Earlier today, President Obama confirmed the death of Anwar al-Awlaki, the U.S.-born Islamist radical and an important leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). As a high-value target, Awlaki is said to have elevated AQAP to one of the most dangerous wings of the organization. He was a key asset in spreading jihadist propaganda, often engaging potential recruits and terrorist organizations outside al-Qaeda’s network. Awlaki’s death is a victory for the United States, but it is a far cry from ending the war on terrorism. AQAP’s prowess as an …
Catching you up on clips, commentary and news of the day. Sign up for the daily email update from Scribe. What would the founders do about welfare? – David Weinberger Law of Sea Treaty Could Cost U.S. Trillions – Steven Groves Obama’s Soft Socialism Herarlds a Gutless New World – Brian Darling Obama’s Medicare plan is an open secret – Robert E. Moffit Man Without a Plan: Obama’s Short-Sighted View of U.S. Politics – Michael Kazin Freedom as a Bargaining Chip? – Tom Messner & Kathryn Jean Lopez Lies, Damned Lies …
Last week, Waad Ramadan Alwan and his cousin Mohanad Shareef Hammadi were arrested in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The men, both Iraqi refugees, had been allegedly picking up machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades from a nearby storage facility and delivering them to be shipped to al-Qaeda. It seems that the men never had any plans to attack targets in the United States, keeping them from being added to the ranks of the 39 publically known terrorist plots against the United States since 9/11. However, the incident does serve as a chilling …
Yesterday, authorities arrested Antonio Martinez in a plot to bomb a military recruiting center in Maryland. This plot was very similar to the Little Rock, Arkansas, recruiting center shooting in 2009. Like Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, the main suspect in the Little Rock shooting, Martinez is a converted Muslim American living in the United States. There are three key points to take from this foiled plot: 1. The recent focus on adding more physical airline security measures at airports won’t help stop plots like the military recruiting center shooting and yesterday’s …
Saturday at 6:30 p.m., authorities were alerted that a Nissan Pathfinder was billowing smoke in the middle of Times Square, New York City. Upon investigation, they found the car was rigged with explosives including “three propane tanks, consumer-grade fireworks, two gasoline containers, [and] wires and two clocks.” No one was hurt, and authorities were able to stop a potentially deadly explosion. New York Governor David Paterson has recently stated that this attempted car bombing was in fact “an act of terrorism.” Both the timing (Saturday night) and location (Times Square) …
On New Year’s Eve, the White House received the preliminary assessment from federal agencies detailing the shortfalls of a terrorist bomber got on a plane bound for Detroit. The president admitted the government had more than enough information to justify keeping Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab off the aircraft. Obama concluded the system failed. Here is what the president did not explain: This is the same system that stopped the London-based terrorist plot in 2006. On that occasion, intelligence connected the dots; counterterrorism agents penetrated the conspiracy; Homeland Security developed countermeasures; and …
Edwin Meese III, the Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow in Public Policy and Chairman of the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation as well as the United States Attorney General between 1985 and 1988 released the following statement today on the proposed trials of terrorists in New York City, including confessed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. “It is clear that foreign terrorists and terrorist groups have committed acts of war against the United States, and that our national security requires that we respond accordingly. This means that …
