Are You Sure You Want to Know?

The other day I received an email from a family member with a link to an internet video by USAWakeUp.org. I was asked in the email to let the sender know what I thought. One thing I failed to mention is the email was that these "facts" didn't require a video. They could have been presented in a normal text format. However, they would have lost most of the emotional appeal. I was drafting my reply as I watched the video. One thing I quickly noticed was how fast the information was presented & they moved on to another topic. There wasn't much time for the individual viewer to process the information presented, thus creating a feeling of being overwhelmed. So, make good use of the pause feature when you watch the video.


Minus the personal chatter, here was my reply:

Yes, I believe, if Iran were to gain nuclear capabilities it would be a risk to our national security. I think it would also greatly destabilize the Middle Eastern region, the effects of which are too much for this email.
However, to say that result of an improvised nuclear device explosion in a major city would be "enormous" isn't quite as probable. If it is an improvised device, that means that the most desirable components are not available, therefore the yield of the explosion, radiation fall-out, etc would be limited. Granted, several blocks from ground zero may be destroyed, however the outlying areas would not be so greatly affected. The mental images of the nuclear blast on "Judgment Day" from Terminator 2 are a bit over the top for such an attack. Personally, I would be more concerned with a biological attack. The saving grace with a biological attack is, who wants to carry around a fragile vile of something that will make your organs turn to mush? So, the likelihood of such an attack is limited, but the results of a successful one are a different matter. The only reason the Sarin gas attack on the Japanese subway was not successful was because one of the very first victims fell on top of the vile that it was delivered in. Even though this is a chemical agent, my point remains the same - It takes a certain level of skill to properly employ such techniques not to mention the logistics required to get the device all the way down to the operational cells without being compromised.

I think it can be said that the "struggle" against Islamofascism is being lost on the home front, or at the very least, we are not gaining ground. I don't define this by the number of mosques, but by the will of the American people to support our military efforts abroad. Without getting too in depth, I blame this on the media for not reporting the truth or the whole story.

As for the numbers of the radicalized Muslims, I don't know. I do know that Saudi Arabia, which was specifically mentioned, turns a blind eye to Wahabbi doctrine & will not recognize its existence. In general, they don't necessarily directly fund terrorism. We need to remember that in the Muslim view of the world, they are not countries separated by religions, but a religion separated by countries (tribal issues are yet another discussion). They have a completely different world view when compared to Americans.

Regarding Al Qaeda, they were initially created by the Pakistani government to act as destabilizers in Afghanistan (Pakistan & Afghanistan don't like each other) to give the Afghan government (Taliban) something to be pre-occupied with. Al Qaeda became too strong for Pakistan to control & relocated to Afghanistan. The original Taliban was the government of Afghanistan which did not necessarily like Al Qaeda, but as time went on, was required to deal with Al Qaeda due to their strength & influence. Eventually, the Taliban government essentially became a puppet for Al Qaeda.

As for recruiting, I would be less concerned about our prisons & more concerned about our colleges & universities & the European "religious facilities". CAIR is funded directly by Hamas. I don't think I need to say more on that...

The on the horizon section... the problem with fighting terrorism is that if we get too caught up in fighting "terrorism", we will lose the war. Al Qaeda received a notable amount of funding from the drug trade, so simply fighting "terrorists" is not the key to success. A growing trend that we're seeing is that criminal organizations are starting to act more like terrorists & terrorists are starting to act more like criminals. (this again, is a discussion all its own) & they are beginning to collaborate more. For these reasons, the open borders, illegal aliens, etc are issues. Any laws that restrict law enforcement's (LE) ability to describe a suspect is an issue. HOWEVER, the guy with the beard and turban aren't always the one you need to watch. Sometimes is the small, quiet & shy single female traveling with only one bag & staying for a few days that you need to check out. With a few other factors, she would match the profile of a drug mule (human drug trafficker). As for the Patriot Act, I have very mixed feelings about that to the point that I'm not sure where I stand on it. My military side says check everyone, but my US citizen side says, butt out & leave me alone.

If LA went down, I wouldn't mind. haha The effects of their blasts are a bit overestimated. Yes, an EMP weapon is a problem. However, one could not take down the entire US, not even 10. And Mexico & Canada would go dark too. Instead of no money, I would rather say, no sizable amounts of cash or currency. Money will be anything people want or can use - gas, cigarettes, chocolate, copper, gold, silver, water, coffee, tobacco. In that simulation, yes, there would be wide-spread economic collapse, however it would be possible for grass-roots stability to arise, but that would be entirely dependent on the people of the area.

Regarding immigration, I think we've started to see a change in this trend all ready, but time will tell.

It should be noted that we do not have a democracy, but a representative republic, again another discussion. I'm not sure how accurate this section is. I'm leery of this section as they give no true reference from which their basing these statements & numbers.

Don't necessarily let all these internet videos get you all riled up. Look at them critically and do some research on your own.

In God We Trust, All Others Are Suspect.
Crispy