Open Thread

If we don’t maintain a relationship with the Saudis, and maintain the status quo of the leadership, you will have a VERY COLD WINTER in your home.

You may not like that but it is a fact of life.

Well legion- maybe you should look at the connection between the Bush administration and the Saudis. 19 of the 20 9/11 terrorists came form there, and it was the Bush administration that set up a detainee return program to Saudi Arabia (and Yemen, also), and they have not been successful. Not to mention they allow some of the most rabid Anti-Americanism to be taught in their schools. But Bandar Bush maintain a long and affectionate relationship with the royal family still.

You spend an inordinate amount of time blaming the ACLU for the releases. However, under Homeland Security their powers trump the ACLU- if they so wanted. SO ask yourself why were those detainees really released- not even the ACLU has that much power, and certainly not over the Dept. of Homeland Security. (By the way Timothy McVeigh acted with 3 others- Terry Nichols, Michale Fortier and Fortier’s wife. They was angrty at the Government for Ruby Ridge and Waco.)

And while we did not turn into a totalitarian mess after WW II, we certainly came closer in the Bush years. If the GOP has its way, we will be.

And, please forgive the long post, but there’s a great letter to the editor in today’s Times right on point. But, NOOOOOOO, let’s prevent the woman on CNN from reading her book for the last hour of the flight, or the 12 year old kid from getting his iPod out of the overhead bin. Yeah, that’ll keep us safe because those two are really likely to blow up the plane!

“To the Editor:

What a surprise. Another terrorist gets through the Transportation Security Administration screening. How much longer do we have to put up with mindless and inadequate procedures before the T.S.A. recognizes that profiling, as practiced by the Israelis, really works?

The following are real questions asked of me by well-trained security personnel: Why are you going to Israel? A bar mitzvah? Your relationship? Where is it? What is the boy’s name? Parent’s name? Phone number? You’re going to a professional meeting? Who is the sponsor? May we see your invitation? Would you please wait while we disassemble your laptop and check for explosives?

This approach works.

Robert A. Myers
New York, Dec. 28, 2009”

exactly. we are busy holding up our moral superiority, while wading in a sea of despots and ideological thugs with no better reason to live than to bring us down.

Posted by: Legion at December 29, 2009 12:27 PM

Well put, Legion. And before the rest of you start harping on so called moral superiority and not lowering ourselves to their level, think back to 9/11

All this ranting about Nazis and fascists really doesn’t help your point.
All governements use coercion for security to some degree. Those that have had terrorist problems (UK, Spain, Israel, Italy & Germany in the 1970’s) have operated on the borderline of what is technically legal when combating them.
Americans (& I am one) need to stop being naive and pretending that they are ‘morally’ better than everyone as of right, when the US has always played by the same (sometime dirty) rules as everyone else. The Bush admin did not change that.