An article I submitted to NewsRealblog a couple of days ago was just published.  It’s an analysis piece on NPR’s “On Point with Tom Ashbook” broadcast this past Monday (11/16).  The segment was entitled “A 9/11 Trial in New York.”  Ashbrook’s first guest was a report for the Wall Street Journal who explained very matter-of-factly that the decision to prosecute KSM & Co. was purely political.  The two guests who joined afterward were former Judge Advocates General – one for the navy, and the other for the army.  They held views opposite to one another.  One of them was an idiot, a moron of the lowest order.  Read the article, and you’ll see what I mean.

I don’t know what’s worse – KSM and his cohorts being tried in NYC, or listening to leftist know-it-alls explain why sometimes 2 and 2 equal 5.  Because that’s what is going on here.  We’re expected to believe that turning our justice system upside down to accomodate a bunch of scumbag terrorists is somehow good for the country.  We’re just never told how, exactly. 

Lindsey Graham (R-SC) cross-examined a clueless and often rambling Eric Holder about his rationale behind the decision to prosecute KSM in civilian court.  The result is difficult to watch.  Holder is, after all, our nation’s Attorney General:

Holder comes across like a schoolboy who forgot his homework.  What an inept performance.  There was a pause of SEVEN SECONDS between Graham’s first question and Holder’s stammering response.  Did the media and blogosphere pick up on this and run with it the way they did with President Bush on 9/11?  No, of course not.  Leftists stick together. 

I’d like Holder to answer the questions posed by Frank Gafney, too:

Think that’ll happen anytime soon?  Not likely.

I’d really like to see Eric Holder and Rudi Guiliani in a courtroom DeathMatch.  Here’s what Rudi thinks about this KSM in NYC business:

These are very dangerous times, and that thin blue line between civilization and chaos has just been erased.

Frank J. Gaffney
Founder and President Center for Security Policy,
Washington, DCThe Center for Security Policy is a not-for-profit, non-partisan educational corporation established in 1988. Under Mr. Gaffney’s leadership, the Center has been nationally and internationally recognized as a resource for timely, informed and penetrating analyses of foreign and defense policy matters. Mr. Gaffney also contributes actively to these debates in his capacity as a columnist for the Washington Times and as a monthly contributor to Defense News and Investor’s Business Daily. He is a contributing editor to National Review Online and a columnist for American Spectator Online, WorldNetDaily.com and JewishWorldReview.com. He is a featured weekly contributor to Hugh Hewitt’s nationally syndicated radio program and appears frequently on national and international television and radio programs. In addition, his op-ed articles have appeared, among other places, in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New Republic, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, The Los Angeles Times, and Newsday.

In April 1987, Mr. Gaffney was nominated by President Reagan to become the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy, the senior position in the Defense Department with responsibility for policies involving nuclear forces, arms control and U.S.-European defense relations. He acted in that capacity for seven months during which time, he was the Chairman of the prestigious High Level Group, NATO’s senior politico-military committee. He also represented the Secretary of Defense in key U.S.-Soviet negotiations and ministerial meetings.

From August 1983 until November 1987, Mr. Gaffney was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Forces and Arms Control Policy under Assistant Secretary Richard Perle. From February 1981 to August 1983, Mr. Gaffney was a Professional Staff Member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, chaired by Senator John Tower (R-Texas). In the latter 1970′s, Mr. Gaffney served as an aide to the late Senator Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson (D-Washington) in the areas of defense and foreign policy.

Mr. Gaffney holds a Master of Arts degree in International Studies from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.

Mr. Gaffney was born in 1953 and resides in the Washington area.

by kathyshaidle

Good to know Attorney General Eric Holder has his priorities straight.

Last night, Sean Hannity of FOX News reported that a lengthy ethics investigation of former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson has been suddenly called off. Hannity cited an “anonymous source” who told reporters that the investigation “was killed in Washington.”

(Richardson, whom Hannity described as “a close ally of the Obama administration,” was up for the choice post of Commerce Secretary, until a federal grand jury began an investigation into a state contract awarded to one of Richardson’s major political donors.)

Instead, Holder has decided to focus his investigative powers elsewhere. As Joseph Klein wrote here August 25, Holder has appointed a “prosecutor to investigate alleged CIA interrogation abuses during the Bush administration. It is arguably one of the worst decisions to date of an already disastrous Obama administration. It chills effective intelligence-gathering as long as interrogators have to worry that everything they say and do may end up being used against them in a criminal trial.”

I feel safer already, don’t you?

Tuesday, August 25, 2009
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer

Obama Administration Declares War…On CIA

Behind the scenes at the White House a power struggle has been waged between CIA Director Leon Panetta and Attorney General Eric Holder regarding the prosecution of Bush-era CIA officials. Holder won, and has announced the appointment of special prosecutor John Durham to carry out the investigation.

Imagine working at the CIA and hearing yesterday that an investigation headed by the Attorney General of the United States would be targeting you and your co-workers. How many of these honorable men and women went home to their families last night and called a defense attorney for fear that they might be sent to prison? Even more disturbing is that Obama and Holder personally told CIA employees and members of Congress four months ago that no such prosecution would take place.  Once again the president lied to the American people and to the men and women who serve in our security agencies.  Here’s what Obama said then:

“You know, there have been some conversations that I’ve had with senior folks here at Langley, in which, I think, people have expressed understandable anxiety and concern. So I want to make a point that I just made in the smaller group. I understand that it’s hard when you are asked to protect the American people against people who have no scruples, and would willingly and gladly kill innocents. Al-Qaeda’s not constrained by a Constitution. Many of our adversaries are not constrained by a belief in freedom of speech or representation in court or rule of law. So don’t be discouraged by what’s happened in the last few weeks. Don’t be discouraged that we have to acknowledge potentially we’ve made some mistakes. That’s how we learn.”

In April, Eric Holder said, “It would be unfair to prosecute dedicated men and women working to protect America for conduct that was sanctioned in advance by the Justice Department.” Long Island Congressman Peter King, the ranking Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, responded to Holder’s sudden about-face, saying, “It’s disgraceful. You wonder which side they’re on. It’s a total breach of faith, and either the president is intentionally caving to the left wing of his party or he’s lost control of his administration.” 

•  Identities of 70 people capable attacking Western installations.
• Identities of participants planning possible Al-Qaeda anthrax attacks.
• Identities of the creators of the bomb used in the 2002 attack on a U.S. consulate in Pakistan.
• A plot to attack Camp Lemonier, a U.S. military base located in the nation of Djibouti in East Africa.

The report went on to say that “Detainee reporting has helped thwart a number of Al-Qaeda plots to attack targets in the West and elsewhere.” These plots included flying planes into buildings on the West Coast, setting off a series of bombs in U.S. cities and a plan to employ a network of Pakistanis with the capability of attacking railroad tracks, gas stations and the Brooklyn Bridge. The evidence shows that these interrogations were essential to ensuring the safety of the American people. But the Obama Administration disregards their effectiveness. It releases terror suspects while hoping to jail the people who protect us.

I believe Obama will regret this decision. The American people will not like seeing employees of an important agency like the CIA attacked and ridiculed for actions that protected our well-being. But, the ramifications of this decision are far-ranging. Some of our strongest allies in the “war on terror” are mentioned in these reports. Why would friendly governments want to help us again if we go against our word and release the details of confidential documents highlighting their role in intelligence gathering?

Prosecuting members of the CIA also will affect the recruitment and retention of dedicated patriots and professionals. People may be reluctant to work for the CIA if they feel they could be subject to partisan criminal prosecutions. Current members of the CIA will be much more cautious when dealing with detainees who know critical intelligence information. The Obama Administration’s decision puts innocent American lives at risk and makes another 9/11 more likely.