Ah, the Terrorist Thwarted Makes You Feel Better, Doesn't It?

Really, it has been my view that if the person who is supposed to be in charge of an organization has to frequently remind the folks of her/his title, then they really don't hold much power/sway over the hearts and minds of the people they theoretically lead. Sure, the "Commander-in-Chief" may be able to give orders, but it's better to get leaders the people willingly follow and trust rather than those who lead by coercion, fear or fiat, no?

The first thing I want to tell you is America is grateful for the service of our Guardsmen and women, and I'm proud to be their Commander-in-Chief. (Applause.)

But when the CiC says things like this:

We're working to minimize the number of extensions and repeat mobilizations. We're working to ensure that you and your families are treated with the dignity they deserve.

Do people believe him? Really, here's the subversive agenda for the W, Rove and Co - recruiting people who have already signed up (note, the Bush Twins were not in the audience were they?). You know it's bad when the President has to step up and do some recruiting.

We've also tripled the amount that can be paid for re-enlisting in the National Guard or Reserve. The last month, I signed into law a new retention bonus for Guardsmen and Reservists with critical skills needed in this war on terror.

What about the poor souls already serving? Do they get a bump in salary?

Well, we know that whenever some one from the W, Rove and Co attempt to speechify we have to wade through the rhetorical morass to figure out what they really mean. Like for example, what about this sentence:

We remain a nation at war. I wish I could report, you know, a different sentence to you.

Oh, and here he goes on to establish links where there should be none by spanking the nine eleven monkey several times in this particular speech.

On September the 11th, 2001, our nation saw that vast oceans and great distances could no longer keep us safe. I made a decision that day -- that America will not wait to be attacked again. (Applause.) And since that day, we've taken decisive action to protect our citizens against new dangers.

Here's the nice terrorist thwarting story the MSM is all abuzz and aflutter about. Think to yourself while reading: 1) what was the US role explicitly? 2) Did it involve warrant-less wiretaps of any kind? and 3) who actually thwarted the attack?

Since September the 11th, the United States and our coalition partners have disrupted a number of serious al Qaeda terrorist plots -- including plots to attack targets inside the United States. Let me give you an example. In the weeks after September the 11th, while Americans were still recovering from an unprecedented strike on our homeland, al Qaeda was already busy planning its next attack. We now know that in October 2001, Khalid Shaykh Muhammad -- the mastermind of the September the 11th attacks -- had already set in motion a plan to have terrorist operatives hijack an airplane using shoe bombs to breach the cockpit door, and fly the plane into the tallest building on the West Coast. We believe the intended target was Liberty [sic] Tower in Los Angeles, California.*

*[p.s note to readers: if you follow the asterisk, you will see the actual name of the tower is "Library" not "liberty" tower. So, did the Shrubster miss-speak on purpose here?]

Rather than use Arab hijackers as he had on September the 11th, Khalid Shaykh Muhammad sought out young men from Southeast Asia -- whom he believed would not arouse as much suspicion. To help carry out this plan, he tapped a terrorist named Hambali, one of the leaders of an al Qaeda affiliated group in Southeast Asia called "J-I." JI terrorists were responsible for a series of deadly attacks in Southeast Asia, and members of the group had trained with al Qaeda. Hambali recruited several key operatives who had been training in Afghanistan. Once the operatives were recruited, they met with Osama bin Laden, and then began preparations for the West Coast attack.

Their plot was derailed in early 2002 when a Southeast Asian nation arrested a key al Qaeda operative. Subsequent debriefings and other intelligence operations made clear the intended target, and how al Qaeda hoped to execute it. This critical intelligence helped other allies capture the ringleaders and other known operatives who had been recruited for this plot. The West Coast plot had been thwarted. Our efforts did not end there. In the summer of 2003, our partners in Southeast Asia conducted another successful manhunt that led to the capture of the terrorist Hambali.

As the West Coast plot shows, in the war on terror we face a relentless and determined enemy that operates in many nations -- so protecting our citizens requires unprecedented cooperation from many nations as well. It took the combined efforts of several countries to break up this plot. By working together, we took dangerous terrorists off the streets; by working together we stopped a catastrophic attack on our homeland.