Mychal Massie
Rats and mice may live in holes, but they know how to steal cheese and get into cabinets in our homes. They are able to hide and soil our homes almost at will, often evading all but the most elaborate traps. And while some may make docile pets, the majority demand constant and aggressive measures to rid us of them. We certainly don't trap them and then release them in our backyard so they can invade our homes again.
We take elaborate measures to protect ourselves from rodents that aren't blowing up buildings, beheading people, attempting to bring down passenger planes and that do not cause terrorist mayhem on a global scale.
But specific to that point, Obama, et al., would have us believe that bringing terrorist detainees into an Illinois community is a prudent move. His plan to house up to 100 Guantanamo Bay detainees in the Illinois Thomson Correctional Institute has been decried ad nauseum
– yet in his infinite lack of common sense he is willing to appease his radical supporters by closing Gitmo and bringing the rodents housed there to American communities.His grossly misguided belief that this singular act will "rob terrorist organizations of a tool to recruit warriors of the future" is just that
– grossly misguided. This will prove to be a billboard-size poster for recruitment.Obama was quick to publicly insult the Cambridge Police, saying they "acted stupidly," while surreptitiously playing the race card when an officer followed protocol designed to protect himself and the safety of professor Gates. But in the aftermath of Nidal Malik Hasan's terrorist attack at Fort Hood, he instructed Congress not to get involved in the investigation. He has yet even to recognize Hasan as a terrorist.
Since even Satan has his worshippers, it comes as no surprise in the Hasan case that those who worship at the throne of Obama immediately sprang forth with ludicrous assertions that it was military stress that led to the attacker's actions.
Which brings me to the Christmas Day terrorist attack aboard Northwest Flight 253 en route to Detroit. In one of the most outrageous public assessments of domestic terrorism, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano proclaimed, "The system worked" in thwarting the attack of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. After immediate and justly deserved criticism for her pronouncement, she later claimed to have meant that what had worked was the system response to the incident.
In reality, what worked was Abdulmutallab's attack, the fact that his bomb failed to detonate as intended notwithstanding. America was caught with her pants down, and only the answered prayers of those praying for our safety prevented the lost of 289 passengers and the 11 crew members.
That it took Obama three days to comment on the attack doesn't particularly bother me as such, but rather, I am bothered by what he had to say when he finally did. In true Obama fashion, he blamed everyone and everything but fresh fallen snow for the spectacular breakdowns that allowed for the attack.
He offered no concrete assurances and he displayed no leadership resolve
– he simply read a speech in a dull monotone of legalese. Using words like "allegedly," he not only failed to articulate the gravity of the situation, he failed even to grasp it. He later delivered another speech displaying a rehearsed outrage.It is too bad he didn't show the urgency and concern for the passengers and crew of Flight 253 that he showed for his Hawaii vacation friend's daughters' scratch, which was described as "relatively minor" not even requiring stitches. That scratch was sufficient enough to interrupt his golf game and send his motorcade rushing through the streets
– but the latest terrorist attack in our skyways necessitated no such urgency.While Napolitano should be fired for her incompetence, it is time for Obama to own up to his abysmal presidency. Blaming the former president, blaming the CIA and refusing to address terrorism in our midst as terrorism isn't leadership. And taking away blankets, pillows and bathroom privileges one hour before landing isn't going to prevent further terrorist attacks. Perhaps instead of telling the Israelis where they can build he needs to ask them how they keep their flights safe.
Mychal Massie is chairman of the National Leadership Network of Black Conservatives-Project 21
– a conservative black think tank located in Washington, D.C. He was recognized as the 2008 Conservative Man of the Year by the Conservative Party of Suffolk County, N.Y. He is a nationally recognized political activist, pundit and columnist. He has appeared on Fox News Channel, CNN, MSNBC, C-SPAN, NBC, Comcast Cable and talk radio programming nationwide.