Accountability

It has been a rough week for the President of the United States, who must be cursing the day that Umar Farouk Hubbadubbadingdong—who, it must be noted, is by sheer technicality a liar liar—was every borned. The failed attempt to blow Northwest Flight #253 has been politically damaging for Obama, but only because there are so many treasonous bastards out there who think it's fine to poop in their hands and throw it at the nation's chief executive. The fact remains, however, that Obama this week has actually had his most glorious moments thus far in his Presidency.

I think perhaps that people have been so jaded through recent years that they are unable to recognize the incredible value of the straightforward, forthright assessment we've been offered. Or, perhaps they forget the outrageous foot-dragging and the refusals to testify regarding the 9/11 Commission on the part of the previous administration. Nonetheless, it is utterly refreshing to have a CIC who levels with you instead of one who swaggers in and tells you in one breath that everything's great and you should go shopping and in another that you should be shitting your pants in fear, with neither assessment at all approaching actual reality.

Obama told you yesterday that there's no way to close all the pores. This blog has been saying this for years, that the "war on terror" is a feckless undertaking because so long as there's one boy with a bomb and a dream, there's naught you can really do because all it takes is one. The truth is that trying to stop people from wanting to 'splode things over here requires a strong national infrastructure, an active global diplomatic effort, good police work, and a credible judicial process.

Case in point regarding the importance of a "credible judicial process:" Did you see the one where the appeals court upheld the conviction of Zacarias Moussaoui, better known as "the only person convicted in a U.S. court in connection with the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks?" Friends, I have news for you. This guy will never see the sky again. His appeal was denied; his conviction is concrete, and it is undeniable because it stood up to the process. Can we please STFU about how we can't try these bastards inside the United States?

Obama also told you yesterday exactly what happened and what's being done about it. And, it was a chilling assessment because it says that the United States' intelligence problems are still systemic and still rot its core. It says that our counter-terrorism organizations still suffer from a "lack of imagination," as the 9/11 Commission concluded in July 2004. Most chilling, I think, is that all this hub-bub may have actually come about because someone couldn't spell "Abdulmutallab." Everyone in intelligence, from CIA Chief to whoever who mops the floors should be detail-oriented to the point of sickness. And, it does leave one to wonder if our failure to retain people familiar with the culture and language is kicking us in the groin, too.

Regardless, I think it can be said that President Obama had his finest hour thus far this week. It won't be presented that way in the shitty corporate press, and certainly traitorous pundits and legislators on the right will continue to insist complete moronic bullshit like that the real problem is just that Obama's not using the word "terror" and its variants enough. But I think history will view this week as the clarifying week of the Obama administration. And there was no pile of rubble, no bullhorn, no pithy catch-phrase. There was just he, the President of the United States, looking you in the eyes, and telling you the truth.