America For Purchase

Eight years ago, under the Bush/Cheney Administration, shoe bomber, Richard Reid’s terrorist bomber’s attempt to blow up a transatlantic airliner was thwarted by a group of passengers, an incident that revealed some gaping holes in airline security just a few months after the attacks of Sept. 11. But it was six days before President George W. Bush, then on vacation, made any public remarks about the so-called shoe bomber, Richard Reid, and there were virtually no complaints from the press or any opposition Democrats that his response was sluggish or inadequate.

That stands in sharp contrast to the criticism President Barack Obama has received from Republicans and some in the press for his reaction to Friday’s incident on a Northwest Airlines flight heading for Detroit.Republican Rep. Peter King (N.Y.) “I’m disappointed it’s taken the president 72 hours to even address this issue. Basically nobody, the President, the Vice President, and the Attorney General, nobody except [Homeland Security] Secretary [Janet] Napolitano has come out.”  King also said “I think that the administration has made a mistake by treating this terrorist as a common criminal, by putting him into the criminal-justice system. I wish they had put him into a military tribunal so we could get as much intelligence and information out of him as we could.”

Republican Rep Pete Hoekstra (MI), speaking on FOX News, argued that the slowness of Obama’s reaction showed terrorism wasn’t high on his agenda. “On many other instances and occasions the president is out front. He’s out front leading very early on a lot of different issues. When it comes to terrorism to the threat to the homeland, the president has decided to stay silent for 72 hours. He needs to explain that,” said the Michigan Republican, who is the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee. “Why this is not a priority? It should be his No. 1 priority.”

Former Vice President Dick Cheney seized this opportunity to attack President Obama claiming he did not keep America safe; are you kidding me?  These Republican attacks are baseless, factually untrue and exemplify more hypocrisy from a political Party who failed Americans.

Cheney accused President Obama on Tuesday of “trying to pretend we are not at war” with terrorists and complained Obama plans to try the would-be terrorist in Federal Court.  Of course Cheney fails to acknowledge that terrorist Richard Reid on Cheney’s own watch was tried in Federal Courts and pled guilty in Federal Court.  Then there was Zacharias Moussaui who was also tried in FEDERAL Courts and convicted.

President Obama is taking the exact same approach in pursuing FEDERAL Justice for Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab as did Bush and Cheney. Even Donald Rumsfeld placed the Richard Reid incident in the hands of ‘law enforcement’.

And let us not forget Bush and Cheney released prisoners from Guantanamo Bay Prison, sending many back to Saudi Arabia who then became leaders of the al Qaeda chapter in Yemen, who were behind the Christmas Day bombing plot.

Also remember Bush announced on August 14, 2003 that “Afghanistan is no longer a haven for terror, the Taliban is history and the Afghan people are free.”  May 1, 2003 “Bush said “Major combat operations in Iraq have ended and the battle of Iraq, and the United States, and our allies have prevailed.” May 30, 2005 Cheney said “I think they are in the last throws of their insurgency.”

Now President Obama is having to clean up the military and economic mess left by the incompetence of and failed ‘keeping America safe’ policies of George W Bush and Dick Cheney.

Let us not forget, the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks occurred 8 months into the Republican George W Bush presidency, and more than a month after Bush had received a Presidential Daily Briefing titled “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S”; 2,973 victims in New York City; Arlington, Virginia; and Shanksville, Pennsylvania died under the Republican Bush/Cheney watch.

The 9-11 Commission stated that on August 6, 2001, Bush’ Briefing about Bin Laden, that Bush “did not recall discussing the August 6 report with the Attorney General or whether then-National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice had done so.” The Commission also “found no indication” that Bush’s aides further discussed with him “the possibility of a threat of an al Qaeda attack in the United States” prior to 9-11, this despite the fact that “most of the intelligence community recognized in the summer of 2001 that the number and severity of threat reports were unprecedented.”

Dick Cheney, nor George W Bush nor Republicans kept America safe. PERIOD!

Recently Dana Perino, former Bush White House Press Secretary stated on FOX News that “We did not have a terrorist attack on our country during President Bush’s term.  Republican lying at its best!

Republicans have NO credibility on national security matters.

Additionally, it has been several months since President Obama named his appointment to head the Transportation Safety Administration. But the position is still vacant. Why? Because REPUBLICAN Senator Jim DeMint decided to hold up the appointment, putting his rigid ideology ahead of our nation’s security, and there’s not been one mention of this fact from the Republican leadership or Vice President Cheney.

In 2001, following the attacks of 9/11 and the attempted shoe-bombing attack in December, Democrats did not criticize President Bush. We were united as a country. Everyone agreed that our security was more important than politics.

It is sad that eight years later, Republican leaders seem to have forgotten that lesson and even sadder that Democrats are not challenging the lies by Dick Cheney and Republicans.

Tags 9/11 Afghanistan war American security Dana Perino Dick Cheney Iraq War Jim DeMint news politics Pete Hoekstra Peter King Republican fear mongering shoe bomber

Filed under: Republicans