Since the day after Christmas, I have been listening to "experts", news people, and politicians talk about Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab the terrorist who tried to blow up an airliner and 289 passengers. All this talking, discussing and guessing as to why and how this happened hasn't done a thing to stop it from happening again.
It is time to speak plainly, to put the blame where it belongs and to suggest some solutions. I am no "expert", but I am a person with common sense, I am the mother of a 9/11 murder victim and I believe that protecting Americans from further terrorists attacks is the primary job of our government.
Problem: Before we can win a war against terrorists, we must first acknowledge that we have Islamic Moslem extremists trying to kill Americans. There is a great deal of evidence to prove that. The bombing of the WTC in 1993, the bombing of American Embassies in Africa, the USS Cole, the killings outside CIA headquarters, the killings at Fort Hood, the attempted bombing on Christmas to name just a few. Islamic Moslem extremists have declared war on Americans and rather than acknowledge this fact President Obama says they are just criminals. If he doesn't acknowledge that the detainees at Gitmo are enemy combatants and that we are at war, Americans will never be safe.
Solution: It's time for Obama to realize this is a war and start thinking like a military leader and not sympathizer.
Problem: We can't stop these terrorists from coming into this country without acknowledging the fact that the system doesn't work. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said the day after the attempted bombing that "the system worked." The very next day, she recanted that statement. Now that she knows the system failed, the question is will the broken system be fixed?
When a father comes to a US Embassy and informs the staff that his son has become radical, is involved with terrorists, and may be planning something, they should take him seriously. If his name is on a watch list, DHS should take it seriously. Here is how DHS handles things now: If Mohammed Ahmed is on a "no-fly list" he cannot board a plane to the U.S. That's good. But if Mohammed Ahmed is not on the "no-fly" but only on the "watch list" that means he's a possible danger to the United States , he can fly to the U.S., and upon their arrival in the US the individual will be questioned. Unless of course they have blown up the plane before it arrives in the US. This policy is just stupid.
Solution: If a person is on a "watch list" they should not be allowed to board any U.S. bound plane until they have been thoroughly screened and questioned by US officials in the country where the flight originates. US officials should just stop issuing visas to any person on the "watch list." Once a person is put on a "watch list" they should be watched.
Problem: No one in the State Department, Department of Home Land Security, The CIA or FBI is held accountable for their failures. Thomas Furey, Mary Ryan and Maura Harty were the officials at the state department responsible for giving the visas to the 9/11 terrorists in violation of federal law. These three officials allowed the 19 hijackers to obtain visas and come to this country and kill 2976 Americans. These officials were not even given a slap on the wrist. They were not held accountable for failing to do their jobs, Instead they were promoted. PROMOTED! AND given performance bonuses for their excellent work in 2001!
There was also a lack of sharing of information problem between the CIA and FBI. No one was held accountable for these failures. Clinton Attorney General didn't want information sharing between these two agencies. If the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing the terrorists will just laugh at us and continue killing us.
Janet Napolitano failed to do the job she was hired to do on Christmas day, why hasn't she been fired? I'm guessing it's because when you work for this government, not doing your job is okay and you just might get a promotion.
Solution: Hold everyone accountable. If you screw up, fail to do your job, fail to pass on information, fail to check the "watch list", whether you work in the State Department, Homeland security, CIA, FBI, TSA, Foreign Intelligence, Senator, Congressman or President of the U.S. If you can't, won't or don't do your job, you are out of a job. Simple.
This country is in a mess and until we acknowledge what we are doing wrong, we can't and won't fix anything. Stop the political correctness and say that it is ISLAMIC MOSLEM EXTREMIST TERRORISTS who want to kill us. End the visa waiver program, make everyone who wants to come to the US apply for a visa and do a full background check on all individuals who apply for a visa. Not all Islamic Moslem extremists live in the Middle East. Who cares if their feelings get hurt?
