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We are suspending our subscription drive for today in recognition of the 10th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks.  The drive will return tomorrow.

SEPTEMBER 11,  2011

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:25 P.M. ET:

STILL VIGILANT – Although some intelligence authorities are downplaying reports of a possible terrorist attack on America, timed to the 9-11 remembrance, law enforcement continues to take the threat seriously and will remain on high alert.  We tend to forget that there have been more than 40 attempts to attack the American homeland since 9-11.  One attack, at Fort Hood, succeeded.  Some argue that we spend too much effort worrying about this, that far more people are killed in car accidents.  That may be a valid argument...except that if we didn't expend great effort on counterterrorism, there'd be more successful attacks, possibly with WMD, and the casualty rate would soar.

WE'RE SORRY THEY'RE BORED – The New York Times reports that, while there were ceremonies marking 9-11 in many foreign countries, these nations, especially in Europe, were becoming "weary" of the commemorations.  We deeply apologize to these countries for recalling the deaths of 3,000 people.  We hate to be rude, but we intend to keep remembering, just as European countries will continue to trash their own histories and cultures.  Let's see who comes out better.

DEBATE TOMORROW – Another televised Republican debate will be held tomorrow, in Tampa.  Michele Bachmann is reported to be planning an attack on Rick Perry, centering on Perry's Social Security statements.  Perry has stolen some of Bachmann's thunder, and she's got to weaken him to get back in the game.  At the same time, Mitt Romney is also going after Perry on Social Security.  We have no reporting yet on how Perry intends to respond to the attacks.  How he does so will indicate whether he really is the shrewd, savvy campaigner he's been made out to be, or just the flavor of the month.  (8-10 p.m. ET, on CNN)

September 11, 2011      Permalink

WARPED HISTORY – AT 9:44 P.M. ET:  As we end this day of remembrance, we might reflect on how easy it is to distort history for political gain.  We see it all the time.  We have lived the lie, for much more than a generation now, that the United States lost the Vietnam War, when in fact we never lost a battle in Vietnam.

There are other myths and lies that get circulated, some by cranks, some by "serious" historians with an ideology to promote, some by journalists covering their own mistakes.  One of the greatest myths of the 9-11 era is that everyone loved America right after the attacks, that the world was gushing sympathy, and that Bush and Cheney ruined that international harmony.  That is wildly inaccurate.

Janet Daley, of London's Telegraph, an American-born journalist, reminds us of the vicious anti-Americanism that erupted right after the attacks, as the bodies were still burning in New York and Washington.  She reminds us of something we see over and over – how the political left swings into action to turn any event to its advantage:

Anyone who claims that the latest fashionable wave of political hatred for the US has been provoked by the Iraq war should look at the press coverage that sprang up in the first 48 to 72 hours after the attacks. When the invasion of Afghanistan – let alone Iraq – was only a possibility on the horizon, when the death toll was climbing into the thousands, and when people here were still desperately trying to contact American friends and family, sections of the British media were already engaged in a frenzy of vitriolic retribution.

The Guardian led the way, of course, with a now infamous series of comment pieces which reiterated the same vengeful theme: America had got what it deserved.

Its pages were filled with callous triumphalism ("They can't see why they are hated", "A bully with a bloody nose is still a bully") alternating with frank threats: until the US changes its policy on the Middle East, it will continue to suffer terrorist attacks – which turned out, thankfully, to be wrong. (Oddly, there were no claims that the Spanish had got what they deserved after the later Madrid bombings, even though that incident was related to the Islamist goal of re-establishing the caliphate.)

The then comment editor of The Guardian, Seamus Milne, wrote a column last week in which he defended his choice of articles at that time with a bizarre post hoc justification: since America had indeed become enmeshed in military invasions after the attacks, this proved that his contributors had been right all along.

He and his comrades (I use the word advisedly) still seem incapable of grasping what was so profoundly offensive about this coverage: it was not a matter of politics, but of basic human decency. Would they accost a widow at her husband's funeral to shout that the idiot got what was coming to him, because he had smoked two packs of cigarettes a day and never taken any exercise? What sort of people behave like this? What sort of country had I chosen to live in?

Then the BBC followed with an outrageous edition of Question Time, in which the audience shrieked abuse at anyone on the panel who uttered a word of sympathy for the US, and openly cheered the idea that the attacks were justified. Some of my New York friends were rung from London within days by people they had known for years to be told: "You know what everybody is saying here – that America got what it deserved."

And...

Now the refrain is: America lost an opportunity to examine its role and question its assumptions. Why, in other words, couldn't it have revelled in the kind of self-doubt and identity crisis that has become Europe's chronic condition?

COMMENT:  People forget that the now-famous headline after 9-11 in the French newspaper, Le Monde – "We are all Americans now" – actually topped a largely anti-American editorial. 

And four days after the attacks, a small group of loonies at Pace University, five blocks from Ground Zero, held an anti-American rally...as the ashes of their fellow citizens continued to rain down on their school.

Just some corrections of common myths.

September 11, 2011       Permalink

THE CONNECTION – AT 11:34 A.M. ET:  Former Senator Bob Graham of Florida, who is a national defense Democrat (a rare breed) is charging that new information points to Saudi collaboration in the 9-11 attacks.  This is fascinating stuff, and Graham is a cautious guy.  From the St. Petersburg Times: 

SARASOTA — Weeks after terrorists brought down the World Trade Center, FBI agents swarmed into a Sarasota gated community to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a wealthy young Saudi couple who apparently had ties to some of the hijackers.

The couple and their two children abandoned their home abruptly, just a week or so before Sept. 11, leaving behind cars, furniture and food on countertops.

According to one published report, the FBI discovered phone calls between the house and at least two of the hijackers and several other terrorism suspects stretching back a year.

Yet until a Fort Lauderdale website reported the news this week, no mention of the couple has ever appeared publicly — not in the Sept. 11 commission report, nor in FBI briefings to congressional investigators, former Florida Sen. Bob Graham said Friday.

Graham called on President Barack Obama to reopen the case.

"This is the most important thing about 9/11 to surface in the last seven or eight years,'' Graham told the St. Petersburg Times. "It's very important for the White House to take control of this situation. The key umbrella question is: What was the full extent of Saudi involvement prior to 9/11 and why did the U.S. administration cover this up?''

The Sarasota revelations parallel earlier information about a Saudi government employee who had lived in California for years, Graham said. That man, Omar al-Bayoumi, had paid for a San Diego apartment for two of the hijackers, funneled them money and then left the United States in July 2011.

COMMENT:  Our relationship with Saudi Arabia has always been marked by scandal.  The Saudi lobby, operating through oil companies, defense contractors, influential Washington figures, and, yes, universities, is rarely reported on.  Money talks, and the Saudis have vast amounts of money.  They have bought silence.

It is often said that most American ambassadors to Saudi Arabia wind up on the Saudi payroll.  It is no secret that the Saudis finance Mideast studies departments and professorships.  The unspeakable Jimmy Carter has written of vacationing with former Saudi ambassador to Washington, Prince Bandar.  I doubt if Jimmy paid his own way. 

Graham is right.  This subject should be reopened.  However, it will not be, as it violates the "Muslim outreach" of the Obama administration. 

I hope that some enterprising journalist goes to work on the story.

September 11, 2011      Permalink 

THE CONFLICT CONTINUES – AT 10:52 A.M. ET:  As we reflect, others fight.  From AP:

KABUL, Afghanistan — Nearly 80 American soldiers were wounded and two Afghan civilians were killed in a Taliban truck bombing targeting an American base in eastern Afghanistan, NATO said Sunday, a stark reminder that the war in Afghanistan still rages 10 years after the Sept. 11 terror attacks against the United States.

The blast, which occurred late Saturday, shaved the facades from shops outside the Combat Outpost Sayed Abad in Wardak province and broke windows in government offices nearby, said Roshana Wardak, a former parliamentarian who runs a clinic in the nearby town of the same name. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

Eight wounded civilians were brought to Wardak's clinic, two of them with wounds serious enough that they were sent to Kabul. She said one 3-year-old girl died of her wounds on the way to the clinic.

The attack was carried out by a Taliban suicide bomber who detonated a large bomb inside a truck carrying firewood, NATO said. It was unclear how many foreign and Afghan soldiers were serving on the base.

COMMENT:  We don't know, of course, whether this attack was timed to coincide with our memorial events here, but the Taliban clearly sent a message that it's still alive and effective. 

There is, by the way, no new information on the alleged terror plot reportedly directed against the United States, and timed for the 9-11 remembrance.  Some intelligence officials are downplaying the reports of the last few days, stressing that they're uncorroborated.  But security forces, especially in New York and Washington, remain on high alert.

September 11, 2011       Permalink

THIS DAY – AT 10:25 A.M. ET:  Americans will appropriately mark the 10th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks today. 

Most who note the day publicly will do so with dignity.  A few, including some of our journalistic brothers and sister, will not.  Prepare yourself for some moving ceremonies, and also from some tasteless columns.  Paul Krugman's post at The New York Times is perhaps the most vulgar I've read thus far, accusing former President Bush and former New York Mayor Giuliani of cashing in on the tragedy.  Real class.

It's proper, during this commemoration, to review the events of the past ten years.  It is also proper for the media to reflect on itself and its role.  There is a dramatic difference between the press of World War II and the press of today.  In World War II, as a University of New Zealand study indicated some years ago, the Western media understood the importance of the war, what was at stake, and the nature of the enemy.  The media of today was shaped by the cynical era of the 1960s, and the warped reporting from Vietnam, which seemed to emphasize every American setback, and underplay every American success. 

Wars, it is said, are won by the side that makes the fewest mistakes.   Coverage of a war, including the war on terror, must be informed by that reality.  The media can enlighten and inspire.  But it can also mislead, distort and discourage. On this day, members of the journalistic profession (or trade) might take some moments to hold their own commemoration and ask, with integrity, "How did we do?"  The record will be very mixed.  To cite just one example, we are endlessly reminded that we didn't find WMD stockpiles in Iraq, and the reminders often some with sinister suggestions that we invaded Iraq under false premises.  But while stockpiles were not found, the WMD programs themselves were indeed found, and were ready to be restarted.  Leaving out that fact, as press reports often do, distorts the reality of Iraq.  It is a disservice to truth and to the nation.  But the disservice continues. 

This country may live or die based on the quality of its press.  We have seen the devastating effects of mythology that passes for journalism in the Muslim world, and, yes, in parts of Europe.  Some questions are required on this day.

September 11, 2011     Permalink

SEPTEMBER 10,  2011

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 9:18 P.M. ET:

IS IT REAL? – Some U.S. intelligence officials have started to push back against the stories, which we've cited, about a possible terror attack timed for the 9-11 ten-year commemoration.   While remaining anonymous, they say that the plot may actually not exist, and that there's no real evidence to support the warnings.  Of course, these officials may well be right.  That's happened before.  But still, we've also been told that the source of the report has a record of accuracy, and has, reportedly, never been wrong.  Some have suggested that the source himself may have been fed inaccurate information by those who knew he was passing on intelligence to Washington.  We'll see.  Meanwhile, New York and Washington remain on high alert, which is the wise thing to do.

TROUBLING – Some 14,000 rounds of ammunition are missing from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the Army says.  Fort Bragg is known as the Army's paratrooper center.  No one is under suspicion.  Obvious, any missing ammo is cause for concern, especially as we worry about weapons falling into the wrong hands.  A lockdown of the relevant unit at Bragg failed to turn up any cartridges or information. 

GRAY HAIR FOR DEMS – Democrats are expressing increasing concern over President Obama's chances for reelection.  They see a weak economy growing even weaker.  And they feel the Republican field may be much stronger than they'd previously believed.  Both Rick Perry and Mitt Romney have executive experience and are centering their campaigns on job creation.  It is clear that the 2008 passion for Obama has evaporated, and that the most the president can hope for is an election victory based largely on scaring the public about the GOP.  Of course, such scare tactics often work in politics.

SILENCE WORKS – Political eyes are on New York's 9th Congressional District, where a special election will be held Tuesday to replace Congressman Anthony "Gypsy Rose" Weiner, whose online striporama forced him out of politics.  A Republican upset may actually happen, producing a political earthquake in New York.  But the national GOP, although supporting the Republican candidate, Bob Turner, with cash, is remaining otherwise silent.  Republicans openly acknowledge that their national brand doesn't play well in New York, or indeed, in most other places, and it is best not to remind voters that Turner is a Republican.  This is something the party had better work on.  Despite Obama's unpopularity, Republicans, as a group, often rank even lower in the polls.

September 10, 2011       Permalink

THREAT UPDATE – AT 11:54 A.M. ET:  We are continuing to follow the "credible" terror threat against the U.S., linked to tomorrow's 9-11 anniversary.  New information is being reported all the time.  From the New York Post:

The tip on the terror threat that had New Yorkers on high alert yesterday came from a reliable CIA informant in Pakistan who “has not been wrong before,” sources told The Post.

The informant told the agency that new al Qaeda boss Ayman al-Zawahiri personally recruited three terrorists -- at least two of whom are believed to be US citizens or have US traveling papers -- to launch car bomb attacks in the city or Washington, DC, to avenge the killing of terror lord Osama bin Laden.

US authorities suspect one American “is here” already, a counter-terrorism source told The Post.

Officials also believe the plot calls for the bombers not to commit suicide -- as the 9/11 hijackers did -- but to flee after setting the explosives as those who pulled off the 1998 attacks on two US embassies in Africa did, the source said.

The informant told US intelligence the trio may attempt an attack similar to Faizal Shahzad’s failed Times Square car bombing last year, according to an FBI bulletin.

“This person has not been wrong before,” an official said. “That source has been reliable in the past.”

The trio “may have met up with a small cell or other suspects” in the United States, a source told the iPad news mag The Daily.

COMMENT:  I was struck by one assessment that concluded that the team was instructed that, if they could not pull off the kind of attack that was planned, they were to create as much mayhem as possible.  That could mean simply planting a suitcase somewhere, or even firing at random from a concealed position, from which escape is possible.

I'm also concerned that a terror team, if blocked in New York and Washington by high security, might simply travel to another location.  Los Angeles and Chicago are said to be on increased alert as well.

September 10, 2011       Permalink

THE CONTINUING NIGHTMARE – AT 11:30 A.M. ET:  As security forces hunt for a possible terror team in the U.S. to stage its own commemoration of 9-11, we're reminded that terrorists might soon get their hands on far more deadly weapons than they've had up to now.  The Christian Science Monitor has an excellent report from Libya:

As Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC) hunt for and collect the weapons that fueled Muammar Qaddafi's war machine, they are quickly learning that some choice pieces of his vast stockpile of mines, mortars, and explosives are missing.

At newly discovered weapons-storage sites, thousands of shoulder-held surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) are unaccounted for. At one unguarded facility, empty packing crates and documents reveal that 482 sophisticated Russian SA-24 missiles were shipped to Libya in 2004, and now are gone. With a range of 11,000 feet, the SA-24 is Moscow’s modern version of the American “stinger,” which in the 1980s helped the US-backed Afghan mujahideen turn their war against the Soviet Union.

This is the first I've read that modern shoulder-fired SAM's (surface-to-air missiles) are missing.  We'd been told before that the missing SAM's were older, 1970s vintage Soviet models.  The newer ones are far more deadly and reliable.  Teh great fear is that a terrorist can jump out of a car near an international airport and bring down an airliner landing or taking off.  And, with a missile range of 11,000 feet, he wouldn't even have to be close to the airport any longer. 

The usual suspects in journalism are urging that we "move on" from the war on terror, concentrating on our domestic needs.  (They always want to "move on."  They've even named a movement "moveon.org.") 

There is no moving on.  We're in it, and it will take a long time.

September 10, 2011      Permalink

MIDEAST TRAUMA – AT 10:51 A.M. ET:  Nothing is more important to American diplomacy in the Mideast than the Israel-Egypt peace treaty.  Although it's a cold peace, it has prevented a Mideast conflagration for three decades.  That treaty is now under the worst threat in its history.

The Arab spring in Egypt is turning into an Arab winter, with some of the worst elements coming to the fore.  This would never have been possible under Hosni Mubarak who, although he was an authoritarian, undemocratic leader, was at least sane in his foreign policy, and was considered pro-American.  However, he got pushed out quickly by President Obama, who has a way with our allies.

The New York Times has the story of the latest blow to peace, the storming of the Israeli embassy in Cairo and the evacuation of the Israeli ambassador.  This is going downhill very fast:

CAIRO — Israel flew most of its diplomatic staff out of Egypt on Saturday after thousands of protesters the day before tore down a protective wall around the Israeli Embassy and broke into its offices the day before.

Prime Minister Essam Sharaf of Egypt called an emergency cabinet meeting to deal with the aftermath of the attack and the Egyptian government put its police on alert to guard against more violence.

The Egyptian Interior Ministry said Saturday that at least two people had died in the clashes, one from a bullet wound and the other from a heart attack, while as many as 1,200 had been injured in overnight clashes with the police, mostly around the Israeli Embassy. Protesters scaled the walls of the embassy to tear down its flag, broke into offices and tossed binders of documents into the streets.

The rioting began after large groups of protesters split off from what had been a peaceful protest in Tahrir Square. Thousands attacked the Israeli embassy while others converged on the Interior Ministry, defacing its headquarters. Dozens were also injured in clashes with the police there.

Israeli officials signaled Saturday that they considered the breach of their embassy’s security a significant blow to relations between the two allies. Israeli officials placed several calls to their American counterparts, including from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to President Obama, and from Defense Minister Ehud Barak to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, to try to apply pressure on Egypt to resolve the crisis, Israeli and American officials said.

On Saturday morning, Israel had evacuated its Cairo ambassador and embassy, sending two air force jets to bring home 86 diplomats and family members at dawn.

COMMENT:  The fact that Israel Air Force jets can still land in Cairo is a sign that at least there's some civilized control left.  The Egyptian military is widely seen as a force for rationality, but it will be replaced after "elections" are held later. 

Egypt is the most important Arab country, and the one that traditionally wields the most influence.  Cairo is where President Obama delivered his now famous (infamous, actually) outreach speech to the Muslim world.  We're getting nothing in return for that outreach, for Obama is seen as a weak president.  And, as the late Osama bin Laden observed, it's the strong horse who wins in his part of the world. 

The evacuation of the Israeli embassy in Cairo is, symbolically, a very bad moment. 

September 10, 2011        Permalink

WHERE OBAMA STANDS – AT 10:35 A.M. – It is stunning.  The president continues to sink in the polls.  There are many surveys, some good, some less so, but we depend mostly on Rasmussen because he polls likely voters, which is the most useful and accurate measurement.

Also, Scott Rasmussen publishes what he calls the Presidential Approval Index, measuring passion.  It reports the gap between those who strongly approve of a president's performance and those who strongly disapprove.  Since August 30th, Mr. Obama has had an approval index of worse than -20 every day, and that is no ornament to his presidency.  Today's report:

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Saturday shows that 20% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as president. Forty-three percent (43%) Strongly Disapprove, giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -23.

It is incredible that 43% of respondents strongly disapprove of this president. 

Overall, 42% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the president's performance. Fifty-five percent (55%) at least somewhat disapprove.

Rasmussen is now moving closer to the Gallup Poll's rating of the president, which has been in the low 40s, and has dipped several times into the high 30s.

Again we stress that a poll is a snapshot in time.  We also stress that weak numbers do not guarantee the president's defeat next year.  Political resurrections occur all the time, especially as the Republican Party has found the most creative ways to lose elections.  So let us work.

September 10, 2011     Permalink