For eight long years, I watched Republicans exploit terrorism as a political issue. For their efforts, we got into a war with a country that did not present an imminent threat and that had no Al Qaeda terrorists (at least before we got there) or weapons of mass destruction. And for their efforts, we came to be viewed as a rogue nation throughout the rest of the civilized world as we discarded basic constitutional principles for “detainees” in facilities as diverse as Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay, and a notorious set of “secret” prisons scattered throughout the world.
Guess what? They’re back!!
After the attempted terrorism incident on Christmas Day, former Vice President Dick Cheney issued a statement criticizing President Obama for his failure to act dramatically in response to a Nigerian’s man’s effort to blow up an airliner landing in Detroit with explosive materials hidden in his underwear:
As I’ve watched the events of the last few days it is clear once again that President Obama is trying to pretend we are not at war. He seems to think if he has a low key response to an attempt to blow up an airliner and kill hundreds of people, we won’t be at war. He seems to think if he gives terrorists the rights of Americans, lets them lawyer up and reads them their Miranda rights, we won’t be at war. He seems to think if we bring the mastermind of 9/11 to New York, give him a lawyer and trial in civilian court, we won’t be at war.
Mr. Cheney has been joined by an array of conservative commentators criticizing the President.
Guess what? President Obama acted far more swiftly to the underwear bomber scare than President Bush reacted to the Richard Reid, the shoe bomber, eight years ago.
According to Politico,
Eight years ago, a terrorist bomber’s attempt to blow up a transatlantic airliner was thwarted by a group of passengers, an incident that revealed some gaping holes in airline security just a few months after the attacks of Sept. 11. But it was six days before President George W. Bush, then on vacation, made any public remarks about the so-called shoe bomber, Richard Reid, and there were virtually no complaints from the press or any opposition Democrats that his response was sluggish or inadequate.
It’s refreshing when legitimate news organizations do their homework and expose partisan propaganda for what it is.
