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Our barbaric jihadist enemies – the ones President Obama repeatedly assured us he had “decimated” and put on “the path to defeat” – are now stronger than ever. Not stronger than they have been in years, or decades – stronger than ever. They have seized a country-size swath of territory (and growing). They have just beheaded an American journalist – which is the sort of thing they do as a matter of routine but has obviously, and finally, gotten our attention. Not to worry, though: The Obama Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation. I’m sure ISIS is quaking. The...

Obama’s America Is September 10th America By Andrew C. McCarthy August 22, 2014 Our barbaric jihadist enemies – the ones President Obama repeatedly assured us he had “decimated” and put on “the path to defeat” – are now stronger than ever. Not stronger than they have been in years, or decades – stronger than ever. They have seized a country-size swath of territory (and growing). They have just beheaded an American journalist – which is the sort of thing they do as a matter of routine but has obviously, and finally, gotten our attention. Not to worry, though: The Obama...

Here is video of Missouri GOP Sen. Kit Bond talking to Greta Van Susteren, where he said the Obama Administration is "going back to a pre-9/11 mentality": "But what my real beef is with the administration that seems to be going back to a pre-9/11 mentality, where they treat terrorists as ordinary criminals. That was deadly in the past, and I'm afraid it will be again." Bond has been very critical of the way the Obama Administration has handled the "Underwear Bomber," in reading him his "Miranda Rights" instead of getting all the information possible out of him about other...

‘September 10 America.” The phrase signifies a reprise of the “terrorism is just a crime” mindset that reigned in the years before the 9/11 attacks. Like other observers, I’ve groused in recent months that we are back to that self-destructive ethos. I was wrong. If the Fort Hood atrocity tells us anything, it is that things are much worse than they were before 9/11. For one thing, 9/11 has happened. Before it did, perhaps we had an excuse. But we’ve experienced the wages of consciously avoiding Islamism. To have retreated into puerile fantasies about a religion of peace is, at...

For better or worse, we have new Washington leadership and a new direction for America. It's a softer and relational Washington, with whom international bonds are more important than national borders and boundaries. It's a more secular Washington, which says that the country is no longer a "Christian nation." It's a more liberal Washington; it has enacted more left-leaning legislation in its first year than any previous administration. It's a more generous Washington, from whom handouts, bailouts and borrowing are granted and given at record-breaking political speed. But my greatest concern, I must confess, is that it's a kinder and...

Eight years after the events of Sept. 11, 2001 that unleashed the "war on terror" and brought regime changes in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Islamist (or Islamofascist) beast remains alive. The "war on terror," as former president George W. Bush defined it, is over and President Barack Obama's "overseas contingency operations" mean returning to the pre-9/11 world. This return to Sept. 10 thinking was anticipated. No democracy can wage any sort of war indefinitely and the "war on terror" went well beyond the duration of America's decisive engagements in the two world wars of the last century. Setting aside for...

Where have we heard this story before? A new President takes over The nation is possibly coming out of a recession Budget deficits, healthcare, energy, Social Security and tax reform are the extent of the debate in DC Al Queda has safe haven to plot and launch attacks from (Pakistan, Sudan, Somalia, and possibly Afghanistan-again) New President fails to fill all his administration positions during the transition and during his first 9 months National Security and the threat of terrorist attack is recognized, but no new strategy implemented (gotta do Cash for Clunkers first) Summer is ending President and his...

Yesterday, President Obama’s backup presidential jet buzzed lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty, causing widespread panic among workers and residents who witnessed the event. Having a massive 747 jet race up and down the Hudson River along a similar flight path taken by the 9/11 hijackers illustrates the arrogance and stupidity of government bureaucrats in general and this administration in particular.

One of the greatest threats to the security of the United States is not from a military, but from a psychology of denial. It is the Sept. 10 mentality that minimizes the threat posed by jihadist terrorism and rejects the idea we are even at war at all. According to this thinking, suicide bombers, their leaders and financiers are nothing more than street-corner criminals; a problem for our criminal justice system, not our armed forces. A quick look at terrorism in the 1990s exposes the inadequacy of the Sept. 10 mindset. In 1993, the World Trade Center was bombed. In...

Over at Memorandum there is a link to a number of leftwing bloggers and journalists breathlessly awaiting the arrest of former Bush administration advisors and attorneys for their role in "violat(ing) international law by providing a legalistic framework to justify the use of torture of American prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba". TalkLeft names the targets: * Jay S. Bybee, United States Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit * Douglas Feith, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute * William J Haynes, Chief Corporate Counsel, Chevron Headquarters * John Yoo, UC Berkeley School of Law * Alberto R. Gonzales * David Addington Trig...

A look back at the mindset that was 9/10 America and what contributed to it 7 years ago. Running Time: 60 Minutes

I have an article in the current edition of NR [if you're not a subscriber, you should be] on the likelihood that an Obama presidency would turn the clock back to the pre-9/11 days, when prosecution in the criminal justice system was our nation's principal strategy against Islamic terrorism. Among other things, I note that Obama was heartened by the Supreme Court's recent ruling in Boumediene, giving our enemies a constitutional right to access to the civilian courts.

Sept. 10th Democrats by Rep. Peter Hoekstra Is it fair to say that Congressional Democrats and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama have a "September 10th" mindset on U.S. national security? While Democrats vigorously object to this charge, evidence is mounting that this is indeed the case. By a "September 10th" mindset, I mean the naïve national security positions advocated by Democrats until September 10, 2001 that failed to focus on real threats to our nation. These positions included favoring after-the-fact litigation against foreign terrorists, over preventing attacks by maximizing our intelligence and military resources. In the aftermath of the 1993...

As Barack Obama has made clear, he believes combatting international terror should be viewed as a "law enforcement" problem rather than a war. Preposterous? Not if you're a modern day liberal. Why? Consider two basic beliefs that inform liberals like Obama. The first is moral relativity, aka there is no black or white, only shades of gray, also known as "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter." The second is multiculturalism, aka no one culture is better than any other. First, moral relativity. When one bestows the same rights and privileges on non-citizen, non-uniformed, stateless jihadists [U.S. Supreme Court]as...

Justice: Does Barack Obama think Osama bin Laden has a right to an attorney and should be read his Miranda rights if captured? As shocking as this is, it's in the proud tradition of his party.In an interview with ABC News on Monday, Obama indicated that, like President Bill Clinton in 1993 after the first bombing of the World Trade Center, he too would treat the war on terror as a law enforcement matter. In defense of the recent Boumediene decision giving habeas corpus rights to enemy combatants, the Democrats' 2008 standard bearer said it was his "firm belief that...

The campaigns of Barack Obama and John McCain are engaging in an angry exchange today over Obama's remarks to Jake Tapper yesterday in which he talked about the role of law enforcement in combating terrorism. In the interview, Obama said, "[I]t is my firm belief that we can track terrorists, we can crack down on threats against the United States, but we can do so within the constraints of our Constitution. And there has been no evidence on their part that we can't. "And, you know, let's take the example of Guantanamo. What we know is that, in previous terrorist...

This is June 2008. That means it marks the ten-year anniversary of Osama bin Laden’s indictment. He was first charged by my old office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, in June 1998. That was before the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania (hundreds killed), before the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole (17 U.S. members of the U.S. Navy killed), and before 9/11 (nearly 3000 Americans killed). So it’s fair to ask: How is that strategy of prosecuting him in the criminal-justice system working out? That’s a question Sen. John McCain ought...

SDEROT - Do Americans really understand what terrorism is, what it does to a society, and how it can be defeated? Five young Israeli soldiers -- nineteen- and twenty-year-olds stationed in Sderot, a small town bordering the Gaza Strip -- say Americans have much to learn. These members of the Israel Defense Forces should know: part of their job is to protect and comfort the traumatized youth who live here in the city where Kassam rockets fall from the sky. -snip- "Terrorism is a fact of life here," says Yuval's twenty-year-old commanding officer, Rehut Eisenberg. Unlike Americans who recently suffered...

I'm curious to hear, if you care to share, just what impression you had of Islam three months back, that is: PRE-911.And then, too, if you would briefly compare and contrast that with whatever your current impression and opinions of Islam and Muslims happen to be.Thanks!

Security: Newly released books and films show a growing pop-culture bias against U.S. counterterror efforts. It's another sign the pendulum is swinging back to a 9/10 state of mind. Six years ago we were united as a nation against a common enemy — 300 million Americans resolved to defeat Islamic extremists. Even Hollywood was on board. But as the nightmare that befell our nation dims, we have turned our anger inward. Now the enemy is portrayed in pop culture as the government, the military and law enforcement — the very forces aligned to protect us from the Islamist enemy. The...