WH: 'Our Critics Are Helping Al Qaeda. Terrorists Are Not 100 Ft Tall'
In an oped in USA Today, John Brennan -- Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism -- responds to critics of the Obama administration's counterterrorism policies by saying "Politically motivated criticism and unfounded fear-mongering only serve the goals of al-Qaeda."
Brennan writes that, "Terrorists are not 100-feet tall. Nor do they deserve the abject fear they seek to instill."
In the oped, titled "'We need no lectures': Administration disrupts terrorists’ plots, takes fight to them abroad," Brennan writes that politics "should never get in the way of national security. But too many in Washington are now misrepresenting the facts to score political points, instead of coming together to keep us safe."
The administration op-ed is in response to a USA Today editorial entitled "National security team fails to inspire confidence; Officials’ handling of Christmas Day attack looks like amateur hour."
Brennan provides a detailed defense of the administration's handling of failed Christmas Day bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab whom, he says, was "thoroughly interrogated and provided important information."
He suggests that many critics are hypocritical and clueless.
The most important breakthrough in the interrogation occurred "after Abdulmutallab was read his rights, which the FBI made standard policy under Michael Mukasey, President Bush's attorney general," he writes, noting that failed shoe bomber Richard Reid "was read his Miranda rights five minutes after being taken off a plane he tried to blow up. The same people who criticize the president today were silent back then."
Brennan said anyone who wants to change the policy would be casting aside lessons learned "in waging this war" on extremists.
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Revolt Stop The Dictators
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Revolt Stop The Dictators
JOIN US TODAY*****FIGHT BACK ******STOP THE LIBERAL AGENDA!
*** PLEASE JOIN US TODAY!
*************Tired of being called names by obama & the liberals
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***
Never before have we had a president that is so dis-respectful!
He has no respect for the american people or our american values!
Its clear that obama & the liberals he represents are anti_god,
anti-christian & anti-america ! Obama does not even respect the
supreme court! JOIN US TODAY**LOBBY FOR WHAT IS RIGHT
GO TO http://stormlobby.50webs.com/index.html
***
ACORN is obamas army! Acorn has 1 million paid employees nation
wide! Acorn is supported by your tax dollers,ACORN MUST BE STOPED!
GOV JAY NIXON OF MISSOURI is firing state employees & replaceing them
with americorps people which is backed by acorn! Gov offices are
now being maned by acorn! FIGHT BACK NOW SERVE AMERICA JOIN US AT
http://stormlobby.50webs.com/index.html
***
We can no longer allow the liberals to take over the private sector
we must stop the liberal attacked on the american people & their values
you can help stop them! WE NEED YOUR HELP ! LOBBY CONGRESS FOR WHAT YOU
KNOW IS RIGHT! GO TO http://stormlobby.50webs.com/index.html !!!
Jeff-In-SC
What makes terrorism different than murder? Terrorism's purpose is to cause terror and influence people to do stuff. So when you right-wingers say people should be wiretapped, indefinitely interned, tortured, not be given Miranda rights, invade every country that looks at us wrong... you are helping the terrorists.
Mike in Bogota
Jeff-In SC,
Have you ever served a day of your life in the military? Have you ever taken the personal risks to place your life in harms way for your country? Have you risked your life for American freedom in a foreign country?
I already know the answer - of course you haven't. If you had, you might know something about the nature of the threat - and the difference which terrorism poses.
Thanks OK - maintain your blissful ignorance. But, do the rest of us a favor, and forfeit your unqualified opinions on the subject!
Kari
Wow! We the people are responsible for so much that is wrong with our country you'd think we didn't have a single elected or his appointed telling us what to think and do.
Of course they have a number of acceptable civilian losses for a terrorist attack and our military is voluntary, if somewhat disrespected. They have set their number at 0. Huh.
sigmaalpha
But our enemies are still much smarter that the idiot butkisser Brennan.
Cav03
If he was so on the ball about the war on terrorism how was it that a 23 year old who was reported by his father was able to gety on a plane and almost blow it up? It sure wasn't this administration that stopped him now was it? So tell me again how you are protecting us?
gold2512
how did this become my fault??
so mean spirited-
Garry
And what tell were the the Dem"s doing during the Bush years by all their criticism of the Iraq War? How many of the Liberal papers couldn't wait to publish anything that would put the Bush Administration in a bad light even if it gave information to the enemy? Don't even try to shift the blame buddy. The shoe fits you very well.
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***
Never before have we had a president that is so dis-respectful!
He has no respect for the american people or our american values!
Its clear that obama & the liberals he represents are anti_god,
anti-christian & anti-america ! Obama does not even respect the
supreme court! JOIN US TODAY**LOBBY FOR WHAT IS RIGHT
GO TO http://stormlobby.50webs.com/index.html
***
ACORN is obamas army! Acorn has 1 million paid employees nation
wide! Acorn is supported by your tax dollers,ACORN MUST BE STOPED!
GOV JAY NIXON OF MISSOURI is firing state employees & replaceing them
with americorps people which is backed by acorn! Gov offices are
now being maned by acorn! FIGHT BACK NOW SERVE AMERICA JOIN US AT
http://stormlobby.50webs.com/index.html
***
We can no longer allow the liberals to take over the private sector
we must stop the liberal attacks on the american people & their values
you can help stop them! WE NEED YOUR HELP ! LOBBY CONGRESS FOR WHAT YOU
KNOW IS RIGHT! GO TO http://stormlobby.50webs.com/index.html !
Revolt Stop The Dictators
I DO NOT AGREE! ( I AM NOT HELPING THE WHITE HOUSE)
*
JOIN US TODAY*****FIGHT BACK ******STOP THE LIBERAL AGENDA!
*** PLEASE JOIN US TODAY!
*************Tired of being called names by obama & the liberals
in congress! JOIN OUR CONSERVATIVE SOCIAL NETWORK & CONTACT CONGRESS
Join at http://stormlobby.50webs.com/index.html Sign up today!
***
Never before have we had a president that is so dis-respectful!
He has no respect for the american people or our american values!
Its clear that obama & the liberals he represents are anti_god,
anti-christian & anti-america ! Obama does not even respect the
supreme court! JOIN US TODAY**LOBBY FOR WHAT IS RIGHT
GO TO http://stormlobby.50webs.com/index.html
***
ACORN is obamas army! Acorn has 1 million paid employees nation
wide! Acorn is supported by your tax dollers,ACORN MUST BE STOPED!
GOV JAY NIXON OF MISSOURI is firing state employees & replaceing them
with americorps people which is backed by acorn! Gov offices are
now being maned by acorn! FIGHT BACK NOW SERVE AMERICA JOIN US AT
http://stormlobby.50webs.com/index.html
***
We can no longer allow the liberals to take over the private sector
we must stop the liberal attacks on the american people & their values
you can help stop them! WE NEED YOUR HELP ! LOBBY CONGRESS FOR WHAT YOU
KNOW IS RIGHT! GO TO http://stormlobby.50webs.com/index.html !
MSG
RESPONSE BACK TO THE WH.................you are the terrorist!!!!!!!!!!
Survival of the Self Sufficient
This is not about make nicey nice with the animals and they will love us . Well it is for the Oblunderites . Its about survival , living and breathing , survival of the ones still living when the dust settles . Not who loves who . My God wake up
Survival of the Self Sufficient
Not a 100 ft tall . mmm yeah your right Oblunder , But they were tall enough to bring down two 1000 FT towers and 3000 lives
Captcfiman
Is this the part where Brennan dons the 'Ruby Slippers' and starts clicking the heels ?
momofahero
He would change his tune at the sight of his wife and children about to be... I can't even print what I was thinking. What a moron. We're in deep 'you know what'. God, please help us and protect our nation.
Democrats (commies) are the Enemy
As usual Obama and the Democrats (commies) noy only got it wrong but they refuse to take the blame for their own incompetence. The sooner they are out the better for America.
ONE
BIG
AWFUL
MISTAKE
AMERICA
Jim Leonard in California, Maryland
Brennan - what a butt-smooching moron... Poster child for the Peter Principle. Obama and his team are the best friend terrorists ever had.
SABINE
DIDN'T THEY BLAST BUSH/CHENEY FOR "FEAR MONGERING"? DIDN'T THEY SAY THAT IT WAS ALL POLITICAL? DIDN'T BUSH/CHENEY SAY THAT THEY WERE "BRINGING THE FIGHT TO THE TERRORISTS"?!
Keltic1
Bush said that too. lol Tweedledee & Tweedledum.
Speaking up
Our twit of a president is vocal about not supporting the Iraq surge, but his personal assistant "suggests that many critics are hypocritical and clueless."
BWAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.......
.
Brennan - what a sycophant. Kiss it!!! Not too far to the left, not too far to the right, but directly in the center!
Speaking up
Yeah un-huh....
.
But Barry was vocal about not wanting the surge in Iraq - EVEN though he wasn't in the Senate at the time.
P. O. S.
What's the problem Barry - can't deal with the same heat you put out there !?!
LOSER !!!!!
real American
hobbes, GWB was abused by unpatriotic soclialist dems from the day he won both elections, now patriots are speaking out against unAmerican ideas
Hobbes
Criticism of the president was unpatriotic when Bush was president, but it is de rigueur for patriots now. Hypocrites!
diverdown
2003: Dissent is patriotic!
2010: Dissent is un-American!
Hypocritical much?
Post Tenebras Lux
What is not a trap with this snake in the grass? For instance, did anyone know about the newly selected Council of Governors? On 2/4/10, Governor Jay Nixon of Missouri was selected to serve on an advisory council for defense and national security issues. Think this is a good thing? You decide. Go to www.chuckbaldwinlive.com and read about it.
annieoakley
This man and Janet both need to go. Neither know what the hell they're doing and when they speak, it's telling and frightening.
Piglet-U93
Actually the WH (Obama) is aiding the Islamists by the HIS restrictive Rules Of Engagement (ROE). This WH complaint is a distraction and pure BS.
Recon
duh, our Nat'l. Security has been weakened beyond imagination.
DS
And yet, if not for a faulty trigger device, 300 American citizens would have fallen 30,000 ft out of the sky. Stop belittling the seriousness of these 'confused young folks' who strap bombs to themselves. Wake up Obobo........1 successful attack, and YOU R TOAST!
Da RueStir
I believe we and Israel should not wait for the Iranian suprise Feb. 11.
A preemptive strike would should be a "punch in the nose" that they will never forget.
Da RueStir
Brennan writes that, "Terrorists are not 100-feet tall. Nor do they deserve the abject fear they seek to instill."
Just wait until a "lone wolf" terroist" sets of a nuclear bomb in New York, will it be time to fear them then?
5LitreCat
Somebody please tell this ignorant butt-wipe that you don't even have to be 6' tall to fly a high-jacked airliner through a building. We criticize the Obama administration because Barry is a yellow coward, and because people like Brennan are bobble-heads.
PATRIOT ARMS
tuck - You and I may disagree on some of these matters. And after months of listening to the left rail, slash and burn I am fed up. So I typically will just cut to the chase. I tried having conversations, legitimate, but it always ended with "racism, radical, redneck, right wing christian extremist". So I don't make excuses fro myself when I resort to the same tactic. If I get slapped, I don't turn the other cheek. I am here and ready to do battle. Thanks for your relative decency in presenting your position.
Tuck Rule
I hear you. I totally understand how you feel. Looking at it from my side, I grew tired of being told that liberals hate America and the troops just because they criticized Bush, so I too feel like resorting to the same tactic when someone criticizes Obama (even though there are plenty of things I disagree with him on). It is unfortunate that you are immediately labeled by some libs, and I feel the same way in reverse. That is the problem with our political dialogue today. It has become too polarized and everyone tries to demonize anyone who disagrees with them.
Da RueStir
So.. when the libtards were calling GB an idiot and claming that the war in Iraq and Afghanistan are wrong, that was'nt helping terrorist? Hippocrites!
Tuck Rule
@ DESTROY THE LEFT
Fair enough. Perhaps you weren't one of the people I was referring to, but trust me, there were plenty. I acknowledge that not everyone is cut from the same cloth, but that was the loudest message coming from the right during the Bush years, especially on Fox. I agree with Brennan, and I thought the same was true regarding some of the comments coming from the left during the Iraq war. It is fine to criticize but the criticism needs to be consistent and based in reality, which sadly is not always the case from either side of the aisle.
PATRIOT ARMS
tuck - one of my replies is lost in the ethernet. Let me be polite. There is no way that Bush would have called for a trial for KSM in NYC. But if it has to happen, I am hopeful NYC gets to keep it. That way, they can taste the true fruits of liberalism. Second, Bush may have desired to close GITMO, but they didn't take on the task, and look at the problems Obama is encountering. Sure, say he was weak because he didn't "try". But he didn't try to treat terrorists, enemy combatants like criminals. Obama will eventually have to bring these terrorists to the US, and although a few people would welcome the "business" it brings, the Congress is refusing to fund it. So, back to the subject. This man Brennan is towing the line preached by the administration and the majority of the people and Congress, don't want to hear it. It's BS.
Tuck Rule
I'm not sure what you mean by "the true fruits of liberalism". Frankly, I don't care if it's a criminal trial or a military commission as long as KSM gets executed. But I don't agree that our justice system can't handle it or that it makes us weaker as a country if he is given a criminal trial. And I disagree with you that Bush didn't treat terrorists like criminals. He tried hundreds of terrorists in criminal court and no one on your side said a word. My biggest problem with this entire debate is that there are only a few things that Obama has done different than Bush, but the right is up in arms acting like Obama has already surrendered to the terrorists.
PATRIOT ARMS
tuck - one of my replies is lost in the ethernet. Let me be polite. There is no way that Bush would have called for a trial for KSM in NYC. But if it has to happen, I am hopeful NYC gets to keep it. That way, they can taste the true fruits of liberalism. Second, Bush may have desired to close GITMO, but they didn't take on the task, and look at the problems Obama is encountering. Sure, say he was weak because he didn't "try". But he didn't try to treat terrorists, enemy combatants like criminals. Obama will eventually have to bring these terrorists to the US, and although a few people would welcome the "business" it brings, the Congress is refusing to fund it. So, back to the subject. This man Brennan is towing the line preached by the administration and the majority of the people and Congress, don't want to hear it. It's BS.
Tuck Rule
@ Da Pitbull
Let me try to say this slower so you can understand. There is nothing wrong with criticism of the President. I happen to disagree with your criticism but you haven't heard me say you love America any less than I do. That is the hypcorisy I am talking about. You people claimed all liberals hated America and the troops if we disagreed with George Bush. If any liberals are saying that about you now I would say they are just as misguided as you were during the Bush years.
B.O.H.I.C.A.
You clowns in the WH just don't get it - has any one of you ever been in the military ? If ya had you might just get it a little bit who it is we are fighting and what they stand for .....................
PATRIOT ARMS
tuck - I didn't scream anything for eight years. I gave up on Bush in the second term. Get it together man, we are not all cut out of the same cloth. OK?
@Tuck Rule
For eight years we heard from the left that criticizing the President was dissent -- that it was your patriotic duty to do so! Now that criticism is now being thrown back at you, you call it "obstructionism" and hypocrisy! Amazing! Unbelievable!
Tuck Rule
@ DESTROY THE LEFT
O.k. then, let's look at the message. It's the same message you all were screaming for 8 years. You guys demonized anyone who disagreed with the Iraq war and called them America-hating traitors who hated the troops and you wanted them tried for treason. But now suddenly you are just exercising your free speech as a patriotic American when you disagree with the President. It is stunning that you can criticize Brennan for literally saying the exact same thing you said for 8 years.
Taipan
It isn't the height of the terrorists that bothers us: It is their underwear that gets our attention.
Tuck Rule
@ spinfree
Please elaborate on what security measures Obama has dismantled. If you are talking about reading terrorists their Miranda rights, Bush did that too. If you are talking about giving them criminal trials, Bush did that too. If you are talking about closing Gitmo, Bush wanted to close Gitmo too. My point isn't to blame Bush, it is to show you that Obama hasn't really changed much at all from the Bush administration. But that doesn't stop you all from spewing your pre-conceived narrative.
spinfree
You are like President Obama. Stop talking about Bush. Obama the job is yours now, stop blaming everyone else and DO IT!!!
Tuck Rule
I am only talking about Bush to show your hypocrisy. I am not blaming him for anything. If you would take your blinders off you would see that I am agreeing with Bush. I'm just asking why none of you were whining that Bush was making us weaker when he was doing the same things as Obama.
PATRIOT ARMS
@USMCSemperFi - When a person "tows the line" we question the line, not the messenger. Can you understand, we aren't shooting the messenger, it's the message he's delivering. Please, don't come back with a rebuttal, you will waste your time and ours.