Bush’s Third Term VI

It was a busy week for President Bu..., I mean, Obama and his administration.

First it was Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano telling lawmakers on Wednesday that her agency cannot meet its 2012 deadline for screening all cargo coming into the U.S. for radiological and nuclear materials and "that total screening would require agreements with numerous countries, a position similar to one taken by the Bush administration." (Associated Press)

Then it was CIA Director Leon Panetta’s turn. A San Francisco Chronicle piece from February 26 states, “. . . in his new position, he is already echoing some of the tough rhetoric of his predecessors. He's vowing to continue the agency's aggressive operations against terrorist suspects, and even hinting that he supports continuing the attacks by unmanned Predator aircraft in Pakistan and Afghanistan, which have stirred anger among residents there. "This is a very persistent enemy that we're dealing with," he warned. "I don't think we can stop the effort to try to disrupt them ... because they aren't going to stop."

The Chronicle article notes that Panetta believes the President has the power to order the use of harsh methods to extract information from terrorists but adds Panetta claims he would not recommend such methods.

On Thursday Secretary of Defense Robert Gates stated it is still the position of the United States to ban photographers from taking pictures of coffins returning to US soil. A media controlled by liberal extremists seems to think Gates allowing the families of the fallen to permit pictures is some kind of change in policy. A nice slight of hand. A free press should not be impressed with taking pictures of that which they are allowed. A free press should still be indignant that they are prohibited from taking pictures of what they want . . . the coffins of the fallen whose families have not given permission.

And finally, the President himself stated he will leave combat troops in Iraq right up until the last day of the Status of Force Agreement that President Bush negotiated with Iraq – December 31, 2011. That President Obama announced he will draw down troop levels in Iraq is being heralded by the liberal extremists who control the media as some sort of change from the Bush policy and some sort of campaign promise kept but the liberal extremist who control the media are simply complicit in the great lie. I’d be curious to know if President Obama’s draw-down rate is slower than the rate President Bush was beginning to draw-down troop levels. President Obama did say the pace of the draw-down could slow or be reversed if conditions on the ground changed.