Let's accept that these threats are very real and specific, as Rep King indicated.
Let's
go even further and accept that closing the embassies was a reasonable
thing to do. We hear that some terrorists are ready to attack at any moment.
My question is this: What happened to the idea that the host government is supposed to protect a diplomatic outpost?
Are
we saying that we don't trust these governments? Or that they may be
compromised with terrorist groups? Are we afraid that all of those
people who broke out of prison are now coming after us?
There are a few lessons from this weekend of embassy closings:
1) The war on terrorists is alive and well. In fact, it may be more alive than any of us suspected.
We've accomplished a lot, from killing Osama Bin Laden to crushing Al Qaeda in Iraq, but there is more to do.
Pay attention to what Con Coughlin is saying:
"In
recent years, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has emerged as one of
the more deadly arms of the wider al-Qaeda franchise. This brand of
terrorism thrives in Muslim countries with weak governments - and
Yemen, which has been afflicted by decades of civil war and instability,
was an obvious target for exploitation. "
2)
President Obama's "charm offensive" charmed Western liberals, college
professors, The NY Times editorial board and The Nobel Peace Prize
crowd. Unfortunately, it did little to change the hearts and minds of
the enemy. In fact, I would argue that the "charm offensive," from the
Cairo speech to talking about "torture," may have actually emboldened
an enemy always looking for opportunities to attack us.
3) We can't rely on other countries to protect our embassies and outposts.
4)
You can forget closing GITMO. What do we really think that the GITMO
detainees are going to do when we release them? They are going to join
the same crowd that is threatening our embassies this weekend. GITMO
will outlive the Obama presidency!
Overall,
a very bad week for "hope and change." Wonder what all of those who
thought that President Obama would fix it all with speeches are saying
today?
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