Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says “debate about whether Internet is force for liberation or repression is beside the point.

2 billion people are no online — about one-third of the people on earth.

The Internet has become THE public space of the 21st century — the worlds’ town square, classroom, market place, coffee house and night club.

We need to have a serious conversation about the principles that will guide us.

The goal is not to tell people how to use the Internet.

– Hillary Clinton

United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke on Internet Freedom February 15th, at George Washington University in the School of Media and Public Affair’s Jack Morton Auditorium.

Clinton denounced the publishing of confidential US diplomatic cables by Wikileaks as an issue of theft rather than an issue of internet rights. She also denied allegations that the US had any role in coercing private businesses to stop providing internet to Wikileaks.

Also, European allies, while rooting for Guantanamo’s closure, have been reluctant to accept more than a handful of detainees who are deemed suitable for release.

The Obama Administration seems to be retreating from goal for the KSM trial in New York, announced in November, to try 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other enemy combatants in civilian court a few blocks from Ground Zero.

The Obama Administration may lean toward the Bush/Cheney antiterror strategy in response to an American public that is unhappy with the lack of confidence in the administration and a perceived degraded national security staff.

Obama is taking criticism for making a farce of the U.S. Justice system by explaining the expected conviction and punishment of KSM with, “I don’t think it will be offensive at all when he’s convicted and when the death penalty is applied to him.” The Obama administration has argued that the reason for the trial in New York over a military tribunal is to show the fairness of the American justice system. Critics can’t help but point out the cognitive disharmony of a president deciding the verdict and punishment ahead of the supposedly fair trial in the U.S. Justice System.

Many Americans find it ridiculous to hold a trial for the purpose of leading an example of America’s democracy and superior justice system to terrorists. Those Americans believe any showcase of American democracy and justice would be hated just the same.

Obama is also taking criticism for his approach to interrogation. In August 2009 Attorney General Eric Holder announced that he had appointed a special prosecutor to investigate allegations of abuse by CIA interrogators. Obama also announced that the interrogation of detainees would be carried out by a new FBI High Value Detainee Interrogation Group (HIG), instead of the CIA.

Critics have also questioned why the HIG wasn’t used to question the underwear bomber. It wasn’t fully operational.

The announcements by Obama and Holder caused a blow to morale in the ranks of the CIA — this coming almost three months after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and CIA Director Leon Panetta embattled over Pelosi saying that the CIA lied to her about waterboarding, and Panetta explaining that the CIA isn’t in the business of lying to Congress.

When the Christmas underwear bomber attempted to blow up a jet plane over Detroit, Holder ordered that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab be classified as a criminal defendant. He was only interrogated for 50 minutes — his right to remain silent honored.

According to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, fifty minutes was plenty of time to interrogate. Gibbs told “Fox News Sunday” viewers last month: “Abdulmutallab was interrogated, and valuable intelligence was gotten as a result of that interrogation.” Eric Holder told Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in a letter last week that Abdulmutallab “more recently . . . has provided additional intelligence to the FBI.” Critics see that as a conflict with the assurance of Robert Gibbs. Critics also point out that intelligence gathered weeks or months later is hardly has valuable as intelligence gained in minutes after the bombing attempt — assuming terrorists back at base camp would cover all their tracks related to information that the underwear bomber could reveal.

Then, of course, there is Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano reporting “the system worked” when in fact the only reason the system worked was because citizens subdued the bomber and put out the fire that the terrorist started. Reports came out that when the plane landed, passengers were not immediately evacuated from the plane, and were even treated rudely while sitting there for over an hour — sitting on a plane that had a bomb and contaminated air after a fire. Pilots were upset nationwide that it took so long to notify other pilots that were in the air nationwide, in case other terrorist may have been deployed. Napolitano praised the system because “within literally an hour to 90 minutes of the incident occurring all 128 flights in the air had been notified to take some special measures in light of what had occurred on the Northwest Airlines flight.” Pilot say 90 minutes is way too long to notify the other planes.

For many American citizens, they agree with the pilots. The discontent of the American people with the Obama Administration over national security issues may direct Obama to a more focused and effective antiterror strategy that looks more like the strategy of Bush/Cheney.

SOURCES:
WSJ Cheney’s Revenge: The Obama Administration is vindicating Bush antiterror policy.
CNN House Speaker Under Fire; President Obama’s Military Tribunals
Time Why Didn’t HIG Question the Undiebomber?
Honolulu Advertiser Response after Northwest bomb attempt criticized
GLOBALCONFLICTMAPS.COM CNN VIDEO of Napolitano: ‘The System Worked’ … TRANSCRIPT: Briefing Aftermath of NWA Flight 253

Author and commenters’ highlights …

Author Toby Harnden:
Failure of Abdulmutallab’s father’s message to reach authority.

Failure of FBI, CIA, NSA to connect the dots, AGAIN.

‘Other’ pieces not put together about Abdulmutallab from CIA observations in Yemen.

Obama took three days before speaking to the American people, emerging on Monday in between golf and tennis games in Hawaii to deliver a rather tepid address that significantly underplayed what happened. He described Abdulmutallab as an “isolated extremist” who “allegedly tried to ignite an explosive device on his body” – phrases that indicate a legalistic, downplaying approach that alarms rather than reassures. [And Bush critics decried his stunned pause of 5 minutes and keeping the school children calm after being stunned by learning of the 9/11 attacks]

There has been a pattern developing with the Obama administration trying to minimise terrorist attacks.

Questioning the wisdom of closing Guantanamo Bay, and sending 90 Yemeni detainees now being held at Gitmo back to their country of origin.

Janet ‘the system worked’ Napolitano.

Continued sideswipes at the Bush administration.

Commenters:
Disgraceful malignant persistence in blaming the Bush administration.

Leftists put more effort into going after and demonizing the CIA and everyday Americans protesting our out of control government than they do terrorists.

Soft on terrorism and soft on the causes of terrorism

Obama’s sanctimonious pursuance of CIA operatives who he perceives to have engaged in “torture”. The CIA were assiduous in obtaining legal sanction in writing from Congress for all the methods that were used against terrorist suspects. Now the very people who fought so hard to protect America (and indirectly, the rest of us) are subject to politically correct opprobrium and a legal witch-hunt.

Wikipedia: Political correctedness

SOURCE: Barack Obama gets an ‘F’ for protecting Americans