Considering The Constant Threat From Radical Islam - How Was This Even Possible?

Since the attacks on the American Embassy in Cairo and its Consulate in Benghazi on Tuesday, the mainstream and social media have been working overtime to accuse or defend, understand or spin, every comment made by politicians and government officials up to and including the President. For all that chatter, very few are willing to ask the hard questions starting with, how is it possible to be here again?

On Wednesday, the President ordered heightened security at all American embassies and deployed two warships to the region to give the Obama administration flexibility for any future action against Islamic extremists, as the Defense Department put it.

That’s all well and good but why was that even necessary?

How is it possible that with the anniversary of 9/11 this week the order for heightened security at embassies in the region had not already been given? 

How is it possible that this administration could be caught so off-guard by the eruption of violence against its diplomatic missions? How is it possible after providing upwards of $30 billion in annual foreign aid to countries in the Middle East and North Africa, the American government did not have stronger intelligence links with those very governments?

How is it possible that after spending billions every year for intelligence, the United States had no idea that these attacks and demonstrations were possible let alone going to happen? There have been allegations that the State Department had a 48 hour advance notice that something was going to happen but took no action and issued no warnings to its embassy staff. If that is true, how is it possible that the President wasn’t informed? How is it possible that the government was so inept at best and callous at worst that it didn’t move quickly to protect its various embassies and staff?

If it is not true, how is it possible to station diplomats in one of the most turbulent and unstable regions of the world and yet still be so unprepared?

How is it possible that there is no single, consistent and strong message coming out of what was once considered the most powerful and decisive nation on earth?

The first public statement was issued through the American Embassy in Cairo and amounted to an apology to Muslims for a film made by an Egyptian Coptic who was living in the United States. The Obama Administration had denied authorizing the statement but that stretches credulity. It’s simply not how government works.

No embassy, no government department ever releases a statement on administration policy without first running it by head office. To do otherwise is career suicide. At best, if the President was personally unaware of the statement before it was issued, the State Department certainly was and approved it. How is it possible for them to put the United States into a position of apologizing for something the government didn’t do and which resulted from the ugly side of freedom of speech?

Now, we are watching the spread of confrontation and violence even as the Administration trips and stumbles its way through this crisis.

First it apologizes and then retracts the apology. Egypt is not an ally and then is an ally. The attack in Libya was planned by al-Qaeda, and then it was not. The State Department was warned 48 hours in advance then there is a denial that a warning was received. It is a horrific amateur-hour show with terrible and tragic consequences and which have seen the expansion rather than the containment of the situation.

The violence has now spread to nine countries in the region and even the Swiss Embassy in Iran, which handles American diplomatic contact in that country, is now finding itself threatened.

This is not a political issue; it is an issue of national security and national defense. It is astounding that the intelligence community with all of its resources and as connected as it is to other intelligence services worldwide, had no inkling that something might happen or if it did then did nothing about it. It is even more astonishing that no one in the highest levels of government considered the possibility of a potential threat on the anniversary of 9/11 and took no action to prepare for any eventuality.

Think about that. It is the anniversary of September 11 the region is dangerously volatile. It is well established that Iran, al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas and countless other groups are constantly agitating and working to undermine their own governments or those of their neighbours while constantly looking for reasons and ways to attack the United States. How is it possible that the Administration didn’t at the very least, anticipate the possibility of a potentially serious threat and at a minimum take the necessary precautions to protect their embassies and staff?

It strains belief that the Defense Department hadn’t put its marines serving at embassies on heightened alert as a precaution of some demonstration or possible terrorist action against American diplomats and embassies. It's all well and good to state that protecting embassies is the responsibility of the host nation but surely to God, the American government would take steps to protect its own people regardless of the host nations duty.

Is it really possible that absolutely nothing has been learned since the Iran Hostage crisis, the bombing of the USS Cole or any of the other attacks by Islamic extremists, including 9/11? How is it possible that in this time of instability, with Syria in the middle of a bloodbath, Iran working feverishly to develop a nuclear weapons capability and other countries in the region so unstable that violence is almost an everyday occurrence that nobody from the President on down thought it might be possible that American embassies could potentially be targeted on September 11?

How is possible, that given the ongoing instability in the region, the President felt it unnecessary to attend more than 60% of his daily intelligence security briefings in 2012 and hadn’t attended one since September 5 before the attacks? How is it possible that a President wouldn’t feel it necessary for some face-to-face, hands-on security discussions leading up to the anniversary of 9/11?

How is it that given the crisis in the region, the President cannot find the time to meet with the prime minister of Israel, America’s only real ally in the Middle East, who will be in the United States later this month to attend the United Nations General Assembly?

How is it possible for the Consulate in  Benghazi not to have had any marines stationed to provide security, especially this past week?

How is it possible for any Administration to rebuff the concerns of the only democracy in the Middle East over the Iranian build up of weapons-grade uranium while rationalizing attacks against its embassies in other countries in the region?

Harry Truman had a sign on his desk that read, “The buck stops here” and he lived that simple message, taking full responsibility for the actions of his administration. Love him or hate him, he was a leader with principle and character. Where does the buck stop with this Administration? Who is responsible for the security of the United States? Some would say the President but while it is clear that President Obama has much to answer for in this crisis, it is not simply the fault of one man.

I have purposely avoided using profane language in this blog since I started it a year ago but this crisis is a cluster-fuck of unbelievable proportions and there is no other word for it.

From the White House to the State Department,  the Pentagon and the CIA, how is it possible for a nation to spend billions on national security, employ thousands to conduct intelligence, diplomatic and security functions and still be caught flat-footed on a day that should have clearly been tagged as a potential red flag day? 

How is it possible for what was once the world’s most powerful and well-equipped country to be so ill-prepared for potential threats and so anemic in its responses to them when they occur? 

How is it possible for the mainstream media and supporters of the administration to be more focused on defending the administration than on asking the tough questions that led to this terrible circumstance?

How is it possible that attacking the Romney campaign for being critical of the response by the administration is somehow more important than taking a hard look at the lack of preparedness and leadership that led to this situation in the first place?

Romney is irrelevant in this crisis and can be ignored. It is the administration that should be having its feet held to the fire. How is it possible for the fourth estate to have so completely lost its sense of responsibility and objectivity?

How is it possible that people on social media cannot get past their particular partisan politics to realize that this is not a political issue, it is not about being Democrat or Republican. but an American issue? How is it that they don’t understand that when an attack comes, the attacker doesn’t ask to see which party you have registered with before deciding whether or not to shoot you?

Billions wasted. Time wasted and once again, Americans under attack and being killed because all that money and time accomplished nothing. It’s a disgrace and I don’t care what side of the political divide you support, nobody is covered in glory by the lack of anticipation, planning, security and response to what has happened this week.

It’s a cluster-fuck with terrible consequences that have already occurred and with more on the way. It is unbelievable that all Americans, regardless of political affiliation, aren’t united in demanding better than this from their government and its political leadership.

How is possible that the so many fail to understand that the greatest threat to America comes from within and that it is the nation's own leaders and government agencies who are the reason that a great nation's prestige, reputation and security have been so undermined?

How indeed!

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