What Drone Wars?

The Silence From Liberals On The Drone War -- Dick Polman, Miami Herald

Remember when President Obama said four years ago that he would helm “the most transparent administration in history”? So much for that.

I’m amazed that so few Americans — most notably, so few liberals — have protested his secretive remote-control assassination program. Drones have killed 3,000 people in Yemen and Pakistan, including collateral-damage civilians, but the actual numbers are secret. So is the process. We don’t know anything about the rules of engagement, how people wind up on Obama’s hit list, who reviews the evidence, and what criteria are applied to that evidence.

The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution states that “No person shall be . . . deprived of life . . . without due process of law.” Drones are inimical to due process. It would be nice to know how the administration’s lawyers have addressed that conundrum in legal memos. Those memos exist, but they remain classified. The Obama team is reportedly writing rules for itself, a set of standards and procedures, but we may never know whether these rules are scrupulously followed, or even what they are.

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My Comment: It is not only the 'drone wars' that liberals have been silent on .... it is also on other issues. Not closing Guantanamo. The lack of info on U.S. run prisons in Afghanistan. No protests on the White House agreement with the Afghan government to have a U.S. military presence in Afghanistan for the next decade. Involvement in numerous African conflicts. And .. of course .... the Benghazi consulate attack mess. If George Bush was in the White house .... these same people will be screaming bloody murder 24/7.This administration .... total silence.

Will Tomorrows U.S. Elections Make A Diference On Defense?

Vote 2012: What Difference Will Elections Make To Defense -- Colin Clark, Aol Defense

WASHINGTON: All eyes are on the presidential vote tomorrow, with the country seeming to thrum with anticipation, fear and relief. What will all this sturm und drang mean for defense?

Before we reveal our wisdom for the ages (or at least til tomorrow) let's make it clear we are operating on several basic assumptions, all of which could be proven wildly wrong by the wisdom of the American voter. But here they are.

Obama wins.

The House remains Republican.

The Senate remains Democratic.

After conversations with half a dozen defense experts who watch all this election stuff really closely, and combining it with my own analysis, our consensus is that, overall, not a great deal will change much in the defense world -- at least not for a while.

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My Comment: Not an optimistic viewpoint on tomorrow's elections .... and considering the history of U.S. politics .... a skepticism that is probably well placed.

Lies And Cover-Up On American Inaction When The U.S. Consulate In Libya Was Attacked

Murder And Lies In Libya And Washington -- David Hunt, FOX News

"When the attack began, a Diplomatic Security agent working in the Tactical Operations Center immediately activated the Imminent Danger Notification System and made an emergency announcement over the PA. Based on our security protocols, he also alerted the annex U.S. quick reaction security team stationed nearby, the Libyan 17th February Brigade, Embassy Tripoli, and the Diplomatic Security Command Center in Washington. From that point on, I could follow what was happening in almost real-time.”

Those are the words of Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Charlene Lamb from her testimony before House Oversight Committee, Washington, D.C.on October 10, 2012.

Once these words were uttered there should have been a stunned silence followed by an explosion of questions filled with outrage and disbelief, followed by more yelling and righteous indignation; sadly there was none.

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My Comment: Col. Hunt wrote this commentary piece a week ago .... considering the news that is coming out today .... his words are prophetic. In short .... when the attack was happening on the U.S. consulate in Libya, scores of people in Washington and elsewhere were watching the events unfold in real time for 7 hours .... and did nothing .... and are now trying their best to cover their inaction. As I have said many times before .... this is a huge scandal. Americans died .... and people in power did nothing to help them. But .... with a Presidential election only 13 days away .... the political class and much of the media are now trying their best to avoid what has been .... and still is .... an incredible news story of "lies and murder in Libya and Washington".

A Must Read Post From Bing West On The Libyan Debacle

First, Aid The Living -- Bing West, Michael Yon Online

A U.S. ambassador is missing and his diplomatic team is desperately fighting off terrorist attacks. Our commander-in-chief and his national-security team in Washington are listening to the phone calls from the Americans under attack and watching real-time video from a drone circling overhead. Yet the U.S. military sends no aid. Why?

On September 11, at about 10 p.m. Libyan time (4 p.m. in Washington), Ambassador Chris Stevens and a small staff were inside our consulate in Benghazi when terrorists attacked. The consulate staff immediately contacted Washington and our embassy in Tripoli. The White House, the Pentagon, the State Department, and numerous military headquarters monitored the entire battle in real time via the phone calls from Benghazi and video from a drone overhead.

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My Comment: Bing West raises some excellent questions .... questions that many Americans are also asking .... but .... I know will never be answered by this White House. Here is my prediction .... if President Obama does lose this election .... future historians will point to the economy as one reason, but the administration's response (during and after) of the U.S. consulate Benghazi attack as the other. If there is one thing that I know about Americans, they will complain but tolerate political leaders and their agendas even if they did not vote for them .... but .... if there is ever a perception that protecting Americans from a foreign attack has not become a priority .... and worse .... fail to respond and/or explain truthfully to the American public on what is/has happened .... there is going to be hell to pay at election time. I know that President Obama must feel deep sorrow for the loss of these 4 Americans, and I know that he deeply cares about Americans who are serving abroad .... but his optics and message on this incident have been terrible .... and it is going to cost him come election time.

Why President Obama Does Not Deserve A Second Chance

Obama’s Gotta Go -- Niall Ferguson, The Daily Beast

Why does Paul Ryan scare the president so much? Because Obama has broken his promises, and it’s clear that the GOP ticket’s path to prosperity is our only hope.

I was a good loser four years ago. “In the grand scheme of history,” I wrote the day after Barack Obama’s election as president, “four decades is not an especially long time. Yet in that brief period America has gone from the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. to the apotheosis of Barack Obama. You would not be human if you failed to acknowledge this as a cause for great rejoicing.”

Despite having been—full disclosure—an adviser to John McCain, I acknowledged his opponent’s remarkable qualities: his soaring oratory, his cool, hard-to-ruffle temperament, and his near faultless campaign organization.

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My Comment: Tim Stanley at The Telegraph provides a good rebuttal to Niall Ferguson`s commentary (that link is here). As to what is my take .... history is my thing, and Niall Ferguson is a historian that I admire tremendously. But in this commentary he fails to deliver a short and precise analysis on why President Obama does not deserve a second term .... he elaborates too much, losing the message with his explanations. The facts are already there .... continued high unemployment, high deficits, low economic growth, and the prospect of even greater taxes when Obama-care is implemented .... all that Niall Ferguson needs to do is list them and remind the readers of what President Obama promised in 2008 .... and then let the numbers do the talking.