Islamic Extremists Must Be Laughing at Us

Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab

Much as I hate to be the bearer of such depressing news, it appears the federal government's response to the underwear bomber has been to blame the victim(s):

Mark Steyn in PatriotPost.us:

"On Christmas Day, a gentleman from Nigeria succeeded (effortlessly) in boarding a flight to Detroit with a bomb in his underwear. Pretty funny, huh? But the Pantybomber wasn't the big joke. The real laugh was the United States government. The global hyperpower spent the next week making itself a laughingstock to the entire planet. First, the bureaucrats at the TSA swung into action with a whole new range of restrictions. Against radical Yemen-trained Muslims wearing weaponized briefs? Of course not. That would be too obvious. So instead they imposed a slew of constraints against you. At Heathrow last week, they were permitting only one item of carry-on on U.S. flights. In Toronto, no large purses. Um, the Pantybomber didn't have a purse. He brought the bomb on board under his private parts, and his private parts weren't part of his carry-on (although, if reports of injuries sustained in his failed mission are correct, they may well have been part of his carry-off). But no matter...."

The Hill reports heightened tensions between Democrats and Republicans over the issue of national security:

"Democrats have called the Republicans 'giddy' over the attempted plot and have blasted them for playing 'crass political' politics with national security, arguing that the American people will hold them accountable for the gross display.

“'It’s just shameful and pathetic that Congressional Republicans continue to put their beloved GOP ahead of the country no matter the issue, even in the immediate aftermath of a terror plot to blow up a plane and kill innocent Americans on Christmas,' said Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesman Ryan Rudominer.

"If Republicans are afraid of being slammed for playing politics with the attempted Christmas Day bombing, they’re not showing it. In fact, they seem to be spoiling for a national security fight."

Here's an excerpt from Michelle Malkin's latest column:

"Yemen human rights activist and blogger Jane Novak has reported for years on how Yemeni intelligence and military officials have facilitated al-Qaida training camps — often providing 'safe houses, training and passports to the jihadists that travel to Iraq to attempt to kill U.S. troops.'

"The Yemeni government, Novak points out, has also used al-Qaida mercenaries to fight northern rebels and train tribal militias. Jihad spiritual advisor Anwar al-Awlaki, linked to the Sept. 11 hijackers and Fort Hood mass killer Hasan, also calls Yemen home — and reportedly blessed the Crotch Bomber attack, according to The Washington Times.

"Now, the Yemen government has the gall to blame the West for not providing enough assistance to stop the breeding of hundreds of future flying Crotch Bombers.

"America, unfortunately, is hardly in a position to criticize Yemen’s jihadi revolving door. ABC News reported this week that two of the four jihadi leaders behind the Christmas Day terror plot were released from Gitmo during the Bush administration in November 2007.

"(What a quandary for Bush-bashers who have stubbornly denied that Gitmo recidivism threatens our national security.) The freed detainees were shipped off to terror-friendly Saudi Arabia, where they underwent 'art therapy rehabilitation' — the ultimate bloody brainchild of the jihadi-as-victim mindset.

"In January 2009, the two 'rehabilitated' recidivists released a video vowing to wage jihad to 'aid the religion,' 'establish the rightly guided caliphate' and ' fight against our enemies.' One of the duo, Said Ali al-Shihri, is suspected of involvement in a deadly bombing of the United States embassy in Yemen’s capital, Sana, in September 2008."