Obama adviser: Cheney doesn't know DICK about national security

So Dick Cheney doesn't know his ass from his elbow when it comes to national security. Not that I couldn't have told you that, but earlier today it was suggested by one of Obama's top national security advisers in an interview with Candy Crowley on CNN's State of the Union.

When asked about Cheney's criticism of the way the Obama administration has fought terrorism, national security adviser James Jones replied, “Well, you know, if it’s informed, then that’s one thing," adding, "“It’s important that people understand that we have a sitting vice president [Joe Biden] who’s very much involved in the day-to-day operations of our national security. He’s a member of the national security council. He has access to all of the information.”

When asked if Jones, a retired Marine, considered Cheney to be informed on terrorism he replied, “I don’t know what his information is. I just would ask people to consider the fact that these are very serious issues for our country and that when you take them on, you take them on in a respectful way. We consult and share with both sides equally of the political spectrum and we’ll continue to do that. In the national security council, we can’t do it any other way."

Cheney has levied countless attacks aimed at the president and his terrorism policies over the past year. In March of last year, Cheney appeared on CNN's State of the Union and said a number of Obama's policies were making the country less safe - you know, things like refusing to torture terrorist suspects (I hate it when a president obeys the constitution).

While Cheney continues to try to frighten the American people with his scare tactics and delusions of mass terrorist attacks, many Republican critics, like Pat Buchanan, the Karl Rove of the Nixon administration, have stated that Obama has been tougher on terrorism than Bush ever was. In fact, Obama continued many of the Bush administration's terrorist policies (i.e. War in Afghanistan and bombing along Pakistan border) and has killed more al Qaeda operatives in his first year in office than the Bush Administration killed during their whole second term. Obama has not only continued the War in Afghanistan, but he has escalated it to a greater point than even Bush had at the beginning of the invasion.

And in terms of Obama's decision to try terrorists in civilian courts instead of military tribunals, it is proven that civilian courts have a higher conviction rate than military tribunals in terrorist trials, boasting an 88 percent conviction rate on 828 terrorist trials, compared to a 15 percent conviction rate on 20 terrorist trials conducted in military tribunals - with two of the five convicted terrorists later being released.

The fact is that if we are going to stand up to terrorists and show them that our way is good and theirs is evil, then we are going to have to stop letting these bastards, terrorists and right-wing pundits alike, scare us into believing that trying terrorists in our courts will be unsuccessful and make us more vulnerable to an attack. Because if you haven't already realized that terrorists want to kill us and destroy our way of life, than I don't know where you have been living for the past decade.

And you can thank Cheney for the attacks of 9/11 and a complete disregard for the constitution following those attacks, not President Obama.

U.S. fails on potential bioterror threat

A study recently released by a congressionally mandated panel says the United States isn't currently prepared to deal with a biological terrorist attack.

The commission gave the Obama administration a failing grade on the nation's ability to respond to a biological attack like the release of deadly viruses or bacteria.

"Nearly a decade after Sept. 11, 2001, and one month after the Christmas Day bombing attempt, the United States is failing to address several urgent threats, especially bioterrorism," Former Sen. Bob Graham, chairman of the commission, said. "Each of the last three administrations has been slow to recognize and respond to the biothreat. But we no longer have the luxury of a slow learning curve, when we know al Qaeda is interested in bioweapons."

The investigation recommended five steps the government should take to deal with the threat of bioterrorism: Conduct a comprehensive review of the domestic program to secure dangerous pathogens, develop a national strategy for advancing the ability to conduct forensic analysis of bioterror attacks, tighten government oversight of laboratories that deal with dangerous pathogens, promote a culture of security awareness among scientists and enhance the nation's rapid response plan to prevent biological attacks from inflicting mass casualties.

Maybe even more alarming is the fact that Graham said it is likely a chemical or nuclear attack could occur by 2013.

"It is more likely than not under the current circumstances and without decisive and urgent commitment that there will be a weapon of mass destruction used by a terrorist organization someplace on earth between now and the end of 2013," he said.

Graham added it is well within al Qaeda's capabilities to acquire and execute a biochemical attack, compared to a nuclear or chemical weapon attack, which would be harder for the terrorist group to obtain.

Note: It has been long suspected that bin Laden has "suitcase nukes," which are small nuclear weapons contained in suitcases. According to some intelligence agencies, bin Laden has already snuck a number of the nukes over the Mexican border and is preparing to detonate bombs in nine U.S. cities. He calls the plot the "American Hiroshima." The bombs, however, are much smaller than the ones the U.S. dropped on Japan in 1945, and would not bring about the type of destruction that took place in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. While many U.S. officials have, and continue to, express concern over such an attack, many others believe the theory to be exaggerated.

Comforting to know, right?!

Still searching for bin Laden after all these years

It has been eight years since Osama bin Laden's band of terrorists executed the largest and most deadly attack ever assembled on American soil. While our government has taken significant strides in making sure such an attack will never happen again, the face of bin Laden continues to haunt the families of the victims and citizens of this country while he strolls free somewhere in the world.

Although our intelligence agencies failed us on Sept. 11. 2001, the bigger failure, aside from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has been our government's inability to bring bin Laden and his partner, Ayman al-Zawahri, to justice.

In many ways our government has been successful at weakening the al-Qaeda network since 9/11, not to mention it has avoided another attack. Also a recent PEW Global Attitudes poll in Pakistan showed that support for the terrorist group has fallen to 9 percent, which boggles my mind, not necessarily as an American, but as a human being.

While we have shown progress in the war on terror, we have unfortunately failed to find its poster boy, bin Laden, who changed the way all Americans look at the world and our country on that tragic day. Since then he has stood as a symbol for many policy and social issues in America, including an excuse for why we should occupy such nations as Iraq and Afghanistan and political gain by politicians who used his image and ideology to strike fear in voters.

Today, bin Laden has become this sort of cultural villain in America much like Hitler did before him. His name and face grace merchandise and appear in comedy skits, and once a year when a "new" video of the mass murderer surfaces, many of us shudder in fear over the fact that he still lurks out there somewhere in the deep, dark depths of our planet.

9/11 is probably the one day, the one moment, the one event in my generation's short existence on this earth that we can say, "I remember where I was when..." Every generation has that day, maybe numerous days, where a tragic event holds a significant impact on not only the people involved, but a nation as a whole - that day for my generation and many others is 9/11.

While we will never forget 9/11 or the lives lost in our minds or our hearts, justice will never truly be served until we hunt down bin Laden and make him an example to terrorists, and our citizens, that if you attack us we will search for you, we will find you and we will kill you. Let's hope by next year's anniversary we are doing just that.