At War With al-Qaeda

Are we at war with al-Qaeda? Did the “panty-bomber” commit a felony, attemped murder? Or, did he attack the United States as part of the larger war waged by al-Qaeda on the United States?

Below are some interesting thoughts on the subject.
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“This is all quite mad even in Obama terms. He sends 30,000 troops to fight terror overseas, yet if any terrorists come to attack us here, they are magically transformed from enemy into defendant.

“The logic is perverse. If we find Abdulmutallab in an al-Qaeda training camp in Yeman, where he is merely preparing for a terror attack, we snuff him out with a Predator – no judge, no jury, no qualms. But if we catch him in the United States in the very act of mass murder, he instantly acquires protection not just from execution by drone but even from interrogation.”
From Charles Krauthammer’s article in Human Events
"War? What War?"
12/25/2009
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“… more than one-third of all terrorist plots since 9/11 transpired in 2009 – despite loud chest-thumping about rejecting the idea of a war on terror, reaching out to the Muslim world, and apologizing for purported American sins.”
From Victor Davis Hanson’s article in National Review On-Line
"Who Is the Enemy"
1/4/2010
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“Abdulmutallab's a rich kid. He didn't come from a deprived background, bearing the grievances of the slum. He's a graduate of a top English university. And Osama bin Laden's from a super-rich family. How does building a footbridge in Afghanistan deter them?

Most of our home-grown Islamist terrorists hail from middle-class families -- such monsters as Maj. Hasan or the Virginia virgin-chasers under arrest in Pakistan (where jail conditions are a lot worse than at Guantanamo -- can't we just leave 'em there?).
This isn't a revolt of the wretched of the earth. These terrorists are the Muslim-fanatic versions of Bill Ayers and the Weathermen, pampered kids unhappy with the world. Al Qaeda's big guns are rebelling against privilege. There's a lot of Freud in this fundamentalism.

Spoiled brats remade their god in their own vengeful image. And we have to kill them. This one really is a zero-sum game.”

Ralph Peters from the article entitled
"Lying To Ourselves"
New York Post12/29/2009