What Obama is Doing Good

Since tonight is a bad night if you are Barack Obama (the candidates he stumped for in Virginia and New Jersey are getting an ass kicking), I though it appropriate to share with you some good news about Barack Obama that you may find surprising. Barack’s kicking some major ass on the counter terrorism front.

I know you may be shocked but the U.S. military force that has the counter terrorism mission is doing some grand things and the results are indisputable. So far this year, at least publicly, you have had the successful rescue of Captain Philipps (he was nabbed by Somali pirates) and the killing of one of the masterminds of the bombings of the US Embassy in Kenya and Tanzania. Here’s the good news that is not getting a lot of press.

U.S. forces–CIA and military–operating in Pakistan and Afghanistan have killed and captured some significant terrorist assets. A dear friend of mine (a retired military intelligence analyst who predicted the Tet offensive back in December 1967) gave me some important insights the other day. Let me state at the outset that he is a conservative Republican, voted for George Bush and John McCain, and did not support Barack Obama. Let’s call him “the Plymouth guy” or PG for short.

PG spent much of 2007 and 2008 developing terrorist target packages on people who were hiding out in Pakistan and some surrounding countries. Some of these people have friends and relatives who live in the United States. PG made sure that CIA and FBI got access to his work.

PG was quite frustrated because the Bush Administration, despite all of its chest thumping, did not act on this information. Part of the problem, according to PG, was that mid-level officials at both the CIA and State Department blocked military action because they did not want to rock Pakistan. (In case you cannot figure it out, Pakistan, particularly Pervez Musharref, were harboring Islamic extremists who were involved in planning and carrying out terrorist attacks against us.) They argued that going after these terrorists could weaken Pakistan. So the Bush Administration declined to use the targeting packages. When Musharref finally left office, however, the Bushies finally started coming around and greenlit going after the cells in August of 2008.

There were only four months left in the Bush Administration when the gloves finally came off and we went after some ket terrorist targets (some of these have been reported in the press). We are talking targeted killings–i.e., killing known bad guys.

We have had more success in the last 9 months then we did in the previous six years. Barack Obama could have stopped doing this, but he has not. He is following the advice of his military commanders on this front. Best of all his Administration is not out bragging about its accomplishments. Silence is golden.

While I think Obama is a failure on his economic policy and dithering in responding to General McChrystal’s request for more troops, he is not going limp on the counter terrorism front. As I said a year ago–we will criticized Barack Obama when he deserves it and praise him when he earns it. He’s earning it on the counter terrorism front. Keep it going.