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Wednesday, May 09, 2007

The Fort Dix Terrorists

It is very sad to say that the only reason the terrorists were stopped from attacking Fort Dix soldiers yesterday was due to a clerk who worked in a video store.

That's not to say that the clerk doesn't deserve kudos. Of COURSE he does. He deserves dinner at the White House with a reception in the Rose Garden, at the very least. Well, I wouldn't wish that on anyone... but you understand what I mean.

However, if those terrorists hadn't been the equivalent of Laurel and Hardy in the terrorist ranks, they would've been successful.

That should give us all pause for thought.

This bunch of buffoons had a tape of them haring around screaming "Allah Akbar" and firing weapons. They took it to their local video store to have it made into a CD format. Perhaps they were trying to raise funds and they needed good marketing materials: Who knows? But when the clerk saw the video, he grew alarmed and called the Feds. The Feds made the pinch and... case closed.

Or is it?

The truth is that if they hadn't been that egregiously stupid, these morons may have been successful. I think of the recent Virginia Tech shootings: The killer Whatsisname was hell-bent on notoriety but he was also just plain weird. Lots of people thought he was weird. After the shootings, some students even speculated it was him before anyone knew: THAT's how weird he was. And yet, nothing was done until it was too late.

We need to be more aggressive in sounding the alarm when we see someone acting suspiciously.

Of course the Muslim terrorists are hoping that they'll be able to pressure us to keep quiet. There are many factions that are hiding under a friendly turban, gently (or not so gently) scolding us to be politically correct and question our instincts.

One recent case that comes to mind is the case of the Muslim men on the airplane: They were acting very suspiciously (on purpose). When alarmed passengers alerted the pilot, they were ejected and questioned. They grew very indignant and began threatening the passengers with lawsuits because (they claimed) the passengers were racially profiling them. Whether or not the lawsuits work, you have to admit it was a good bluff.

We cannot let ourselves be bullied by such tactics. We have to stand strong, and keep alert.

The truth is that there are many opportunities for terrorists to strike, and we shouldn't be complacent. On the other hand, we need to remember that the government is not God. They're not even our daddy. We must never be willing to cede any of our liberties in exchange for possible protection. We need to be our OWN protection.

And the best way to do that is to keep our eyes and ears open, and be unafraid to speak of our concerns.

UPDATE ON THE WILDFIRES:

Thank you for your well-wishes. I'm not certain how they're progressing, but the day is clear and bright today. The smoke finally lifted in the evening. As the sun set, you could see a vast band of smoke in the upper atmosphere, with clear, fresh air underneath it. Where that band went, I don't know. Since the smoke even reached the Miami area where Lazy Iguana lives (see his comment in yesterday's post), I assume he's still dealing with it. We had winds blowing southerly all day.

11 comments:

United We Lay said...

I wonder is, as the GOP does worse and worse in the polls, we will see on the news more and more terror plots that would have been squelched quietly, as they are daily, but are being publicized to remind us that there is a "threat" and we need the big, bad, war party to protect us. If that's what they're doing, I hope it has the opposite effect and people believe tha the GOP can't protect us and they vote in anothe party. I would love for it to be Kucinich or a third party, but I'm not holding my breath.

United We Lay said...

Not publicized: 3 Republican candidates don't believe in evolution. How do the scientists and educators of this country not see THAT as a problem?

Anonymous said...

I believe there are probably dozens if not hundreds of these keystone kop terrorist wannabes preparing for there own personal jihads operating in the United States at any given time. They finally do something too stupid to let slide and the government rolls them up and parades them in front of the press as evidence of the lengths to which we are being protected. The really dangerous ones we never hear about. When they get picked up they're placed on CIA Air for a luxurious vacation to Egypt, Pakistan or some secret prison in the Eastern Europe. Where activities include water boarding, sleep deprivation and just good ole fashion beatings.

M@ said...

I think Kinkos/FedEx and numerous other copy stores should definately raise their alert levels.

The Lazy Iguana said...

I have to wonder about just how many "terrorists" have been collected here in the USA.

Why not make it public that you busted someone? You do not think that the others do not notice that operative X is missing? Of course they would. So if operative X is missing for a month or two it is safe to assume he is dead or captured.

No, this "plot" was stopped not by secret prisons, torture methods, phone taps, and so on. It was stopped because the terrorists were too stupid to buy a VCR / DVD burner combo device and transfer the tape themselves.

Also I question how effective it would have been to attack an Army Base. You have to figure that someone on those things have guns. And tanks. And who knows what else. That is about as smart as selling crack in front of the police station.

SMOKE UPDATE! There is reports of ask falling in Eastern Broward, along with thick smoke. Miami-Dade County seems to be pretty much smoke free. For now.

RAIN UPDATE! Did you hear about Subtropical Storm Andrea yet? It formed this morning.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCPAT1+shtml/091443.shtml

The Lazy Iguana said...

Got another link for you!

The Florida On Fire Map Of Death, Smoke, Peril, and general madness.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-59wildfiremap.graphic,0,1964312.graphic?coll=sfla-home-headlines

The Lazy Iguana said...

SMOKE UPDATE!

It is still hazy outside. Not as bad as yesterday, but still there.

daveawayfromhome said...

One thing about this bunch that I dont hear anyone commenting on (possibly because they cant figure out how to do it without sounding sympathetic): These guys were targetting soldiers, not civilians. I suspect they thought of themselves not as terrorists, but as soldiers. While I cant condone any kind of jihad on Americans, I will say that it's a refreshing change to have the jihadists not targetting innocent civilians.

Saur♥Kraut said...

Daveawayfromhome, funny that you should bring that up. I also thought it was an interesting twist and it makes me wonder how we classify them... but since they're not part of a particular army, I guess they're still just loony terrorists.

Lazy, It was clear yesterday. How is it today for you? Great comments as always, by the way.

Matt, ;o) Code Orange!

Hans, Undoubtedly there are always nut jobs. What amazes me is how little we hear... I wonder what we're NOT hearing (as Lazy pointed out, I think).

UWL, Well, as you know, I believe in Intelligent Design. To me, a lack of belief in evolution doesn't make someone an intellectual black hole. Even though, I should add hastily, most politicians ARE. ;o)

exMI said...

Attacking an army base would be a pretty easy and effective thing to do. It isn't like they let the soldiers carry loaded weapons around the place. (Although I suspect there may be some QRFs sitting around now waiting in absolute boredom for something to happen.)
As for how they got caught, just because the clerk is getting the credit doesn't mean he was the only source)

daveawayfromhome said...

By Bush definition, wouldnt these guys be "insurgents", i.e. foriegners fighting soldiers?