Posts in "Terrorism"

cityoflight's picture
By Joe Miller at 11:06AM

Is this how we imagined it?

Ten years have passed since the warm September morning that became the most devastating day in the history of the United States. It is hardly possible to bring ourselves back to that moment and remember exactly how we felt. We recall where we were, to be sure. Who we were talking to. What we had for breakfast that morning, and what plans we cancelled that evening. But ten years removed from the abject horror we faced that day, the fact is that the terror, grief, and overpowering vulnerability we experienced have, to our relief, faded into memory.

Still, imagine what was on your mind as we watched those terrible events unfold and began the long process of picking up the pieces. For many Americans, retribution was high on the list, and justifiably so. Out of the literal and figurative dust emerged one man who came to embody all the evil of September 11: the man who choreographed the massacre and rejoiced in its aftermath, Osama bin Laden. Many of us had never heard his name before, and many of us didn’t care. The crosshairs of a nation had descended upon him, and he deserved all the wrath we could muster.

Imagine now that you were given the chance to see into the future, to glimpse the moment when victory was achieved and Osama was finally dispatched. What would this moment look like?


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Megan Duffield's picture
By Megan Duffield at 8:23AM

The PATRIOT Act Protects the US against Drug Users, Not Terrorists

Although this chart only represents a few years since 9/11, you can bet with the consistent rise in drug related arrests over the past 10 years, the PATRIOT Act has arrested and convicted far more drug offenders each year than terrorists.

As we all know, marijuana is in the spotlight, waiting for its moment to become legal. With opposing forces from all sides, this plant has also been a target of the PATRIOT Act.

Indeed, the act -- a piece of legislation that was sold to the American people during a vulnerable time in history -- has been used more in the War on Drugs than the War on Terror, and it's here to stay.

Benjamin Wallace-Wells of the NYMag.com states:

The authors of the Patriot Act always intended that its provisions would be permanent.

Never would it occur to our lawmakers, of course, that after the 9/11 attacks the country would return to a “normal” state in which we could retract any situational laws that were put into place. Nope, we have been stripped of our 4th Amendment rights with no sign of their return. So next time someone justifies the PATRIOT Act as necessary to protect us from terrorism, ask them how arresting thousands of drug offenders protects our American freedoms and stops terrorism?

H/t Reason.com for the image.  Originally published at Silver Circle.

Wes Messamore's picture
By Wesley Messamore at 8:52AM

Video: Top Democrats Call Tea Party Members "Terrorists"

Members of the Tea Party movement have been called a lot of nasty things before like: crazy, extremists, teabaggers, and racists, but in the final hours of the debt ceiling debate, just one month before the ten-year anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attacks, many Democrats, including Vice President Joe Biden, have been calling Tea Party members the nastiest name yet:  terrorists.

AACCYAL's picture
By Mike Alksnis at 11:29AM

Liberty, Security, and Terrorism

The recent terrorist attack in Moscow, which resulted in the death of over 30 people and the injury of about 100 others, ought to compel Americans to revisit some important questions concerning the true value of airport security procedures in the US, which require travelers to put their individual rights aside in the name of safety. Namely, is the cost worth the alleged benefit?

As most of us are aware, the TSA has been audacious enough to offer us a choice between two different styles of 4th Amendment violations when traveling on commercial airlines. Our first option is the body scanners, which supposedly do not emit harmful levels of radiation (although this claim has been a subject of significant controversy) and which supposedly cannot store or transmit images of our naked bodies (although this has been found to be false).

Our second option is the “enhanced pat down procedure,” with its chilling rhetorical similarity to the term “enhanced interrogation technique,” which altogether may lead us to the conclusion that the word “enhanced” has become a public relations code word for “excessive.” Last, but certainly not least, following suit to the modern trend of the inversion of the most basic tenant of our nation’s justice system, “innocent until proven guilty,” we are subject to the punishment of an $11,000 fine in the event of noncompliance with these procedures upon being “randomly selected” to undergo them.


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Creighton Harrington's picture
By Creighton Harrington at 2:58PM

Movie Uncannily Predicts US Response to Terrorism

I'm sure many people have seen 'The Siege,' starring Denzel Washington and Bruce Willis, but I had not until recently.  I have to say -- it's unbelievable that it came out before the terrorist attacks on 9/11. 

This movie, released in 1998, deals with the United States government's response to well-cooridinated terrorist attacks on New York City.  Without giving away too much plot for those who haven't seen it, let me just say that all the actions of the US government, in regards to "keeping us safe" in post 9/11 America, are predicted almost prophetically.  From the role of the CIA in training future terrorists, to the effects of blowback, to the use of torture, even hinting at what America would use the National Guard for...this movie hits the nail on the head.  I recommend it not only for personal viewing, but it is an excellent movie for your chapter to show on campus.  It would definitely evoke deep discussion.  Just watch it and you'll see what I mean.

Anyway, trailer here:

Dan John's picture
By Dan John at 8:22AM

A Blood-Thirsty Foreign Policy Will Only PROVOKE More Terrorism

The phrase "blood-thirsty" is most commonly used to describe those individuals with a lust for killing, and/or individuals who think that violence is the answer to everything. Therefore, it seems to be the perfect phrase to describe the neoconservative foreign policy and the Bush Doctrine.

Contrary to popular neoconservative belief, this doctrine is not a preventative measure taken by the Bush Administration to keep Americans safe from terrorists, but it is a foreign policy that strongly advocates imperialistic acts of unnecessary military aggression.

In other words, this doctrine promotes the cliché that "the best defense is a good offense." This may be true in football, but it is certainly not true at all in foreign policy, especially when "our enemies" are more than willing to sacrifice their own lives to kill others. This is a very dangerous enemy to have, especially for the American civilians.


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Elliot Engstrom's picture
By Elliot Engstrom at 7:11AM

An Interesting Perspective on Pakistani-American Relations

Nathan Fox-Helser, who is both a member of Wake Forest Young Americans for Liberty and a new author at the left-libertarian blog Rethinking the State, wrote a paper on American foreign policy in Pakistan for a political science class he took this semester.  I've been working on building the Wake Forest YAL Wiki recently as a tool to be used by future chapters, and I got Nathan to send me the paper, which I converted into a wiki article.  The paper contains an interesting analysis of the past and current situation in Pakistan, as well as several conclusions that are reached based on this analysis.  Nathan's thesis statement is as follows:

Understanding the causes of these discontinuities in interest and conflicts in views demonstrates that America needs to act skeptically, think innovatively, remember the costs of policies and deflate its policy, and, all the while, avoid international abandonment.


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Bonnie Kristian's picture
By Bonnie Kristian at 8:15AM

The Southern Avenger: Was Joe Stack a Terrorist?

The Southern Avenger is controversial as always in this video, the full text of which may be found here.  To avoid potential angry comments, please keep in mind as you listen that Hunter is not saying that terrorism is justified or equating the tea parties with terrorism. 

Far from it. 

He's simply arguing -- as Ron Paul (and indeed the CIA and the 9/11 Commission) have -- that we should look at the motives of those we deem "terrorists" so we can respond to their crimes rationally...and that both the left and right have serious blind spots where this is concerned.

Matt Ciepielowski's picture
By Matt Ciepielowski at 4:05PM

Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss

chaaaaaaaaaaaaangeIn a move that should surprise no one, President Obama took a page from the Bush playbook at the recent Nuclear Security Summit, and told us all we should be very, very scared of terrorists getting nuclear weapons.

According to Obama, "the risk of a nuclear confrontation between nations has gone down, but the risk of nuclear attack has gone up."

But in the Washington Times article, a member of the congressional Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism claims otherwise-

 We were given briefings and when we tried to find specific intelligence on the threat of any known terrorist efforts to get a bomb, the answer was we did not have any.

Thank God America voted for change, right?

More YAL coverage of the summit by Roy Antoun here.

Jihan Huq's picture
By Jihan Huq at 6:06PM

U.S Approves Target Killing Anwar Awlaki

awlaki

The Obama Administration approves of target killing the radical jihadist American cleric Anwar Awlaki. Awlaki has been suspected of being in contact with the Fort Hood killer Nidal Hassan and has allegedly trained the Christmas bomber Umar Abdul Mutallab. According to officials, it is extremely rare to target kill an American.

The danger Awlaki poses to this country is no longer confined to words,” said an anonymous  American official. “He’s gotten involved in plots.” 

The anonymous official then added: 

The United States works, exactly as the American people expect, to overcome threats to their security, and this individual — through his own actions — has become one. Awlaki knows what he’s done, and he knows he won’t be met with handshakes and flowers. None of this should surprise anyone.

 Awlaki was born and raised in new Mexico and has been hiding in Yemen for several years.