For today’s rant I turn to that which I have written in the past to make my point pursuant to situations that exist today. On August 8, 2011 I wrote “We Shouldn’t Know About Them.” It follows below:
I’m saddened by the special-ops loss in the Chinook crash. I once again present my belief that the mountains they were shot down in should be turned into liquid glass. But beyond my unapologetic hawkishness, I have an opinion on the wall-to-wall talk about SEAL Team 6 being on board.
My opinion is this: We shouldn’t have known that. We should not know that ST6 exists. They should be phantoms who are rarely seen, and when they are it should be by the enemy as they gasp their last breath. Anonymity is the cloak that has served them well, but thanks to those who are without character, honor or patriotism – who live to seize upon the accomplishment of others – ST6 has been placed in the crosshairs of every discussion by those who seek to destroy us.
Fear of the myth made the world their home-court advantage. But like those who wear team athletic gear to look cool or seem like they’re part of a team, Obama, Biden and the media used ST6 heroism to score political points and ratings bumps. In the process, they’ve not just jeopardized these troops – but also their homes, their families and their bases. Obama used them in an attempt to validate himself as a man and leader. And, a complicit media with a vice president who epitomizes the failure of voters to exercise said right wisely, publicized to the world, the names of those SEALs responsible for taking out Osama bin Laden.
A bit of reality here. Do you remember Valerie Plame, the CIA “pretend to be?” Do you remember the shrill cries by liberals and media who wanted the head of everyone from Karl Rove to Scooter Libby to Richard Armitage for supposedly outing her as a wannabe CIA operative – when, in fact, she had been outed by her husband and herself long before?
But in the case of true heroes, Obama, the media and a clueless Joe Biden made it a point to bathe in the accomplishment of ST6. In so doing, they shined the light of exposure and information gathering on a special unit, whose strength was not just in their skill, but in the secret of their existence.
We had no business knowing they exist. Their glory should be in knowing that they serve silently, secretly, and lethally. They should carry out their tour of service in complete anonymity. There’s a reason spies don’t wear nametags – it’s because it endangers them. And the fact that we have heard a steady drone about the tragic loss of ST6 special ops in a helicopter crash, along with soldier photos, interviews with their families, etc., puts them all at risk.
The media aren’t blathering on about them because they care. They’re doing it for ratings. Obama used their heroism to elevate his nothingness. And Biden, in typical Biden fashion, made sure the world knew whatever he knew.
I salute those brave heroes, and I’m saddened by their loss. These are brave men. One doesn’t become a member of that team without being an extraordinary warrior. That said, with few exceptions, every member of our military is a hero. It’s just that the heroism of some in our military is best applauded by our not knowing who they are or what they do.
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Obama reminds me of a friend I had growing up. He always wanted to be the one recognized as the center of attention. He always wanted to be the one who was recognized as the star of whatever it was we were involved in. He would never go out alone, and he would become sarcastic and brooding whenever anyone didn’t agree with him. Which pretty much meant he was always upset with me. Sounds like Obama doesn’t it?
I recall one day in particular. It was a Saturday morning and he had come over to show off the money he had gotten for his birthday. I can still see him standing in our kitchen telling me to look at all the money he had. It was his shining moment, thinking he had something I didn’t. But the point I want to make is what my mother did. As casually and eloquently as I’ve seen it done anytime since, she took the wind out of his sails, and ended his “look at me, I’m important.” She turned to us, as she was toweling her hands at the sink, and said: “Jasper (not his real name), how much money do you have?”
Every liter of air evaporated from the room in nano-seconds as the blood in Jasper’s face drained to his feet. You see, she addressed what I never considered: Jasper didn’t know how to count money. He had a handful of change, but he had no idea how much change he had.
Obama is like Jasper. He’s busy doing his toothy simian chest thumping, and trying to convince the electorate of his wartime savvy. He’s even enlisted the aid of Bill Clinton to help him drive the point home. Here is the truth, and the reason Obama’s having Clinton shill for him in the bin Laden take-down is a shameful disgrace. The following are excerpts from the book “Losing Bin Laden” written by my very good friend and colleague Richard Miniter:
Sudan was serious about taking action against bin Laden. . . His terrorist activities had isolated Sudan from the United States and much of the developed world. Sudan’s internal politics were moving against the terror master, too. President Bashir was in the midst of a power struggle against Hassan al-Turabi, the Islamist leader. Bin Laden supported Turabi with cash and a potential armed cadre of Muslim militants. If Bashir could rid himself of bin Laden, he could simultaneously restart Sudan’s relationship with the United States and vanquish his chief internal political rival.
Sudan’s files on bin Laden and his network were extensive. Sudan had dossiers on all of bin Laden’s financial transactions, every fax he sent (the Mukhabarat had even bugged his fax machines), and every one of bin Laden’s terrorist associates and his dubious visitors. If Sudan’s surveillance was as good as Erwa claimed, bin Laden’s entire global terrorist network would be laid bare. And the CIA would be able to track the movements of his foot soldiers and lieutenants across the Middle East.
Over the next few months and years, Sudan would repeatedly try to provide its voluminous intelligence files on bin Laden to the CIA, the FBI, and senior Clinton Administration officials — and would be repeatedly rebuffed through both formal and informal channels. This was one of the greatest intelligence failures of the Clinton years — the result of orders that came from the Clinton White House.
As the Clinton Administration was weighing whether to seize bin Laden or take the opportunity to obtain valuable intelligence on his global network, the CIA’s own intelligence on bin Laden was shockingly poor.
Human intelligence on al-Qaeda was virtually nonexistent. Washington Times investigative reporter Bill Gertz uncovered a memo written only a few months after Sudan offered its intelligence on bin Laden. The July 1, 1996, CIA memo was marked “TOP SECRET UMBRA,” meaning only the case officers, analysts, and officials specifically cleared to read the documents marked “UMBRA” could have access to this sensitive document. The July 1996 memo reveals how ignorant America was about its emerging nemesis. “We have no unilateral sources close to bin Laden, nor any reliable way of intercepting his communications,” the report said. “We must rely on foreign intelligence services to confirm his movements and activities.”
This frank report reveals that as early as 1996 — five years before the September 11 attacks — the CIA and other senior policymakers knew about bin Laden-related intelligence failures. When it came to rectifying the cause of these failures, however, little was done.
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Here is the hard truth. Clinton is singularly responsible for every American that has died because of bin Laden. Members of Seal Team 6 died because of Clinton. For Obama to now use Clinton to help make the case for him being some sort of “heroine” for giving the orders to take bin Laden down is beneath contempt. Add to that the ongoing accounts that Obama wasn’t even able to make the decision to take bin Laden down; many respected sources still assign the credit to Leon Panetta.
If Obama were a man and a leader he wouldn’t need to use the blood of others to paint himself as worthy of reelection. He and Clinton deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence, but they don’t deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence with Seal Team 6. They should be mentioned together in a sentence that references them being impeached and indicted for crimes against America and her people.
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