Since the day I took office, we have renewed our focus on the terrorists who threaten our nation. We have made substantial investments in our homeland security and disrupted plots that threatened to take American lives. We are filling unacceptable gaps revealed by the failed Christmas attack, with better airline security, and swifter action on our intelligence. We have prohibited torture and strengthened partnerships from the Pacific to South Asia to the Arabian Peninsula. And in the last year, hundreds of Al Qaeda's fighters and affiliates, including many senior leaders, have been captured or killed - far more than in 2008. We had a strong focus on national security from 9/11 to 1/20/09, Barack. It seems that your administration let its eye drift, and that's one reason why we had the almost-successful Undie-Bomber.
To be fair, George Bush didn't come to Washington with a strong anti-terrorist program. But on 9/11 he learned what it meant not to be paying attention to those who mean to kill Americans. Can you learn that as well, Barack? It doesn't seem to be the case so far, since this one line about the 'failed Christmas attack' is all you say about terrorists coming to the US.
Will your administration treat captured terrorists as terrorists, and if not, why not? Why is it better to try KSM in a courtroom in New York? What's going to happen to the remaining terrorists in Guantanamo? We're all for better intelligence -- will you re-erect the walls that kept the CIA and FBI from cooperating? And are you collecting any heads over the Christmas attack? Nothing gets a bureaucracy's attention like firing a few folks at the top. Do you have the courage to do that? |
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