In a message dated 1/5/2010 3:56:47 P.M. Pacific Standard Time,
[email protected] writes:
After a few missteps, Obama seems to have finally found his footing in how
to address the Christmas Bomber. If he follows through on systemic
intelligence reform -- and transparency! -- he may recover from the (arguably
deserved) beating he's currently taking from Republicans on security issues.
Of course, the Real Big Issue is confronting the fact that Islamic Jihad
is the real threat, and moving to Israeli-style airport security (based on
detailed profiling rather than technology). But I don't know any major
politician with the cajones to take that on...
-- Ernie P.
Given his "mixed" reputation I can't say it will make all that much
difference but
there is Newt. Conversely, if the demand for profiling takes off, he will
look prescient and courageous. FOR it to actually take off , though, some
other high rollers would need to make this their own cause, there has
to be some sort of critical mass.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gingrich openly says let’s ‘profile’
and ‘actively discriminate’ | Raw Story
WASHINGTON -- Another prominent Republican has joined the chorus of
conservatives championing open discrimination against Muslims after the failed
Christmas terror plot.
In an _op-ed_ (http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=35025) published
Wednesday for the conservative magazine Human Events, former GOP House
Speaker Newt Gingrich forcefully slammed the Obama administration's
counter-terrorism policies as insufficient and said his approach "must now
change
decisively."
"It is time to know more about would-be terrorists, to profile for
terrorists and to actively discriminate based on suspicious terrorist
information," Gingrich wrote.
"We know our opponents are radical extremists of the irreconcilable wing of
Islam (Islamists, some would call them)," he added.
In an unabashed endorsement of discrimination based on background, Gingrich
posited that "[w]e know how to identify these enemies but our elites have
refused to do so."
Story continues below...
____________________________________
The _Washington Post reported_
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/29/AR2009122903379.html?hpid=topnews)
Wednesday that the
GOP views the foiled bombing as a "political opportunity" to score points
and paint Democrats as unsatisfactory on national security -- a strategy
they used successfully for years after 9/11.
Gingrich, who is _considered_
(http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/10/huck.php) a _potential_
(http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2008/11/newt_in_2012.html) GOP
presidential candidate for 2012, also
said the incident calls for a larger counter-terrorism strategy that
involves Yemen and should "end any thought of a civilian trial in New York"
for
admitted 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
A number of Republicans have attacked Obama since the plot but Gingrich
took it a step further, explicitly saying that for the president, "protecting
the rights of terrorists has been more important than protecting the lives
of Americans."
Rep. Peter King (R-NY) voiced his support for religious profiling Sunday
_on CNN_
(http://www.mediaite.com/tv/rep-peter-king-slams-obama-wheres-the-administration-in-wake-of-attack/)
, saying "one hundred percent of the
Islamic terrorists are Muslim, and that is our main enemy today."
Conservative radio host Mike Gallagher advocated full-fledged profiling of
Muslims at airports, _saying Sunday on Fox News_
(http://thinkprogress.org/2009/12/28/right-wing-ethnic-profiling/) that "there
should be a separate
line to scrutinize anybody with the name 'Abdul' or 'Ahmed' or 'Mohammad.'"
Princeton political scientist Melissa Harris-Lacewell said Monday on
MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Show that Republicans view the Christmas plot as a
"_holiday gift_
(http://rawstory.com/2009/12/professor-bombing-political-gift-for-gop/) ."
_http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/01/05/obama-meets-agency-heads/_
(http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/01/05/obama-meets-agency-heads/)
"The system has failed in a potentially disastrous way," Obama said. "The
bottom line is this: the U.S. government had sufficient information to have
uncovered this plot and potentially disrupt the Christmas Day attack. But
our intelligence community failed to connect those dots, which would have
placed the suspect on the no-fly list."
=
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