In the wake of Osama bin Laden’s summary execution one year ago, many predicted that the War on Terror would finally begin to recede. Here’s what has happened since then:

*With large bipartisan majorities, Congress renewed the once-controversial Patriot Act without a single reform, and it was signed into law by President Obama; Harry Reid accused those urging reforms of putting the country at risk of a Terrorist attack.

* For the first time, perhaps ever, a U.S. citizen was assassinated by the CIA, on orders from the President, without a shred of due process and far from any battlefield; two weeks later, his 16-year-old American son was also killed by his own government; the U.S. Attorney General then gave a speech claiming the President has the power to target U.S. citizens for death based on unproven, secret accusations of Terrorism.

* With large bipartisan majorities, Congress enacted, and the President signed, a new law codifying presidential powers of worldwide indefinite detention and an expanded statutory defintion of the War on Terror.

* Construction neared completion for a sprawling new site in Utah for the National Security Agency to enable massive domestic surveillance and to achieve "the realization of the ‘total information awareness’ program created during the first term of the Bush administration."

* President Obama authorized the use of "signature" drone strikes in Yemen, whereby the CIA can target people for death "even when the identity of those who could be killed is not known."

* The U.S. formally expanded its drone attacks in Somalia, "reopening a base for the unmanned aircraft on the island nation of Seychelles."

* A U.S. drone killed 16-year-old Pakistani Tariq Aziz, along with his 12-year-old cousin, Waheed, three days after the older boy attended a meeting to protest civilian deaths from U.S. drones (another of Tariq’s cousins had been killed in 2010).

* NATO airstrikes continued to extinguish the lives of Afghan children; in just the last 24 hours, 5 more Afghan children were killed by the ongoing war.

* The FBI increased its aggressive attempts to recruit young Muslim-American males into Terror plots which the FBI concocts, funds, encourages, directs and enables, while prosecuting more and more Muslims in the U.S. for crimes grounded in their political views and speech.

Does it sound like the War on Terror and its accompanying civil liberties erosions are ending, or going in the opposite direction? The morning after the bin Laden killing, I wrote that the killing of bin Laden would likely re-ignite American excitement over militarism and would thus likely further fuel, rather than retard, the War and its various implications.

As always: combatting Terrorism is not the end of the War on Terror; the War on Terror is the end in itself, and Terrorism is merely its pretext.

www.salon.com/2012/05/04/more_federal_ju...

(Reportedly) one of (the late) Osama bin Laden's Hopes was that al Qaida Activities would either bankrupt The West or force us to withdraw ...

May 5, 2012 -- 2:25PM, rabello wrote:

May 1, 2012 -- 5:23PM, rocketjsquirell wrote:

It will be a great day when the useless, expensive and ill advised war in Afghanistan is finally over.

Some of us won't even be alive to see it, in 2024.  That'll make it a 23 year old escapade.   Of course, some future president might recind this president's exeuctve orders and exclusive negotiations without Congressional participation or approval; perhaps the do nothing Congress will grow up and start participating, if in nothing else, defunding the whole "adventure".

Thank you, arielg, for linking the Greenwald article that gives us a clearer idea of what we're doing than the president's speeches, which could be given from the Oval Office as well as Afghanistan, except for it's reelection strategy

May 5, 2012 -- 11:31AM, arielg wrote:

In the wake of Osama bin Laden’s summary execution one year ago, many predicted that the War on Terror would finally begin to recede. Here’s what has happened since then:

*With large bipartisan majorities, Congress renewed the once-controversial Patriot Act without a single reform, and it was signed into law by President Obama; Harry Reid accused those urging reforms of putting the country at risk of a Terrorist attack.

* For the first time, perhaps ever, a U.S. citizen was assassinated by the CIA, on orders from the President, without a shred of due process and far from any battlefield; two weeks later, his 16-year-old American son was also killed by his own government; the U.S. Attorney General then gave a speech claiming the President has the power to target U.S. citizens for death based on unproven, secret accusations of Terrorism.

* With large bipartisan majorities, Congress enacted, and the President signed, a new law codifying presidential powers of worldwide indefinite detention and an expanded statutory defintion of the War on Terror.

* Construction neared completion for a sprawling new site in Utah for the National Security Agency to enable massive domestic surveillance and to achieve "the realization of the ‘total information awareness’ program created during the first term of the Bush administration."

* President Obama authorized the use of "signature" drone strikes in Yemen, whereby the CIA can target people for death "even when the identity of those who could be killed is not known."

* The U.S. formally expanded its drone attacks in Somalia, "reopening a base for the unmanned aircraft on the island nation of Seychelles."

* A U.S. drone killed 16-year-old Pakistani Tariq Aziz, along with his 12-year-old cousin, Waheed, three days after the older boy attended a meeting to protest civilian deaths from U.S. drones (another of Tariq’s cousins had been killed in 2010).

* NATO airstrikes continued to extinguish the lives of Afghan children; in just the last 24 hours, 5 more Afghan children were killed by the ongoing war.

* The FBI increased its aggressive attempts to recruit young Muslim-American males into Terror plots which the FBI concocts, funds, encourages, directs and enables, while prosecuting more and more Muslims in the U.S. for crimes grounded in their political views and speech.

Does it sound like the War on Terror and its accompanying civil liberties erosions are ending, or going in the opposite direction? The morning after the bin Laden killing, I wrote that the killing of bin Laden would likely re-ignite American excitement over militarism and would thus likely further fuel, rather than retard, the War and its various implications.

As always: combatting Terrorism is not the end of the War on Terror; the War on Terror is the end in itself, and Terrorism is merely its pretext.

www.salon.com/2012/05/04/more_federal_ju...

>>>>>>>>>> Well according to this article, Obama and Bush worked hard to make OBL's dream come true. He wanted to change America and (According to this article) he did!!

I think this is high time to re-examine mistakes of last decade and improve the "Processes" of defending America. Where dumb ideas are replaced by smart ideas and smart people.

FBI's attempt to get Muslim American men is disturbing and " codifying presidential powers of worldwide indefinite detention and an expanded statutory defintion of the War on Terror" is alarming.

Look ... Running for High Office is EASY ...

Make LOTS and LOADS of Heart-felt -- and SINCERE !!! -- Promises to change, change, change  and improve, improve, improve E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G done by The Evil and Stupid PREVIOUS Administration ...

And, then ... Upon TAKING High Office ... Immediately the newly-elected High Officer discovers that changes-and-improvements are VASTLY easier PROMISED than PERFORMED ...

What SHOULD have been done with those Gitmo Detainees ... ???  Really ... ???  Can they just be moved in with YOU in that spare Basement BedRoom ... ???  Why not ... ???

May 6, 2012 -- 6:45PM, teilhard wrote:

What SHOULD have been done with those Gitmo Detainees ... ???  Really ... ???  Can they just be moved in with YOU in that spare Basement BedRoom ... ???  Why not ... ???

You should ask the guy you voted for, not me.  He's the one that said he'd close Gitmo without saying WHAT he had in mind for the detainees.

Obama should have told us his intention was merely to replace Gitmo in Cuba with a Gitmo in the US.  He should have told us he agreed with indefinite detention of suspects without evidence, charge or trial, or even a "not guilty" verdict.   He should have told us he would be "ending" the wars (actually military attacs/invasions/occupations) by using unmanned drones instead of armies. He should have told us he believed in the Unitary Executive prinicple that allows one man in the entire world, without any judicial oversight whatsoever, to order the execution of American citizens without trial or conviction.  He should have told us he agrees with "preemptive war" doctrine.  He should have told us he believes torture could be ordered by the Unitary Executive in rare cases.  He should have told us he actually supported/supports to Patriot Act, even though he said he didn't, even as he voted to renew it as a US Senator.    Then there wouldn't have been such a let down within his "base" when people learned the truth, that pretty much nothing vis-a-vis the Middle East was going to change.