Blithering Idiocy

Newsweek Columnist Fareed Zakaria writes today that the United States overreacted to 9-11. Al Qaeda was just not that big a threat according to Zakaria. As he puts it:

"Nine years after 9/11, can anyone doubt that Al Qaeda is simply not that deadly a threat? Since that gruesome day in 2001, once governments everywhere began serious countermeasures, Osama bin Laden’s terror network has been unable to launch a single major attack on high-value targets in the United States and Europe. "

Zakaria goes on to lament the increase in intelligence gathering undertaken by the USA. To him, it is unnecessary.

This has to be one of the more idiotic piece I have ever read in Newsweek, and that, my friends, is truly saying something. First, Zakaria's premise is false. He has forgotten the major attacks in the London subway system. He has forgotten the major attack on the commuter trains in Madrid. How about the underwear bomber. True, his bomb malfunctioned, but he could have killed thousands on the plane and in Detroit. The Times Square bomber also might have killed thousands if he had set his detonators more accurately. These cannot just be ignored, although Zakaria choose to do just that. Even more important, Al Qaeda some years ago expressly declared Iraq to be the central front in its war against the USA. Al Qaeda in Iraq killed hundreds or thousands of US troops. It killed tens of thousands of Iraqis. Do we ignore this because it was not in the US or Europe? I think not.

Second, Zakaria seems to be lamenting the success (and luck) that the US has had in preventing a successful major attack by Al Qaeda in the USA. Apparently successful efforts are a waste. I can just imagine what Zakaria would say if Al Qaeda had successfully blown up the Newsweek building on Madison Avenue in Manhattan. I can hear the non-stop questions about where the government was as the terrorists infiltrated into the building to plant their bombs. Indeed, if this had happened while Bush was still in office, I assume Zakaria would call for his impeachment.

The truth is that we as a nation have to have a rational and adult point analysis of our security that does not involve wishful thinking. We need realism in our foreign policies. Zakaria should know better.