "There's nothing new...

President Obama’s speech at West Point Saturday is the most sweeping statement yet of his plan to create a national security policy emphasizing education, clean energy, green jobs, anti-climate change measures, the granting of full American constitutional rights to accused terrorists, and “engagement” with America’s enemies. Obama is set to release his first formal full-scale national security strategy in the coming week. At West Point, he told the Class of 2010 that the United States must “see the horizon” beyond the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. To reach that horizon, he explained, “we must pursue a strategy of national renewal...

WEST POINT -- President Obama on Saturday pledged to shape a new "international order" as part of a national security strategy that emphasizes the president's belief in global institutions and America's role in promoting Democratic values around the world. "The international order we seek is one that can resolve the challenges of our times,'" he said in prepared remarks. "Countering violent extremism and insurgency; stopping the spread of nuclear weapons and securing nuclear materials; combating a changing climate and sustaining global growth; helping countries feed themselves and care for their sick; preventing conflict and healing its wounds."

Address To The Graduating Class Of The United States Military Academy at West Point, New York - March 6, 1974 Since I am a fiction writer, let us start with a short short story. Suppose that you are an astronaut whose spaceship gets out of control and crashes on an unknown planet. When you regain consciousness and find that you are not hurt badly, the first three questions in or mind would be: Where am I? How can I discover it? What should I do? You see unfamiliar vegetation outside, and there is air to breathe; the sunlight seems paler...

"The international order we seek is one that can resolve the challenges of our times,'" he said in prepared remarks. "Countering violent extremism and insurgency; stopping the spread of nuclear weapons and securing nuclear materials; combating a changing climate and sustaining global growth; helping countries feed themselves and care for their sick; preventing conflict and healing its wounds." "Yes, we are clear-eyed about the shortfalls of our international system. But America has not succeeded by stepping outside the currents of international cooperation," he said. "We have succeeded by steering those currents in the direction of liberty and justice -- so...

Noah Schactman at Wired argues that the real national security choices that Barack Obama has made over his tenure have been largely misunderstood. They are not between competing models of security but are driven by somethng else. To make his point, Schactman cites a Reuters article quoting counterterrorism officials as saying that the closure of Guantanamo Bay has made it necessary to drone-kill more militants because “there’s nowhere to put them”.

BREAKING: President Obama will replace his Director of National Intelligence, Dennis Blair, POLITICO has confirmed. "We expect Admiral Blair to offer his resignation tomorrow," an official said. "We have been interviewing several strong candidates to be his replacement. "

The nation's top intelligence officer, director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair, announced his resignation Thursday after months of friction and repeated duels with White House officials. WASHINGTON — The nation's top intelligence officer, director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair, announced his resignation Thursday after months of friction and repeated duels with White House officials. The retired Navy admiral gave no reason for his departure in his public statement, nor did he express thanks to President Obama for the opportunity to serve in his administration. A U.S. official indicated Obama had asked Blair to resign, saying a job search was well...

The U.S. Air Force is looking to align its work with “a new National Security Strategy, the Department of Defense Quadrennial Defense Review, and strategic reviews of the Nation’s space, nuclear and ballistic missile defense postures,” according to testimony presented to the Senate Committee on Appropriations. During a hearing earlier this week, Michael B. Donley, Secretary of the Air Force, and General Norton A. Schwartz, Chief of Staff, testified before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense on the Air Force’s FY2011 Budget. The budget, a proposed $119.6 billion, is spread out between meeting the current and future needs of the...

Here is video of Charles Krauthammer reacting to Attorney General Eric Holder's unwillingness to use the term "Radical Islam" to describe what incites terrorists to attack the United States. Krauthammer said it is absurd to not call the ideology behind the enemy what it is - "Radical Islam." In fact, he likened this politically-correct attitude displayed by Holder in a recent hearing to how absurd it would have been to never speak of "Communism" during the Cold War, or "Nazism" during World War II as the ideologies behind the enemy. Krauthammer could not be more right! But in the PC...

This weekend, the secretary of defense called for additional spending cuts to keep the defense budget flat for the future. But flat budgets aren’t always smart budgets — or even an effective way to cut waste. The defense budget doesn’t need simple cuts. It needs true reform. The Heritage Foundation has long argued that internal defense-budget imbalances continue to threaten the modernization of America’s military equipment. Real reform — beyond weapons system cuts — must be enacted to funnel money back to this priority. Unfortunately, Sec. Robert Gates continues to let the defense tail wag the foreign-policy dog. His Kansas...

The 53 hours from the primed-to-explode Nissan Pathfinder in Times Square to the nick-of-time arrest of Faisal Shahzad underlined the single undeniable truth of 21st-century terrorism. The best defense against a terrorist attack is not the CIA, the FBI, Predator drones or Jack Bauer, but the New York Police Department. The FBI lost Shahzad on his way to Kennedy International Airport on Monday night and his name on the do-not-fly list failed to prevent him from initially boarding an Emirates jet to Dubai. But from the moment a street vendor alerted a mounted police officer in Times Square about white...

(CNN) -- In the hours following the Times Square car-bombing attempt, some in the media -- as well as some public officials -- insisted we shouldn't rush to judgment about the identity or motives of the person responsible for the failed attack. He could be, they insisted, just a homegrown nut job.

At this point, the Department of Homeland Security might want to reconsider the proposition that veterans, gun rights activists and people upset about illegal immigration pose the greatest threat of domestic terrorism. A DHS intelligence assessment released to law enforcement agencies last year warned that right-wing extremist groups were advancing their recruitment efforts among such crowds. Not that white supremacists and militia goons don't deserve close scrutiny. Given their rhetoric and propensity for violence, it would be foolish not to keep a wary eye on them. But it would be even more foolish if you were a president or a...