The Underwear Bomber
January 10th, 2010
Inspired by The Twisted and Dangerous Republican Record on Terrorism (Huffington Post 1/07/10), this collection of stories on The Daily Beast, State Department Missed Underwear Bomber’s Visa Due to Spelling Mistake (Disinformation.com 1/10/10), and all those right wingers out there criticizing Obama for his response to the Underwear Bomber. Republicans are up in arms that it took Obama three days to make a public statement about the underwear bomber – never mind that it took Bush six days to make a statement about shoe bomber Richard Reich. The Far Right (led by Sarah Palin and Michael Steele) is also apoplectic that the underwear bomber is to be tried by the US criminal justice system, in spite of the fact that both Reich and Jose Padilla were treated identically by George Bush. For more, watch the video clips below from the Daily Show, Keith Olbermann, and the Colbert Report, in particular Countdown’s 1/08/10 report (with Lawrence O’Donnell filling in for Keith), which really says it all.
A big systemic failure, as President Obama said.
Luckily the bomb didn’t go off, or hundreds would be dead.
The problem was not in the intelligence collection
But in the crucial area of dot connection.
So since the system is the problem,
Republicans say Obama must be to blame,
(I guess since he’s the one who set it up
After he into office came.)
Oh, wait – the current system is still the Bush-Cheney one,
But it’s still Obama’s fault, right, because of all the changes that he’s done.
He hasn’t changed that much, you say? Well then that’s his fault too.
He’s been in office for 10 whole months–plenty of time, a major overhaul to do.
After all, it’s not like Bush-Cheney’s reorganization of homeland security after 9-11
Took years and years, right? (Actually, it took seven.)
OK, but shouldn’t Obama have been able to do it faster?
I’m sure another reorg could have avoided this near disaster!
Some intelligence officials think Bush-Cheney’s reorg made things worse,
But all good conservatives naturally believe the reverse.
Saying Bush’s system was good but Obama still should have changed it may be inconsistent,
But hopefully people won’t notice that if we’re very, very insistent.
So maybe the Obamaphiles are right about that, but look at the pre-Xmas warning signs.
They were all so obvious (in retrospect) if the Administration just read between the lines.
Why, the Underwear Bomber was even predicted by the Daily Show!
(If you don’t believe me, watch the video below.)
To compare this to 9-11 is idiotic.
After, back then criticism of the President was unpatriotic.
And there weren’t any warnings about 9-11
(Unless you count the briefings on August 6 and 7).
Ah, but that means the intelligence gathering prior to 9-11 was good,
And just human error kept clear warnings from being heeded as they should.
(Human error by someone who didn’t have a clue.
Human error by… George Bush II.)
Bush was on vacation then, so an intelligence agent made a special trip
To personally brief Bush so the “Bin Laden determined to strike in US” message wouldn’t slip.
But George Bush was busy with important things, so we should give him a pass
(After the agent briefed him, Bush said “All right, you’ve covered your ass.”)
All that doesn’t matter, because Obama’s failure was much greater.
It took him three whole days to make a public statement (that traitor!).
(Never mind that it took Bush six days after the shoe bomber to come up with a quote,
And that his immediate response to 9-11 was to continue reading My Pet Goat.)
It took the Obama Administration almost 2 weeks to complete it’s review of the security failing,
Which completely justifies the Far Right’s railing.
Why, it only took 34 months to complete and publish the 9-11 report.
(Not a very convincing conservative retort.)
Obama said the buck stopped with him and took ultimate responsibility,
Which Bush never did for 9-11 (unfortunately).
Doesn’t that prove that the underwear bomber was Obama’s error,
And 9-11 wasn’t just Bush being incompetent on terror?
But what about State Department spelling mistakes?
Is one wrong letter all that it takes?
Heads should roll for a mistake so galling.
That someone would spell Umar Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab wrong is just appalling.
This clearly let’s George off the hook for his 9-11 human error
So now we can blame both Obama and Hilary (after all, that’s much fairer).
But more important than exactly what we blame Obama for
Is the fact that we keep criticizing him more and more.
Enter Giuliani, who brought up something else Libs can’t deny
(George Stephanopoulos didn’t even try):
After 9-11, Bush protected America from all terrorist attacks,
While Obama in doing so has been woefully lax.
Worst of all, the underwear bomber will be tried in a US court and given rights
(The kind of thing that keeps teabaggers up nights).
Obama for that miscarriage of injustice surely is to blame
(Never mind that Bush with Richard Reich and Jose Padilla did the same).
***
Here’s the Daily Show 1/04/10 clip.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Terror 2.0 by Yemen | ||||
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Here’s Keith Olbermann 1/05/10 report.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Here’s a Daily Show guest’s 2006 prediction about the Underwear Bomber.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Moment of Zen – Calvin Trillin’s Prediction | ||||
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Here’s Keith on 1/06/10 refuting the criticism by Republican Rep. Peter King (and others) that Obama doesn’t say the word “terror” enough.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Here’s Keith again on 1/07/10.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Here’s Stephen Colbert’s 1/07/10 report.
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Failure to Connect the Dots | ||||
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Here’s Countdown’s report from 1/08/10, with Lawrence O’Donnell filling in for Keith.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Sphere: Related Content
Tags: National security, Obama, Republicans, Terrorism
Posted in
Bush Administration, National Security, Republicans |
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