Hi Gang:
I have been contacted by a number of journalists, programs and organizations seeking my perspectives on the successful raid by U.S. Navy Seals on Bin Laden's compound this past Sunday, May 1st which you no doubt know resulted in the death of one of this generation's most heinous individuals. As you may also know, I have been affiliated with CAPS (Californians for Population Stabilization) for some time and hence I decided that I would forward my posting for their blog to you. As you will see, my focus for this commentary is the concerns I have that even while our leaders are warning us to be vigilant because it must be anticipated that al-Qaeda will attempt to take reprisals against our nation and our citizens for the death of their leader, that our own government is doing an absolutely abysmal job of living up to its Constitutionally mandated requirement to protect our nation and our citizens from all enemies. This is not only a requirement of our government but is a commonsense requirement for all governments of all countries across this planet. It is also commonsense that security begins at the borders of a nation- but for our nation, our borders have become little more than speed bumps to anyone who is determined to enter our country. There are so many areas in which the security of our homeland has been compromised by leaders who are apparently more focused on currying favor with special interest groups and those with deep pockets than they are with truly delivering the security we are entitled to and have right to expect- especially in this particularly dangerous era! The securing of our nation's borders and the effective enforcement and administration of our nation's immigration laws are, arguably, among the most important of all missions that are supposed to be carried out by our federal government. Nothing less than the security of our nation and safety of our citizens hang in the balance! A country without secure borders can no more stand than can a house without walls! I f our country is to survive and if our children and their children are to get their share of the "American Dream" the citizens of this nation must take their citizenship seriously! We the People must be the best citizens we can be, citizens who are worthy of the gallantry demonstrated by our valiant men and women in the military, law enforcement and firefighters, who routinely go in harm's way in defense of this nation and our citizens. My goal in writing this and other commentaries is to point out our nations many failings before more victims pay the ultimate price for the incompetence and ineptitude of our government. The first step in problem-solving is to first identify the problems and vulnerabilities and then devise strategies to overcome them. If you find yourself to be in agreement with this commentary, I ask that you forward it to as many of your friends and family members as possible and encourage them to do the same. We need to create a "Bucket Brigade of Truth!" The practice of good citizenship does not end in the voting booth, it only begins there. The large scale apathy demonstrated by citizens of this nation has emboldened elected representatives to all but ignore the needs of the average American citizen in a quest for massive campaign funds and the promises of votes to be ostensibly delivered by special interest groups. There is much that we cannot do but there is one thing that We the People absolutely must do- we must stop sitting on the sidelines! The collective failure of We the People to get involved in make our concerns known to our politicians have nearly made the concerns of the great majority of the citizens of this nation all but irrelevant to the politicians. I believe our nation's is greatly benefited by the rich diversity of our people which is why I could never imagine living anywhere except New York City, arguably the most diverse city in our nation if not, in fact, the world. However, my idea of diversity most certainly does not include members of MS-13, the Mexican drug cartels or members of other transnational gangs or members of al-Qaeda! If this situation concerns you or especially if it angers you, I ask you to call your Senators and Congressional "Representative. This is not only your right- it is your obligation! All I ask is that you make it clear to our politicians that we are not as dumb as they hope we are! We live in a perilous world and in a perilous era. The survival of our nation and the lives of our citizens hang in the balance. This is neither a Conservative issue, nor is it a Liberal issue- simply stated, this is most certainly an AMERICAN issue! You are either part of the solution or you are a part of the problem! Democracy is not a spectator sport! Lead, follow or get out of the way! -michael cutler- Please check out my website: http://michaelcutler.net <http://michaelcutler.net/> http://www.caps-blog.org/articles/2011/05/05/if-you-see-something-say-someth ing/ If You See Something, Say Something By Michael Cutler, Senior Special Agent, INS (Ret.), CAPS Senior Fellow, May 5, 2011 (2 hours ago) <http://www.caps-blog.org/articles/2010/10/19/war-of-words/michael_cutler/> http://www.caps-blog.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/michael_cutler.jpgThe phrase that serves as the title for my commentary today is plastered all over New York City and has been for years as a way of engaging the residents of the City of New York to encourage them to report any suspicious activities and/or persons to the appropriate authorities. In some communities this is also referred to as a "Neighborhood Watch Program." I can tell you that as a law enforcement officer I often spoke with neighbors of those I investigated. I also made it a point to speak with the letter carriers who regularly serviced the communities in which my colleagues and I conducted investigations because we knew that these folks were extremely familiar with those who lived in those neighborhoods and what came to be thought of as being "normal" as compared with that which was considered "suspicious." However, the death of Bin Laden does not mean that the "All Clear" has sounded, but we will get to that shortly. Certainly our gallant commandos have every right to be as proud of their achievement as We the People are of them and their gallantry that resulted in the realization of this decade old objective. President Obama made the right call at the right time and deserves praise for his decision to pull the trigger on this incredible operation. Not only was the timing for the raid spot on, it was also, as it turned out, important that commandos brought about the death of the world's most wanted villain and not a Stealth Bomber. Many reporters and pundits have talked about the use of commandos to make certain that Bin Laden was conclusively identified as the person who was killed during the conduct of the operation, but it is at least as important that computers and various hard drives and other data storage devices were retrieved intact to provide incalculable intelligence concerning al-Qaeda operatives, methods and possibly terrorist plans. Had a bomb been dropped on Bin Laden's compound it is likely that this precious data would have been obliterated. It must be presumed that the data being analyzed will provide our intelligence services with a veritable treasure trove of critically important actionable information to help protect our nation and our citizens as well as our allies around the world. It may be impossible to determine, in real world terms, which did more harm to al-Qaeda and its horrific plans, the death of Bin Laden or the fact that our intelligence officials now how so much of their vital data. In any event, especially in this case, knowledge certainly is power and al-Qaeda's loss is most definitely our gain. I am compelled to make an observation, however. I have heard journalists and commentators describe President Obama's decision to undertake the mission as being courageous. Certainly the President's political future may have been placed at risk, but please do not forget that the real bravery was demonstrated by our selfless commandos whose flesh and blood hung in the balance as they went in harm's way on our behalf, this past Sunday. These "Operators," as they refer to themselves are worthy of the hospitality and parades across our nation, but I suspect that because of the sensitive nature of their work, they would refuse the spotlight. They say that they "Own the night!" They prefer to strike and night and then disappear into the darkness after their missions are accomplished. While we may never hear all of the names of those to whom we owe so much, they should all know how much we admire and appreciate them and their incredible demonstration of gallantry and patriotism. But now we are being warned that we must be especially vigilant because it must be presumed that al-Qaeda and those who sympathize with al-Qaeda are likely to seek to avenge his death. This is certainly excellent advice, but my question is: what does being vigilant mean? I am compelled to ask, "Is our government really being vigilant when hundreds of cities from coast to coast have become infested by members of the Mexican cartels and other violent transnational gangs while the Secretary of Homeland Security warns of the dangers posed by the gangs and then assures us that our borders are more secure than they have been in years?" Is our government really being vigilant when tens of millions of unknown illegal aliens from virtually every country on the planet live and work in communities throughout our nation? And some of them are citizens of so-called "Special Interest Countries," countries that are directly associated with terrorism? Is our government being vigilant when the President and other key members of Congress, in both houses and from both political parties openly speak about the need to provide illegal aliens with a "Pathway to United States citizenship" when they must know that these illegal aliens' true identities are unknown and unknowable. Meaning that it is impossible to determine with certainty their true nationalities, their possible criminal backgrounds or potential affiliation with terrorist organizations or their intentions that brought them, in violation of our borders and our laws to our country? Is our government being vigilant when it certainly appears that under the auspices of aBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) undercover operation code-named appropriately enough, "Operation Gun Runner" that many hundreds of firearms were permitted to walk out of gun shops in the United States and into the hands of the Mexican cartels who may well have used at least a few of these guns to kill Brian Terry, a United States Border Patrol agent and may also have been used to kill ICE Special Agent Jaime Zapata and seriously wound his partner in Mexico. When Janet Napolitano attempted to take the credit for the failure of a terrorist I branded "Captain Underpants" on Christmas Day, 2009, to destroy an airliner preparing to land in Detroit by detonating an explosive in his underwear I wrote a commentary in which I said, "If hope is not a strategy, then dumb luck is not a success!" That statement should be emblazoned on the walls of the offices of those in Washington who are responsible for the security of our nation and the lives of our citizens! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [email protected]. -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [email protected] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [email protected] Unsubscribe: [email protected] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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