History Lesson

Many who are now claiming that the United States overreacted are forgetting their own sense of panic. We are all calm and collected nine years after.

At the root of all of this was a profound lack of understanding of al Qaeda, particularly its capabilities and intentions. Since we did not know what was possible, our only prudent course was to prepare for the worst. That is what the Bush administration did. Nothing symbolized this more than the fear that al Qaeda had acquired nuclear weapons and that they would use them against the United States. The evidence was minimal, but the consequences would be overwhelming. Bush crafted a strategy based on the worst-case scenario.

Bush was the victim of a decade of failure in the intelligence community to understand what al Qaeda was and wasn’t. I am not merely talking about the failure to predict the 9/11 attack. Regardless of assertions afterwards, the intelligence community provided only vague warnings that lacked the kind of specificity that makes for actionable intelligence.

”9/11 and the 9-Year War” is republished with permission of STRATFOR.
"www.stratfor.com/weekly/20100907_911_and9_year_war

Screeching Halt
They still have their largest majority in decades, but the Democrats have succumbed to paralysis in the closing days of the legislative session. Congress has yet to pass a budget or a single one of the annual spending bills. Plans to spur the economy with tax cuts await action. Senate Democrats, faced with a GOP filibuster, have now punted on immigration reform and repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military. Meanwhile, House Democrats have so little on their schedule that their first vote of the week is coming at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, when Americans are most of the way through their workweeks. (Dana Milbank, Washington Post, 9/22/10)

Perhaps the reason that Dems are not acting is they have finally realized that the American public is outraged about what they have done!

GaGa on this
But the issue in the law is whether persons who engage in homosexual conduct have a “right” to serve in the military in the first place. The answer is no, for a simple reason: there is no constitutional right to serve in the military. Military service is always a privilege (and sometimes an obligation), but it is never a “right.” The military has eligibility and behavioral standards which serve its needs, not a social agenda. (Peter Sprigg, Townhall.com, 9/21/10)