Bush Terror Strategy Working
By Jon E. Dougherty (05/04/05)
Liberal Democrats and their potential 2008 presidential contenders may be loathe to admit it, but President Bush's war against terror is a resounding success and, based on the most current intelligence assessments – intelligence that has come some way toward improving since Sept. 11, 2001 – the U.S. now faces its lowest threat level in years. That's no small improvement.
The Washington Post reported this week "the intelligence community's daily threat assessment, developed after the terrorist attacks to keep policymakers informed, currently lists, on average, 25 to 50 percent fewer threats against domestic targets than it typically did over the past two years," according to senior officials who spoke to the paper. Analysts and counterterrorism experts say enhanced U.S. security measures have forced al Qaeda operatives and other potential terror groups to focus on attacking Americans overseas instead – and particularly in Iraq – the Post reported.
Speaking of Iraq, U.S. military commanders report attacks aimed at American troops have fallen off dramatically since their peak before Iraq's elections Jan. 30. So not only is the administration winning the war on terror here at home, it's winning the war overseas as well.
As an aside, the more successful the U.S. is overseas, the faster the people of Iraq and Afghanistan will experience freedom from tyranny. And, as insurgents grind up their own people, the world is seeing first-hand how brutal they really are, which may be hurting the cause of all groups who resort to terrorism as a means to affect change, other analysts have suggested.
The Bush administration gets the kudos for all of this.
Eternal pessimists and the overtly political will say these accomplishments are meaningless, since the terror threat still exists. But common sense and any reasonable measure of performance will tell you that yes, while threats will always exist, the fact that America hasn't been attacked domestically since 9/11 is in and of itself a huge success story. While that could change any day, the thing to remember is that today – right now – intelligence analysts believe that possibility is becoming more remote. That is great news for Americans and a true mark of Mr. Bush's success.
"We are breathing easier," admitted U.S. Capitol Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer, whose officers guard one of al Qaeda's professed targets.
"The imminence of a threat seems to have diminished. We're just not as worried as we were a year ago, but we certainly are as vigilant," he told the Post.
John O. Brennan, acting director of the National Counterterrorism Center, agreed with Gainer. "Progress has been made," he said.
Mr. Bush's national security team, of course, must share the credit for these improvements. Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and former National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, have all contributed to making Americans safer, though each has been heavily maligned by Democrats and pacifists who think national security is something to be negotiated, not defended.
The past few years have not been without some anxious moments. The Bush administration has warned on a number of occasions the potential for new attacks existed, based on "credible" information reportedly gleaned from terrorist captives and other sources.
But none of them have materialized. Today, al Qaeda's network is broken and scattered. There are awakenings of democracy throughout the Middle East. Saddam Hussein is in jail. Osama bin Laden is running.
"Could what happened with the 9/11 operators in the pre-event stage happen today and nobody pick up on it? No, I don't think so," Cathy Lanier, head of special operations for the D.C. Police Department, told the Post. "If they went through the same surveillance practices, forged documents, they would be picked up somehow. Along the line, there would be red flags, and I would say there is probably a good chance the red flags would have come through the public and not law enforcement or other sources."
Those who have slandered President Bush's successful efforts to keep America safe after suffering its most devastating attack owe him a big apology and a huge thank you. Who among them will be the first to do so?
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