WH Hits Back: Obama 'Doesn't Need To Beat His Chest To Prove' Nation Is At War

Chest thumping, knuckle-dragging buffoons!

If the WH would like to strike back at Cheney in "an unusually direct and aggressive" manner, may I suggest a war crimes tribunal and a trip to The Hague?

The only complaint I have with this response is that it buys into the false "we are at war with al Qaeda" framing that Republicans would love to bring back.

Al Qaeda is a loosely organized criminal organization with a number of local franchises having only the name and the tactics in common. We do not wage war on criminal organizations. We prosecute, incarcerate and dismantle them.

The strength of this pushback is welcome and praiseworthy, especially against vile monsters like Cheney, but we need to stop subscribing to the premises behind Republican lies when we respond to them. Reject their premises entirely and use it as an opportunity to point out that every notable counterterrorism success has relied on good old-fashioned police work.

To all the blind fools who believe in the "War on Terror": I will put it in simple terms
Osama bin Laden is the son of an aristocrat with ties to the royal family of Saudi Arabia. What other American family has the strongest ties with the Saudi royal family and can exert the most pressure? The Bush family. Why? Oil.

The CIA has been involved in Afghanistan since the 70's and even trained OBL. Who was head of the CIA at that time? Bush 41 was head of the CIA from '76-77 during the time we supported the Afghan insurgence against the Soviets and a year befor OBL joined one of the militias. Throughout the 80's Bush 41 was vice-president and the CIA was run by Bush 41 understudies. The CIA taught OBL everything they know about escape and evasion and guerrilla fighting. And now you mean to tell me that the entire intel force of the CIA cannot capture or kill this guy after over 15 years. This is either willful negligence or epic ineptness.

It is my conjecture that there are members in the CIA who are wilfully keeping this war on terror going on. It may or may not lead up to the Bush family but their are connections. I know this may come to a shock to many Americans but their are members in our military and defense agencies and government who are not the most scrupulous of persons. Why was the CIA not given the green light when they had OBL in their sights back in '01 or any other time they were close?
Isn't funny how we do know that much of Al Qaida and some other terrorist groups are supported by the drug trade in particular the poppy trade but yet we don't go in and destroy their crops like we did in Columbia and Bolivia against the FARC and drug lords there, perhaps since the South Americans weren't giving a cut to the CIA? Example: Bush 41 decides to invade Panama because Noreiga decided not to play with us anymore. Manuel Noreiega, known drug trafficker, and money launderer long before he was ever a dictator we once backed.

So sad, an entire nation goes into a knee-jerk reaction tizzy, because one loner with a stand alone complex decided that it was his time to "show the world". Americans need to stop acting like a bunch of scared sheep everytime a "terrorist" act is attempted. Random acts of violence happen everyday, and for people to think that they can be kept safe from all harm need to remember that there are over 6 billion people in the world and no matter how much security any given country puts in place, there will always be the one random person that just "goes crazy".
What is lost in all the chatter of "what should we do next?" and "how did our policies fail?" is that it was the act of fellow human beings helping other fellow human beings stopping the lunatic fringe from accomplishing its goal. That is where the focus needs to be on. It is within communities and families is how these people are identified. And it is within these zones of influence where hearts and minds are truly transformed. We could spend billions on more airport security or we could spend that money on humanitarian efforts in these areas such as Yemen and abroad and even here in the U.S. where helping people improve their lives and education will do more harm to terrorist recruiting than any bomb dropped on their houses.

I can't believe so many of you knuckle draggers really believe racial profiling is the answer. Then what is your answer for persons like Tim McVeigh, Eric Rudolf, and Ted Kaczynski do you think we should start profiling random white males as well? What about the two white males in Columbine, also affluent kids who went off the deep end. What about all the terrorist acts the IRA did? Serial murderers can be of any color or religion it is up to us to put on the labels of "terrorist".

However, the ultimate irony in all this is that the right wing is now calling for more "government oversight", hahaha. The very same group asking for less government control but are more than ready to take their trousers down for a government official to do a "freedom search".

LOVE IT!

oooo... "an unusually direct and aggressive blog post".

If Harry Ried were to follow with a sternly worded letter, maybe the Republicans will shut their holes.

Excellent Response by the WH! I have a feeling the response to the RIP/GOP will be more like this one in 2010.

The best thing Americans can do in 2010 and 2012 is vote out any and all Republicans, so that our government can continue to work for the American people.

Speaking of taking terrorism seriously, Dick Cheney was "W"'s chairman of the Administration's commission on terrorism and did not call one meeting during the run up to the 9/11 attacks. Even when Condi Rice and the President were notified Al Qaeda was committed to imminent attack in the US that commission was idle.

LMAO, did anyone just hear Ron Christie on Matthew's show going on about how this crotch bomber is so much more different than Richard Reid because it happened on Christmas, "The holiest day in Christianity" (someone should tell that to Easter), and it was a scary Muslim, and apparently we're all scared Christians. Or something. I can't even decipher these clowns anymore.

A good leader attempts to calm the citizens to maintain order.

A bad leader attempts to scare the shit out of them to maintain order.

I've had enough fear, thanks.

Oooh a blog response after days of Republicans bleating away attacks on television. This is too much like Sen. Reid's sternly worded letters...

I tend to wonder if the Republicans have contacted al Qaeda and asked them to attack America so the Republicans could use the attacks to go after Obama. A partnership between the Republicans and al Qaeda seems like what the Republicans want. They behave like the partnership agreement already exists.

You go girl!

Cheney's not got the chest to beat any more, he might muck up the bot in his heart.

...and could have finished off with - short version, in language even Republicans can understand: fuck that guy.

Rep Eric Massa on The Ed Show:

"I would remind the American public that the apparent leaders of the al Qaeda cell in Yemen were 2 terrorists who were released by Vice President Cheney in secret. I think there's a level of accountability that has to be levied personally on the vice president," Massa said in an interview. "He is personally responsible for that."

I need to know more detail on the release of key Al Queda operatives by Cheney. What role did he play? What were the reasons; why them and not others? Was there a Saudi political connection; Quid pro quo? Why the secrecy and why no trial or tribunal for these criminals? Was this a singular act by a unitary executive's prime minister? This aspect of the current terrorist act needs to be made public in detail.

As a Democrat, I hope Cheney keeps on keeping on, because every time he opens his cake hole, we are all reminded that he has no credibility and no class. As an American, I say it's time for him to do the right thing and shut up. But I am under no illusion that he cares abut anything other than his bloated ego. Recall in 2000 he was tasked with coming up with a suitable Vice Presidential candidate and he looked far and wide and decided on himself.

Cheney was so effective at stopping al Qaeda that we are still fighting them