Short Memories….



The Fourth of July is a celebration of freedoms--ours, and it is a reminder that nothing comes without a cost..



And that "cost" may have consequences.



Consider the fact that talking about freedom can get touchy inside the Beltway because it brings back unwanted memories of those who would take it away. And almost did.



It’s almost like the belief that if you ignore something long enough it will go away.



One thing that hasn’t gone away, however, as much as they may choose to ignore it is the leadership of Al Qaeda and the bin Laden of nine lives. And that is the penultimate thorn in the side of Bush-Cheney—especially considering that he was within their grasp and they didn’t allocate the 10th Mountain Division to finish the job because of the Pentagon’s big egos….



At that precise point, if I were running things, Rumsfeld the egoist would have been long gone and with cause.



Nonetheless, these panjandrums of self-importance believe by talking about how successful republicans have been at avoiding another 9/11, it’s a sure sign that Al Qaeda has been driven aground. Talk about wish fulfillment.



And with little else to point to, the inheritor of the Bush heritage, John McCain, has already made it one of the legs of his campaign.



If the White House’s hypothesis, however, were shown to be false, let’s face it: McCain’s campaign would fall apart like a house of cards.



Instead, our protective services go around proud as punch with their chests thrown out. Why? Because they will be quick to tell you that we have avoided the fates of London and Spain. We have avoided disaster because of our republican tactics of going after them where they live.



Snicker. Snicker.



It seems to this author that taking credit for something that hasn’t happened because you mysteriously intervened somehow seems to be serious stretch of credulity and the least convincing form of back-patting.



It is too reminiscent of Bush’s applauding Brown for the great job he didn’t do to bring relief to New Orleans. Even Brown blushed.



But in my humble opinion as a researcher and processor of information, it is too soon to gloat. The reports drifting in from overseas are not good! The Tailiban are back and growing. And Al Qaeda has entrenched itself in many additional countries since we last checked.



Now, the latest reports show that bin Laden has rebuilt his organization in north western Pakistan, in the Tribal Territories free from intervention of American might.





But what about here? Is it fair game to ask what has happened? Or to hypothesize what might happen if bin Laden were to get his wish?



Here’s one scenario:



It would be highly doubtful that bin Laden has not already secreted or won over dozens of sympathizers who live within our borders and stand ready to do their masters bidding when he commands it.



And it is downright impossible for a democratic system to police every possibility.



Consider the train bombing in Madrid that caused the Spanish voters to distance themselves from America.



The disaster was easy to pull off because the trains weren’t being watched carefully or the passengers searched.



The terrorists simply carried on their explosives in back packs rigged with timers that were set off by cell phone calls.



Nothing could have been easier if you were set on pulling off a disaster and life meant little to you.



Yet, it changed the politics of Spain forever.



Is something like what happened in Spain even possible in the US?



From what we know and can project, the answer is a resounding “yes.”



What we do know is that bin Laden is still seeking carnage over here on a massive scale; he has said as much. And he wants to teach us a lesson.



Moreover, if one rides the train, there is little evidence that anyone is checking backgrounds or passports or that security has been improved..



Yes, to my mind, it is possible and it would wreck havoc if they were to risk it.



And that means only one thing: We have not learned anything from 9/11.



The simple fact is that aside from our closer scrutiny of flight passengers, no other measures seem to have been taken to improve the level of protection within the US.



Our borders are not safer; anybody can come in by ship or by crossing the border and infiltrate our country.



And there seems to be little carry over from the 9/11 incident.



All we have done, it seems, is increase our snooping on innocent people that has accomplished nothing.



I don’t mean to raise unnecessary concerns but it is quite clear from all of the messages received from Europe and our friends in the rest of the world that Al Qaeda is entrenched and they want to strike us again.



With that kind of a backdrop, at the very least, you would think that Homeland Security would pull out all of the plugs; yet, to the best of everyone’s knowledge, we have not advanced in preparedness beyond what we were on 9/10.



I mean it is painful to hypothesize such a scenario but from my own experiences, it does not seem as if our hydra-headed Homeland Security System has changed all that much from what it was before except now it is joined together in some bizarre antediluvian form that doesn’t seem to match what our European counterparts have managed to do when it comes to being informed and responsive to any threat.



When was the last time that you heard a legitimate seizure of foreign terrorists in our country?



Not often, I’m afraid.



And that is cause for worry even though our present government would have us believe that things are getting better all of the time….



The Armchair Curmudgeon





Les Aaron