Security Tightens on World Airports and Dick Cheney is STILL a Douchebag

After a Nigerian man failed to detonate a suspected incendiary device upon an Airbus plane flying over Detroit on Friday, the world decided to ramp up security. This was by no means an irrational decision or wrong, but calling such a terrorist attack so soon before the facts arrive? Some may not know it, or even understand it, but the United States is still politically in trouble with much of the world. Bush's "War on Terror" sapped nearly all of the good will the world felt toward the United States in the wake of September 11th  primarily based upon two issues: the highly suspect invasion of Iraq and torture of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. As a disclaimer I'm not saying this tragically young man didn't have terroristic motives toward this plane, but what I am saying is reactionary action to "look tough" without considering the implications of said action is doomed to failure and loss of face.

Dick (has there ever been a more aprapous name for him?) Cheney a while back accused President Obama of "dithering" with the amount of time he was taking to decide which course to take in Afghanistan and frankly I thought the charge was typical of this slimy "five deferments" barnacle. I guess by his own definition Dick Cheney "dithered" and then "cut and ran" from Vietnam. I think the amount of time taken was appropriate to such a big decision not to be rendered lightly and "from the hip" as occurred with many of Bush's worst decisions. I do disagree strongly with what was decided: after eight years of ignoring Afghanistan suddenly we're going to "fix" the situation. There is no precedent for this kind of action actually working and with our track record in Iraq the rhetoric of us being able to do anything we please even when that choice is outside of practical sense has largely dissipated.

For the sake of full disclosure, I was glad to see a welcome change in Bush in 2006 when he apparently "dithered" (only it wasn't called dithering back then; it was "strong and decisive"; Republicans are too hilarious) with his decision over what the course forward with Iraq should be (even if his decision essentially sucked). The mere fact that he just took time to consider his choice after so many reactionary and bad decisions was a breath of fresh air from a stale administration. Cheney's way of thinking ended for Bush in 2006 with the defeat of the GOP majorities in the House and Senate; why anyone aside from mustachioed John Bolton (who seems to want sexy time with the Dick) would still believe that this guy's opinion carries any weight is beyond me. In fact I’d submit the right decision is the one Dick Cheney opposes; his sycophants won’t admit it but he is at least 70% of the reason why the Bush Administration is so reviled and Republicans were destroyed in 2006 and 2008.

That being said, the US is still in hot water with much of the world and going from deliberation and smart action to reactionary emotionalism has never served us well. Major Hassan wasn't for instance a terrorist by definition; his crime was mass murder and should be treated as such. The tried and true right wing method of labeling every crime anyone with a name like "Mohammed" commits as terrorism only makes the charge lose it's potency. In fact people become intellectually and emotionally detached from real terrorism and thus don't react in a timely manner. The effect is similar to the news media always focusing on violent crime and horrible acts which causes over time the loss of impact those acts have on the "normal populace" to take action.

Again, I'm not saying the labeling of this man as a terrorist is wrong or misguided; I'm only saying the evidence since 2001 suggests a slightly cautious mindset of "look before you leap". Remember, Bush once convinced many Americans to support war with Iraq by exploiting fears of terrorism, death and annihilation after 9/11. This rhetoric was especially galling since the Bush Administration apparently knew beforehand that Iraq had little to nothing to do with what occurred that horrible day. The last eight years are perfectly allegorical of why the US needs to "dither" more and react in anger and fear a lot less.