Obama's Terror Vise

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright Jan..10, 2010
All Rights Reserved.                    

            Squeezed between current realities and old paradigms, President Barack Obama insisted the U.S. would not put boots on the ground in Yemen or Somalia, despite confirmation that al-Qaeda operates in those areas with impunity.  When Barack announced his new Afghan policy Dec. 2, it was long known that Osama bin Laden’s command-and-control had shifted operations from Afghanistan to Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and other remote parts of the Middle East and Africa.  Deciding to place 30,000-more troops in Afghanistan, Obama committed more U.S. military assets to a goose chase, when his CIA Daily Intelligence Briefing shows that al-Qaeda’s operations have been out of Afghanistan since Bin Laden and one-eyed Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar rode motorbikes out of Tora Bora March 4, 2002, proving the U.S. can’t make timely adjustments.

            Like most announcements on foreign policy or military strategy, the president won’t flash his cards to the enemy.  “I have no intention of sending U.S. boots on the ground in these regions,” said Obama, showing some diplomatic sleight-of-hand, where he has no compunction about using unmanned predator drones to hit al-Qaeda or Taliban targets.  When former President Bill Clinton intervened in Modadishu, Somalia iOct. 3-4, 1993, U.S. troops were sitting ducks for Bin Laden, massacring 19 Army Delta Force, Army Rangers and Navy Seals.  Considered the worst military disaster since the 1979 botched Iranian hostage rescue, Mogadishu could have been prevented.  Eight months before Feb. 26, 1993, Bin Laden car-bombed the World Trade Center, prompting no response from the U.S.  Lacking “swift-and-effective” retribution, Bin Laden got away with murder at Mogadishu.

            Obama’s lack of a military response to the latest terrorist near-miss with the aborted Christmas Day Northwest airliner bombing opens the door for the next al-Qaeda attack on the U.S. homeland or other target.  “I have every intention of working with our international partners in the lawless areas around the globe to make sure that we’re keeping the American people safe,” said Barack, repeating the same pre-Sept. 11 mistakes as Clinton.  Without responding with “swift-and-effective” retribution, Barack exposes the U.S. to future terrorist attacks.  Clinton worked in 1993 with his international partners only to watch U.S. East African embassies bombed in 1998 and the U.S.S. Cole hit in 2000.  Since Sept. 11, responding to terrorist attacks requires immediate U.S. military intervention, not meandering through conventional diplomatic channels like the U.N. or NATO.

            White House officials know that the current Yemeni government lacks resources to reach into the ungoverned lands outside the capital of Sanaa.   Al-Qaeda in Yemen, known as Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, trained, equipped and instructed 23-year-old Nigerian-born would-be underwear bomber Umar Fraouk Abdulmutallab to blow up a Northwest Airline flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.  Had it not been for a faulty detonator, 289 civilians would have gone to their graves.  Like Fort Hood Army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan, Abdulmutallab received his instructions from American-born al-Qaeda Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, pointing to a Yemeni al-Qaeda cell.  “We’ve known throughout this year that al-Qaeda in Yemen has become a more serious problem . . .” said Obama, insisting the U.S. is coordinating with the Yemeni government to deal with al-Qaeda threats.

            Paying the Yemeni government $150 million for military support doesn’t guarantee that the military has the resources or will to clean out terrorist nests. “And, as a consequence, we have partnered with the Yemeni government to go after those terrorist training camps and cells there in a much more deliberate and sustained fashion,” said Obama, stopping short of committing ground troops.  Reading between the lines, Barack hints that the U.S. will adopt the same strategy as Pakistan, where special forces dial in coordinates for Predator Drones, remote controlled reconnaissance vehicles capable of missile strikes.  Centcom Commander Gen. David Petraeus hinted the U.S. would be “helpful” to Yemen’s government, signaling they, like Pakistan, resist the idea of placing U.S. ground troops.  Petraeus knows that across the Arabian Sea lurks another al-Qaeda nest in Somalia.

            Obama’s Dec. 2 decision to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan looms large, now that the U.S. military must respond to new threats in Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan.  Protecting U.S. national security requires more throwing cash at disorderly governments, unable to meet their own security challenges.  With new threats emerging in Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan, the U.S. must accelerate exit strategies in Afghanistan and Iraq to respond more forcefully to new “hotspots” or risk potential threats on the U.S. homeland like the one on Christmas Day.  “Yemen does not want to have American ground troops there.  And that’s a good response for us to hear, certainly,” said Petraeus, not admitting that there’s a place for U.S. Special Forces to deal with emerging threats.  Obama can’t make the same mistakes as Clinton and Bush, either not responding to attacks or going to the wrong place.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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