The London plot against civil aviation confirmed a theme of an illuminating new book, Lawrence Wright's "The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11." The theme is that better law enforcement, which probably could have prevented Sept. 11, is central to combating terrorism. F-16s are not useful tools against terrorism that issues from places such as Hamburg (where Mohamed Atta lived before dying in the North Tower of the World Trade Center) and High Wycombe, England.
Cooperation between Pakistani and British law enforcement (the British draw upon useful experience combating IRA terrorism) has validated John Kerry's belief (as paraphrased by the New York Times Magazine of Oct. 10, 2004) that "many of the interdiction tactics that cripple drug lords, including governments working jointly to share intelligence, patrol borders and force banks to identify suspicious customers, can also be some of the most useful tools in the war on terror." In a candidates' debate in South Carolina (Jan. 29, 2004), Kerry said that although the war on terror will be "occasionally military," it is "primarily an intelligence and law enforcement operation that requires cooperation around the world."
Immediately after the London plot was disrupted, a "senior administration official," insisting on anonymity for his or her splenetic words, denied the obvious, that Kerry had a point. The official told The Weekly Standard:
"The idea that the jihadists would all be peaceful, warm, lovable, God-fearing people if it weren't for U.S. policies strikes me as not a valid idea. [Democrats] do not have the understanding or the commitment to take on these forces. It's like John Kerry. The law enforcement approach doesn't work."
I'm always happy to quote Will when he's making sense. Today, he is.
(Well, but he's still a teeny bit afraid of the blogosphere, but most of the establishment journalists and pundits these days. So, even that Will-ish fear makes sense as the times begin to change.)
We are a nation of laws, as Senator Kerry knows. Our laws work -- when they're not being gutted from within.
A nation of laws ... yet the Present Occupant seems to delight in sucking the life out of those laws and weakening the structure any time he can get away with it. Which is usually.
What a pity half the nation allowed itself to become terrified by Bush's fearmongering in the last election.
[Keith Olberman has an excellent breatkdown of the GOP use of the "color coded terror alerts. Long download, but worth the time.]
They're trying that tactic again, pedaling as hard as they can and headed for the cliff.
We're probably not going to let that happen again ...
