re: "Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR) backs Purple Heart for soldier murdered in Arkansas jihad attack"

Robert at Jihad Watch ("dedicated to bringing public attention to the role that jihad theology and ideology plays in the modern world, and to correcting popular misconceptions about the role of jihad and religion in modern-day conflicts") spotted a superb example of constituent service by one of our congressional representatives.

Money quote(s):

"Carlos Bledsoe, also known as Abdulhakim Muhammad, is serving a life sentence without the chance for parole after pleading guilty and admitting his motivation for the shootings stemmed from the United States’ presence in the Middle East. Bledsoe converted to Islam, became radicalized in Nashville, TN and travelled to Yemen in 2007 where he was arrested by Yemeni authorities in 2008. Following his deportation from Yemen in 2009, he attacked the Little Rock recruiting center, killing Long and wounding Ezeagwula." (Bold typeface added for emphasis. - CAA.)

Bledsoe (a.k.a. "Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad'") traveled to Yemen where he spent two years learning to become a "mujahid." The year (give-or-take) spent in jail wouldn't have been all that likely to isolate him from even more radicalizing influences. The argument that Bledsoe's murderous actions had no "international terrorism" character holds little water thereby.

12/9

re: "Re: Who Was Awlaki"

Mario Loyola at The Corner takes it by the numbers.

Money quote(s):

"First, for purposes of combat actions such as the targeted killing of Awlaki, the battleground in our war against al-Qaeda is not “everywhere.” It is in those few countries that either willingly or unwillingly provide significant safe havens for al-Qaeda. Yemen is in the first rank of that group of countries, along with Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Somalia.

Second, legitimate al-Qaeda targets in each of those countries are subject to attack pursuant to Congress’s 2001 Authorization to Use Military Force after 9/11, which even Vice President Biden has deemed a constitutionally sufficient declaration of war. That disposes of the concern that the executive branch is operating without the imprimatur of Congress. And the president is at all times subject to a variety of laws that constrain his conduct as commander-in-chief. Just because this particular killing is not justiciable (on the facts known to us) does not mean that federal courts cannot hold the president to account for violations of U.S. law.

Finally, to the extent your reference to “checks and balances” goes to due process, our rules of engagement are informed by international law and fall within the regulatory powers of Congress. Nobody is alleging that the rules of engagement were not followed in this case. The Constitution’s due process guarantees for criminal defendants in a civil prosecution are meant to protect private citizens from the power of the state. They have never (at least not until recently) been understood to benefit combatants – U.S. citizens or otherwise — who have taken up arms against the state itself."

He (correctly) draws the following conclusion:

"An al-Qaeda convoy riding along a desert road in Yemen is a legitimate bombing target, period."

(9/30)

re: "Lawmakers sue President Obama over Libya"

Pamela Geller (who had a birthday this week) at Atlas Shrugs ("Evil is made possible by the sanction you give it. Withdraw your sanction.") isn't crazy about the plaintiffs, but likes the suit.

Money quote(s):

"Finally, elected officials are holding a runaway President to account. Does anyone know what the hell we hope to accomplish in Libya? What is Obama's endgame in Libya, aiding al qaeda? On May 20th, the 60th day of Obama's war in Libya, Obama was requird by law to get Congressional approval to continue his ops in Libya. The war he consulted no one about, the war he did not go to Congress on, the tyrant's war.

He is now engaged in four wars: Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and a secret war in Yemen, and his strategy in Afghanistan and Iraq has resulted in the highest US military casualty rates, year over year, since these engagements began (in July 2009, I called it -- Obama's Afghanistan strategy: target US military). He refuses to identify Islamic terror, jihad or religious motivation. His counter terror adviser, John Brennan, says, "jihad is a legitimate tennt of islam," so what exactly is Obama fighting in these four wars, and who is he fighting for?"

U.S. participation in the Libyan action has been troubling me as well, but I'm of a somewhat literalist turn of mind when it comes to things like the powers of government, including the presidency.

re: "Sunburned and Buttsore (Or, “How I Spent My Memorial Day Weekend”)"

Diplogeek at Diplogeek ("Geekery in the U.S. Foreign Service") takes a swing at chipping away at the outdated stereotype.

Money quote(s):

"I want to encourage everyone to go here and have a gander at a great editorial discussing Memorial Day, particularly as it applies to people in the Foreign Service. I do this not to pat myself on the back, because my life is relatively cushy in a lot of ways, at least by Foreign Service standards, but because I currently have a number of friends serving in places like Yemen and border towns in Mexico, where they’re putting themselves at very real risk in order to serve our country. Doing this job isn’t about being a striped-pants cookie pusher, sitting around on a veranda drinking G&Ts and hasn’t been for a while."

re: "Will the Pentagon Always Be Able to Evacuate Americans from Hotspots?"

Michael Rubin at The Corner ("a web-leading source of real-time conservative opinion") asks a most excellent question.

Money quote(s):

"In Lebanon alone, the number of American citizens numbered in the tens of thousands, even though many hold dual citizenship and perhaps only a fraction would request assistance. Add Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen to the mix, and it becomes an open question whether the American military has enough forces in the region to evacuate American citizens should violence (or insurance companies) prevent airplanes from flying into unsettled countries."

"Cutting force projection not only affects future combat missions but also humanitarian relief whether in the form of evacuations or tsunami relief."

&

"(A) vote for cuts would not only undercut the ability to project force globally but would also remove the ability to protect American citizens should many countries simultaneously experience unrest.

Congressmen should also ask the State Department to explain how, in the aftermath of broad-based defense cuts, they will manage evacuations of American citizens absent the same level of military assistance that they can count on now."

CTV - Ten countries experts say are too dangerous to visit

From my archive of press clippings:

CTV.ca

Ten countries experts say are too dangerous to visit

Updated Sun. May. 10 2009 7:46 AM ET

Lauren Sherman, Forbes.com

Though many travelers have crossed Mexico off their summer wish lists, it's not the only region with a travel alert.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"In April alone, the U.S. government warned against travel in Yemen, Georgia, Sudan and the Central African Republic. Terrorism, crime and civil unrest are among the reasons the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs warns Americans to avoid these countries."