Muslims

Pew: Americans Say Wars In Iraq, Afghanistan Haven't Made U.S. Safer

Kyle Leighton | September 2, 2011, 6:20AM

The view of Ground Zero from a nearby building

On the eve of the ten year anniversary of 9/11, the Pew Research Center has released new data on Americans' reaction to the attacks, and the foreign and national security policies pursued in the post 9/11 era. They show a country with views that have evolved on the relationship between civil liberties and the tools given to government to fight terrorism, and a disbelief that the continuing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan helped to lessen the chance there will be another terrorist attack on the United States.

The Pew survey showed a large shift in the number of Americans who are willing to see some of their civil liberties go out the window in the name of fighting terrorism. Directly after 9/11, Americans were willing to make the deal, as 55 percent thought it was necessary, against 35 percent who felt the opposite. Now, only 40 percent felt that giving up some civil liberties is necessary to curb terrorism, with 54 percent against.

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NY-09

GOP Candidate For Weiner House Seat: 9/11 Health Law Shouldn't Cover Volunteers

Eric Kleefeld | August 24, 2011, 2:00PM

NY-09 candidate Bob Turner (R)

Bob Turner, the Republican candidate in the NY-09 special election to replace former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D), is criticizing the new law providing health-care aid to 9/11 rescue workers and volunteers who have suffered health problems from exposure to toxic debris.

"I probably couldn't go home if I didn't support the Zadroga bill. I have firemen in my family, but is that bill beyond criticism? No," said Turner, the New York Daily News reports, referring to the law signed this past January by President Obama. The law is named after the late NYPD Detective James Zadroga, who died of a respiratory illness attributed to his having breathed in toxic dust at the World Trade Center site.

"My call would be to protect police, fire, emergency workers, construction workers, etc," Turner explained, also adding: "If someone said, 'I volunteered' or walked through there, it's just not the type."

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Mike Huckabee

How Bush Killed Bin Laden: What's Really In Huckabee's 9/11 Cartoon

Evan McMorris-Santoro | August 4, 2011, 2:45PM

TPM watched Mike Huckabee's new children's educational video about 9/11 so you don't have to. What's inside? A lot of talk about how "most Muslims" aren't terrorists, a reference or two to The Kite Runner, more than a couple scenes extolling America's commitment to Israel -- and no mention whatsoever of President Obama authorizing the mission that took out bin Laden.

Plus there's a really weird plot-line centering around a pre-teen girl never having known that her mother, with whom she lives in an archetypal American small town, was the town's mayor just a few years ago. But that's not even the strangest hole in Huckabee's telling of the 9/11 story.

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Barack Obama

Obama Will Meet With Troops Responsible For OBL Raid

Susan Crabtree | May 6, 2011, 12:07PM

President Barack Obama will meet Friday afternoon with several members of the military assault team responsible for conducting the raid on the Abbottabad compound and killing Osama bin Laden.

White House press secretary Jay Carney confirmed Friday morning that the President plans to spend some time this afternoon with "special operators" involved in the operation.

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'Obama's Wars'

White House Further Revises Narrative On OBL Killing

Susan Crabtree | May 3, 2011, 4:18PM

The White House has further corrected details of the intense, Sunday-night raid on Osama bin Laden's compound and subsequent killing in an attempt to clear up several misstatements from administration officials about what transpired inside the compound walls during the 40-minute covert mission.

President Obama's press secretary Jay Carney Tuesday afternoon read a Pentagon-prepared statement to reporters describing the events that took place inside the compound Sunday night.

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Congressional Medal of Honor

Obama Credits Military Sacrifice And Bravery In OBL's Killing

Susan Crabtree | May 2, 2011, 12:50PM

President Barack Obama

President Obama, at an awards ceremony for two posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor recipients from the Korean War Monday, took the opportunity to thank the U.S. military and their families, saying Sunday's killing of Osama bin Laden couldn't have been accomplished without their bravery, leadership and sacrifice.

The President specifically hailed the leadership of Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who were on hand for the awards ceremony.

"I think we can all agree this is a good day for America," Obama said. "Our country has kept its commitment to see that justice is done. The world is safer and it is a better place because of the death of Osama bin Laden."

"Today we are reminded that as a nation, there's nothing we can't do, if we put our shoulders to the wheel, to work together .. to remember the sense of the unity that defines Americans," he continued.

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Osama Bin Laden

U.S. Authorities Homed In On Osama For Last Nine Months

Susan Crabtree and Ryan J. Reilly | May 2, 2011, 12:02AM

Osama bin Laden

It was the best kept and most closely guarded secret for the last nine months: a select handful of U.S. national security and administration officials tracked a high-value courier for Osama bin Laden to a dusty dirt road leading to a compound 35 miles north of Islamabad, Pakistan's capital.

After months of intelligence gathering and meetings at the highest levels of the U.S. government, a small team of Navy Seals Sunday raided the compound, engaged in a firefight and ultimately killed bin Laden, the notorious leader of al Qaeda who had evaded capture and death since masterminding the 9/11 attacks that killed almost 3,000 people.

TPM SLIDESHOW: Osama Bin Laden: 9/11 Mastermind, Longtime U.S. Enemy Killed In Pakistan

The CIA pinpointed the compound in August and first informed President Obama about the intelligence in September of last year. As evidence mounted in mid-February that bin Laden and his family were living in the compound, the President and the National Security Council began holding a series of "intensive" meetings about a covert military strike aimed at killing him, according to administration officials.

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Barack Obama

Father of 9/11 Hero Has Searing Words For Holder

Susan Crabtree | April 5, 2011, 12:51PM

David Beamer

The father of 9/11 hero Todd Beamer tore into Attorney General Eric Holder for standing by his earlier decision to try Khalid Sheik Mohammed in New York civilian courts even as he reversed course and announced Monday that KSM and his co-conspirators would be tried in military commissions.

Holder and the White House got a thorough drubbing by critics and supporters alike Monday for reversing course and breaking a campaign promise to close the detainee prison facility at Guantanamo Bay and try KSM and 9/11 co-conspirators in civilian courts. But one of the most searing critiques came Tuesday morning from David Beamer, the father of Todd Beamer, the renowned hero of United Airlines flight 93 who fought the terrorists before the plane crashed in Shanksville, Pa.

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Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

Obama Praised, Pummeled on Gitmo and KSM

Susan Crabtree | April 4, 2011, 2:35PM

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

President Obama took a long-awaited drubbing on his broken campaign promise of closing the detainee prison facility at Guantanamo Bay after news broke Monday that Attorney General Eric Holder had reversed plans to try 9/11 conspirators in federal court in New York City and will instead have them stand trial before military commissions at the U.S. base in Cuba.

The administration's decision is a 180-degree about-face from earlier plans announced in November 2009.

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Lindsey Graham

Graham: Obama's Gitmo Decree Is 'Confusing, Illogical'

Susan Crabtree | March 8, 2011, 8:44AM

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)

President Obama signed an executive order Monday that ends a two-year ban on military trials at Guantanamo Bay, but one of the biggest critics of his detainee policy is still confused about what the decree means for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-declared mastermind of the 9/11 attacks and his co-conspirators.

"[The administration's policy on Guantanamo] has been on again and off again, and I can't tell from this order where KSM is going to go," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told TPM Monday evening. "He would gladly tell you he did it. He and his co-conspirators should be handled through the law of war and treated like our enemies."

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Congress

On The Floor: Ten Great Moments From Congress In 2010 (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | December 27, 2010, 8:33AM

As the year comes to a close, and we look ahead to all the wild and wacky things that are sure to happen in the new Republican-controlled House and only narrowly Democratic-controlled Senate, let's take a look back at the past year. A whole lot of amazing and memorable moments happened not only on the campaign trail, but on the two Congressional floors in the Capitol itself.

We've gathered together 10 unforgettable moments from the House and Senate in 2010. Some of them are great -- while others are just so bad that they're good.

But all of them give some perspective on the people who have been running our government, or who are about to have even more power next year. So sit back, relax, and laugh -- because it's better than crying.

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9/11

House Passes 9/11 First Responders Bill (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | December 22, 2010, 5:36PM

President Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)

By a vote of 206-60 Wednesday afternoon, the House of Representatives passed legislation to provide health care and compensation to emergency responders who have become ill as the result of their exposure to harmful inhalants after the September 11 terrorists attacks.

The legislation has taken an unwieldy path through Congress, and appeared dead at several different points because of broad GOP opposition.

Along the way, various Republicans opposed the bill's price tag, the way it was paid for and the fact that it provided first responders with prolonged access to a compensation fund that Republicans would like to see closed.

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9/11

Congress Poised To Expedite 9/11 Responders Bill Over GOP Objections

Brian Beutler | December 22, 2010, 10:52AM

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK)

After months of GOP obstruction, a bill to help 9/11 first responders cover their mounting health care costs is expected to zip through Congress. In addition to being a feather in the cap of New York and New Jersey Democrats -- who have been pushing the bill for months -- it will likely enjoy the distinction of being the last legislative item to pass the unusually productive 111th Congress lame duck session.

Republicans have blocked the bill in both the House and Senate over objections to its cost and financing mechanisms, but with a combination of tweaks and public pressure, Democrats say they've rounded up the 60 votes they'll need to break the filibuster. And with members eager to skip town for the holidays, the House and Senate have lined up to expedite final passage.

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Tom Coburn

Report: Coburn Might Block 9/11 First Responders Bill

Jillian Rayfield | December 21, 2010, 10:13AM

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK)

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) reportedly might block the 9/11 First Responders bill, or at least slow it down, according to Politico.

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9/11

Schumer, Gillibrand Predict 9/11 Responders Bill Will Pass (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | December 20, 2010, 10:54AM

Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)

New York's two Democratic Senators are predicting that the bill to aid 9/11 first responders will be able to pass the Senate -- after having previously been blocked by Senate Republicans -- in the wake of recent changes such as lowering the price tag from $7.4 billion to $6.2 billion.

Appearing this morning on Good Morning America, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told George Stephanopoulos: "We now have the votes, we've made some modifications that some of our Republican colleagues requested and if no one does undue delay, just stands up and delays and delays and delays, we will get this done."

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Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart Lambastes The Media Over Lack Of 9/11 Responders Bill Coverage (VIDEO)

David Taintor | December 17, 2010, 10:33AM

Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart last night continued his impassioned efforts to draw attention to the 9/11 first responders bill that was filibustered by Senate Republicans, criticizing the major television networks for not mentioning the bill in their evening broadcast for months.

"Although, to be fair, it's not every day that Beatles songs come to iTunes," Stewart joked.

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Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart: GOP Invokes 9/11 So Much, They Owe Royalties To First Responders (VIDEO)

David Taintor | December 14, 2010, 10:21AM

Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart last night took on Republicans' blocking of all legislation until the Bush-era tax cuts compromise is passed, focusing on the Don't Ask, Don't Tell debate, the DREAM act and the 9/11 responders bill.

"I get the other two, but since when does the Republican party make 9/11 first responders stand over in the corner with the gays and Mexicans?" Stewart said.

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Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart On GOP Blocking 9/11 Responders Bill: Bros Before Heroes?

David Taintor | December 10, 2010, 9:55AM

Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart last night was aghast over Senate Republicans blocking the 9/11 responders bill, part of the GOP's vow to block all legislation until the Bush-era tax cuts deal is passed.

"You couldn't even get 60 senators to agree to vote on the 9/11 responders bill, because the top 2 percent of Americans haven't officially received their engraved notifications that their taxes won't go up 4 percent?" Stewart asked. "That's the principled pledge you want to stand by? 'Bros before heroes?' "

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9/11

Democrats Aghast Over GOP Blocking 9/11 Responders Bill

Evan McMorris-Santoro | December 9, 2010, 3:26PM

Sen. Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY)

The Senate Republicans did what they said they'd do today -- they blocked a bill aimed at providing over $7 billion in federal money for 9/11 responders and their families because it came before a vote on taxes. But despite the almost scripted outcome, Democratic Senators behind the bill seemed shocked at the outcome.

"We are gravely disappointed," Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), a key sponsor of the bill, told reporters following the failed cloture vote. "When every Senator on the Republican side signed a letter saying no business can be done until they had a vote a vote on a tax issue, I find [it] to be morally reprehensible."

Sen. Chris Coons, a Democratic Senator from Delaware for all of three weeks, said the bill was the first one he chose to co-sponsor. The fact that the GOP stopped it in its tracks (for now, at least) was a surprise, he said.

"If patriotism means anything, if respect for the victims of 9/11 means anything, it should mean this," he said. "This Senate should be able to come together across this shocking partisan divide and support a bill such as this."

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Joe Lieberman

Lieberman: Koran-Burners Should 'Reconsider And Drop Their Plans'

Jillian Rayfield | September 8, 2010, 11:26AM

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT)

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) released a statement today asking those planning to burn copies of the Koran on September 11th to "reconsider and drop their plans because they are inconsistent with American values."

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Cordoba House

Grassroots Or Astroturf? Signs At 'Mega Mosque' Protest Were Pre-Printed (VIDEO)

Christina Bellantoni | August 19, 2010, 2:00PM

A protest against the 'Ground Zero Mosque' in New York.

Conservatives are having fun with Speaker Nancy Pelosi's suggestion that there is some sort of conspiracy uniting the opponents of the proposed Islamic center near Ground Zero, but a closer look at some of the early protests suggests at least some coordination.

Check out the video embedded below, footage from a June protest that you've probably seen many times on television in recent days.

Organizers of the protest boasted 10,000 people and say their energy triggered an increase in coverage. What struck us about the footage were the pre-printed signs condemning what opponents call a "mega mosque." Many had the Web address for Pamela Geller's anti-Muslim group Stop Islamization of America printed right on them.

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'Ground Zero Mosque'

Pro-Mosque Mom Who Lost Pregnant Daughter In Trade Center: 9/11 Families 'Not Monolithic'

Christina Bellantoni | August 16, 2010, 3:28PM

Sign at the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan

As plans to build an Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero in New York City become political fodder for the fall elections on a national scale, it's become shorthand to imply that all 9/11 families oppose the erection of the mosque two blocks from the site where terrorists downed the World Trade Center nearly nine years ago.

But in fact, no cohesive position has emerged from the thousands of 9/11 families who have been politically influential on many issues in the past. One group which has opposed war has come out strongly in favor of the mosque project, known as Cordoba House. Others have avoided even addressing the issue.

"There is no simple, singular 9/11 group who really should or could speak for all 9/11 family members," said Donna Marsh O'Connor of September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, a coalition of more than 250 families which recently endorsed the mosque. Since the endorsement, the membership numbers have grown, she said.

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Anthony Weiner

Peter King And Anthony Weiner Shout Their Way Through A Fox News Interview (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | July 30, 2010, 10:29AM

Rep. Peter King (R-NY) and Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY)

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) went on an apoplectic rant on the House floor last night, and apparently he hasn't cooled off much since then.

Earlier this morning, Weiner and Rep. Peter King (R-NY) shouted and finger-pointed their way through a Fox News interview over a bill that would provide health care to rescue workers effected by the dust from the World Trade Center, which failed in the House last night.

King accused the Democrats of orchestrating a "cruel hoax" with the bill, while Weiner called it "outrageous" that Republicans would vote against it.

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Anthony Weiner

Anthony Weiner's Spitting Mad Rant Against Republicans On The House Floor (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | July 30, 2010, 8:54AM

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY)

The House was debating a bill last night that would provide up to $7.4 billion in health care aid to rescue and recovery workers who have faced health problems since their work in the wake of the September 11 attacks. The bill ultimately failed to get the needed two-thirds majority, 255-159, and Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) was not happy about it. Not one bit.

In a rant that lasted for almost two minutes, a hopping mad Weiner railed against "cowardly" Republicans who claimed they were voting against the bill because of "procedure." Weiner spat: "It's Republicans wrapping their arms around Republicans, rather than doing the right thing on behalf of the heroes!"

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