Why the FBI can not protect us from Terrorism ...

... or, the Best Defense is a Good Offense. The FBI is the most renowned investigative agency in the world, the Canadian Mounties, New Scotland Yard and the NYC PD notwithstanding. So, why do the fibbies suck so bad? Let me count the ways. NAH, instead I'll address just the most egregious example of its ineptitude. And no, its not the Bureau's failure to act professionally on the ample evidence of the intentions of the Fort Hood mass murderer, Major Nidal Malik Hasan. In that instance, the FBI was not incompetent; instead, it was unwilling to intervene solely because of political correctness, the lives of our military service men and women being a secondary concern.

The anthrax mail attacks in the weeks after 911, left five dead, dozens made sick, the nation traumatized and its mail system crippled, but no one brought to justice and held accountable in a Court of Law. Regrettably, the fibbies first publicly named anthrax culprit, Steven Hatfill, was paid $5,800,000.00 in taxpayer dollars in settlement of his federal suit, claiming gross FBI intentional harassment. Caveat: this payment was made w/o. any admission of liability.

Seeking to avoid a second such "hit" on our deficit ridden federal Treasury, the fibbies came down so hard on named culprit number two, Bruce Ivins, that he committed suicide.

Accordingly, two mysteries remain unsolved - (1) Who terrorized America with anthrax in 2001?; (2) After spending untold millions of dollars on a decade long investigation - IN WHICH NO MORE THAN FIFTEEN INDIVIDUALS WORLDWIDE HAVE THE NECESSARY EXPERTISE TO HAVE MANUFACTURED THE WEAPONIZED ANTHRAX SPORES - why does Mystery No. One remain unsolved?

So, let me put this debacle into its wider context -why is this law enforcement failure relevant to winning the War on Terror? Arrests, and even more obviously, non-arrests are inadequate outcomes to protect us from mass carnage. We will be safe only when the Nation's anti-terrorism forces are freed to seek out the terrorists in their hidden redoubts to stop them from making their weapons of mass destruction in advance of mailing these deadly agents to our homes and offices.

SIDE NOTE: Friday's Blog Post demanded that the President make an Oval Office speech to the Nation, explaining the kinetic military action in Libya. Twenty-four hours later, the White House announced that that very TV event has been scheduled for Monday nite. Now Loyal Listeners, that bowing to Your humble Blogger's clarion call for Presidential leadership embodies the exercise of raw, but responsible, power; Just admitting ...

The Kinetic Energy of Being Barry

Well Elite Members, you just can't make this stuff up, even my most hyperbolical self can not do it. President Obama returns from South America, where he promised to spend whatever federal funds Brazil needs to develop that nation's new oil fields, including in the Gulf of Mexico, and then gets filmed trying, but failing, to find an unlocked door on the Rose Garden Veranda that would admit him back into the White House. Either the Executive Mansion Staff acted stupidly, again, or this poor fellow has the worst Karma imaginable. Thank goodness this misbegotten President has not tried to tackle really big problems, say like starting another war in some far-off land in which America has seen no national security threats for more than twenty years.

Now, Libya is certainly not a full fledged war, YET; but our military intervention in this civil war, therefore, needs to be accurately identified as something compelling by the President in an Oval Office speech. The Commander-in-Chief has ordered large numbers of our men and women in the military to devote their combat efforts, including if necessary, their very lives to accomplish his mission in Libya. Now, let me assure you, the American public is not going to rally behind the Administration's undertaking "Kinetic Military Action" in Libya. While our superb military will fight and die in North Africa, it remains a national scandal that the current occupant of the White House refuses to inspire, empower and protect them (and our national conscience) by laying out why it is in our nation's vital interests to expend more treasure and spill more youthful blood on the shores of Tripoli. We all deserve better than an AWOL CinC.

The Arrogance of being Alex

I know, I know; parts of the world are blowing up, literally. Libya, Japan, my March Madness bracket, the number of catastrophic events confounding the senses is truly mind numbing, indeed. So, in an attempt to bring some semblance of order to this chaos, we turn to spring training baseball games. Sports remains our oasis, our redoubt, our sanctuary where the rules are enforced and we know what the rules require of every particpant during the playing of sporting events. In this Knowable Order, we find sanity in a world gone mad with violence, human tragedy and the obliteration of whole cities by a single ocean wave.

To regain my own perspective and creative muse, I traveled to Tampa, Florida this week to attend a number of Phillies games, most noteably yesterday's contest with the NY Yankees. U can imagine my surprise, horror even, when Yank designated hitter, Alex, "Feed me Popcorn on national TV", Rodriguez left the line-up after the sixth inning and proceeded to walk out to the right field warning track with his personal trainer to run sprints from the foul line to the center field wall - all during live play of the seventh inning with his team batting. Just try to visualize my incredulessness when Alex's disregard for the integrity of baseball, his disdain for the efforts of his teammates and callous indifference to the safety of the Phillies outfielders went unstopped by the Phillies' manager and the umpires working the game. When this "I'm Bigger than the Game" display ended with A-Rod walking back to the visiting clubhouse, personal trainer in tow, all I could think of was the defeated british army surrendering to General Washington at Yorktown while the Brits' band played the catty tune "The World Turned Upside Down".

All I can say at this moment is now I know that even Sports can not save humanity from itself. Indisputably, therefore, we need leaders who put all their energy, focus and attention on stopping the mass slaughter of innocents in Libya, Yemen, Barrain, and yes, in Isreal, where thousands of Palestinians celebrated openly upon hearing of their "brave freedom fighters" murdering a sleeping family (including two babies under two years old) of Jewish residents in the West Bank. We need our President to step up to the plate and stop running practice laps in the outfield while the game unfolds just beyond his grasp. Sure, we have finally imposed a no fly zone, following the leadership of the Arab League and France, but most probably too little, too late. Please Mr. President spend less time on your jump shot, your pitching wedge and foreign travels. Stay home and work on perfecting your Commander in Chief skills. Thanks, just asking ...