Andrew C McCarthy, former U.S. Attorney for the southern district of New York, responds to a request from AG Eric Holder for his participation in a task force on detention policies–a request which McCarthy (who led the terrorism prosecution against Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and eleven others in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing) chose to decline. Here’s why:
I admire the lawyers of the Counterterrorism Division, and I do not question their good faith. Nevertheless, it is quite clear—most recently, from your provocative remarks on Wednesday in Germany—that the Obama administration has already settled on a policy of releasing trained jihadists (including releasing some of them into the United States). Whatever the good intentions of the organizers, the meeting will obviously be used by the administration to claim that its policy was arrived at in consultation with current and former government officials experienced in terrorism cases and national security issues. I deeply disagree with this policy, which I believe is a violation of federal law and a betrayal of the president’s first obligation to protect the American people. Under the circumstances, I think the better course is to register my dissent, rather than be used as a prop.
For those who don’t remember just what a serious matter the fight against terrorism is, here’s a reminder.
Good link.
How did we ever elect this midget?
I remember reading back before the Iraq war (2003) started about an exiled (Greek Orthodox?) Christian Iraqi from Japan who went back to Iraq as part of a human shield/peace delegation only to encounter a Christian community in Iraq angry with him for interfering. It seems they wanted the US to overthrow the Saddamite government even though they knew it would involve thousands of innocent civilian deaths; to them, the trade-off was worth it in order to get rid of the Husseins.
I think it’s safe to say that with control of both the White House and Congress over the last few months, the Democrats have pretty much demonstrated a complete lack of interest in any type of political fair dealing or public debate over policy, instead opting for a strategy of using raw power to ram their agenda through the system as fast as they possibley can, regardless of anything else.
As a result, I’m starting to feel like those Iraqi Christians. If this administration releases Guantanamo detainees into the US and one of them hurts someone, the Democrats will be finished in American politics for at least a generation. No spin, no teleprompted speech will be able to mitigate the rage of the electorate, and nothing would be able to change the fact that they did it to themselves. In the end, far more lives and are at stake as a result of the left’s economic illiteracy and foreign policy know-nothingism.
Obama has encouraged radical Islam to rearm and prepare for conflict again. By displaying his weakness and naive world view, he has encouraged young jihadis to join their cause. What better motivator to sign up would there be than a weak, naive, foolish adversary. Obama may have extended the war on terror by an entire generation.