Barack Obama appears to be really bad news for Al Qaeda.

A strike by an unmanned drone last week killed a senior Qaeda commander who had played a significant role in planning the killing of Central Intelligence Agency operatives in late December at a base in Afghanistan, according to American officials.

…

The official described Mr. Yemeni as an “al Qaeda planner and facilitator” in his late 20s or early 30s, who had established ties with the Haqqani network, which has planned many Taliban attacks in Afghanistan, and with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. His role was described by one American official as a “conduit in Pakistan for funds, messages, and recruits, but his real specialty was bombs and suicide operations.”

Wait, so Obama’s strategy to hit them in Pakistan and wherever they are seems to be working?

Relentless attacks against al-Qaeda in the Pakistan tribal region appear to have driven Osama bin Laden and other top leaders deeper into hiding, leaving the organization rudderless and incapable of planning sophisticated operations, CIA Director Leon Panetta said Wednesday.

So profound is al-Qaeda’s disarray that one of its lieutenants, in a recently intercepted message, pleaded to bin Laden to come to the group’s rescue and provide some leadership, Panetta told The Washington Post in an interview.

Panetta credited an increasingly aggressive campaign against al-Qaeda and its Taliban allies, including more frequent strikes and better coordination with Pakistan. He called it ‘the most aggressive operation that CIA has been involved in in our history.’

So. A president actually interested in disrupting and fighting Al Qaeda is having some effect? Who would have known?

Fox News reporting that a Pennsylvania woman, Colleen Larose, has been charged with aiding terrorists by the Feds…

Authorities are apparently calling Colleen Larose “Jihad Jane”.

From the Department of Justice:

Pennsylvania Woman Indicted in Plot to Recruit Violent Jihadist Fighters and to Commit Murder Overseas

David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, and Michael L. Levy, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, together with Janice K. Fedarcyk, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI in Philadelphia, today announced the unsealing of an indictment charging Colleen R. LaRose, aka “Fatima LaRose,” aka “Jihad Jane,” with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, making false statements to a government official and attempted identity theft.

The indictment charges that LaRose (an American citizen born in 1963 who resides in Montgomery County, Pa.) and five unindicted co-conspirators (located in South Asia, Eastern Europe, Western Europe and the United States) recruited men on the Internet to wage violent jihad in South Asia and Europe, and recruited women on the Internet who had passports and the ability to travel to and around Europe in support of violent jihad.

The indictment further charges that LaRose and her unindicted co-conspirators used the Internet to establish relationships with one another and to communicate regarding their plans, which included martyring themselves, soliciting funds for terrorists, soliciting passports and avoiding travel restrictions (through the collection of passports and through marriage) in order to wage violent jihad. The indictment further charges that LaRose stole another individual’s U.S. passport and transferred or attempted to transfer it in an effort to facilitate an act of international terrorism.

In addition, according to the indictment, LaRose received a direct order to kill a citizen and resident of Sweden, and to do so in a way that would frighten “the whole Kufar [non-believer] world.” The indictment further charges that LaRose agreed to carry out her murder assignment, and that she and her co-conspirators discussed that her appearance and American citizenship would help her blend in while carrying out her plans. According to the indictment, LaRose traveled to Europe and tracked the intended target online in an effort to complete her task.

“Today’s indictment, which alleges that a woman from suburban America agreed to carry out murder overseas and to provide material support to terrorists, underscores the evolving nature of the threat we face,” said David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division. “I applaud the many agents, analysts and prosecutors who worked on this important investigation.”

“This case shows the use terrorists can and do make of the Internet,” said U.S. Attorney Michael L. Levy. “Colleen LaRose and five other individuals scattered across the globe are alleged to have used the Internet to form a conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism, culminating in a direct order to LaRose to commit murder overseas. LaRose – an American citizen whose appearance was considered to be an asset because it allowed her to blend in – is charged with using the Internet to recruit violent jihadist fighters and supporters, and to solicit passports and funding. It demonstrates yet another very real danger lurking on the Internet. This case also demonstrates that terrorists are looking for Americans to join them in their cause, and it shatters any lingering thought that we can spot a terrorist based on appearance.”

“This case demonstrates that the FBI and our partners in the law enforcement and intelligence communities must continue to remain vigilant in the face of the threats that America faces, in whatever form those threats may present themselves or no matter how creative those who threaten us try to be,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Janice K. Fedarcyk of the Philadelphia Division of the FBI. “We must use all available technologies and techniques to root out potential threats and stop those who intend to harm us.”

If convicted of the charges against her, LaRose faces a potential sentence of life in prison and a $1 million fine.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. It is being prosecuted by Jennifer Arbittier Williams, Assistant U.S. Attorney from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and Matthew F. Blue, Trial Attorney from the Counterterrorism Section in the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

The public is reminded that an indictment is an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

According to AP. Apparently he’s under arrest by the Pakistanis. The hits just keep on coming now. It’s like the commander in chief is focused on fighting terrorism or something, and our allies know it.

Adam Gadahn background:

Adam Yahiye Gadahn (Arabic: آدم يحيى غدن‎, Ādam Yaḥyā Ghadan; born Adam Pearlman, September 1, 1978) is an American-born senior operative, cultural interpreter, spokesman and media advisor for the terrorist group Al-Qaeda.

Since 2004, he appeared in a number of videos produced by Al-Qaeda as “Azzam the American” (‘Azzām al-Amrīki, عزام الأمريكي, sometimes transcribed as Ezzam Al-Amerikee). He is believed to have inspired bin Laden’s September 2007 video.

In 2004, he was added to the FBI Seeking Information – War on Terrorism list. On October 11, 2006 he was removed from that list, and placed on the Bureau of Diplomatic Security Rewards for Justice Program list of wanted criminals. On the same day, Gadahn was indicted based on the testimony of the FBI case agent E.J. Hilbert II, in the Southern Division of the United States District Court for the Central District of California by a federal grand jury for the capital crime of treason for aiding an enemy of the United States (i.e. Al-Qaeda). Gadahn is the first American charged with treason since Tomoya Kawakita in 1952.

Once again Democrats punt on being strong and right.

I always think its funny when conservatives and Republicans point to someone like Speaker Pelosi as a far left radical and yet their constituency in congress is made up of so many Steve Kings and their ilk.

Terror suspect Najibullah Zazi, an immigrant from Afghanistan who was living in Denver, has admitted he planned to try to set off explosives to kill Americans, most likely in New York.

His guilty plea may mean even more for the war on terror, since it appears Mr. Zazi has agreed to cooperate with federal officials.

Terrorism officials believe the government probably would not have agreed to let him plead guilty with the prospect of some leniency at sentencing, if they did not believe he had information that could be helpful at preventing more attacks.

The Internal Revenue Service employee killed when a disgruntled engineer flew a plane into an agency building in Austin, Texas last week. Vernon Hunter, a Vietnam veteran, and a father of six children, worked for the IRS for 27 employees, rising to a managerial position, and his wife, Valerie, works for the agency as well.

The commander, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, is an Afghan described by American officials as the most significant Taliban figure to be detained since the American-led war in Afghanistan started more than eight years ago. He ranks second in influence only to Mullah Muhammad Omar, the Taliban’s founder and a close associate of Osama bin Laden before the Sept. 11 attacks.

(via)

The White House is now dismissing Bond’s efforts as ‘pathetic,’ and pointing to Brennan’s lifetime of professional intelligence experience as proof that Bond is putting politics over our national security. Asked for comment on Bond’s broadside, White House spokesman Nick Shapiro emails over a brief and dismissive comment:

‘Through his pathetic attack on a counter-terrorism professional like John Brennan who has spent his lifetime protecting this country under multiple Administrations, Senator Bond sinks to new depths in his efforts to put politics over our national security.’

More like that please.

Republicans may have a hard time keeping up their talking point about how reading Miranda rights to the Christmas Day bomber represented a dangerous new direction under President Barack Obama.

It turns out that that back in December 2001, Richard Reid — the ‘shoe bomber’ — was read or reminded of his Miranda rights four times in two days, beginning five minutes after being taken into custody.

Furthermore, the Bush administration specifically rejected the idea of a military tribunal — another step that Republicans have argued should have been taken in the case of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who tried to bring down Northwest Flight 253 over Detroit on Christmas Day and was read his rights after 50 minutes of FBI questioning.

With less than a month until the world’s eyes are B.C., Mounties are still trying to account for missing ammonium nitrate.

Two tonnes of the chemical compound, which has been used in several terrorist bombings, was originally reported missing to the RCMP on Jan. 6.

The FBI illegally collected more than 2,000 U.S. telephone call records between 2002 and 2006 by invoking terrorism emergencies that did not exist or simply persuading phone companies to provide records, according to internal bureau memos and interviews. FBI officials issued approvals after the fact to justify their actions.

E-mails obtained by The Washington Post detail how counterterrorism officials inside FBI headquarters did not follow their own procedures that were put in place to protect civil liberties. The stream of urgent requests for phone records also overwhelmed the FBI communications analysis unit with work that ultimately was not connected to imminent threats.

It’ll probably be a long time before this comes out in full, but I have no doubt we’ll find that if you had a “D” after your name during the Bush era, you were on some kind of terror threat watch list.

I wish the Washington Post had been more interested in covering this sort of news back in 2002-4, rather than cheerleading the Iraq War on its front page and in the editorial section. Would have saved some lives.

None.

Zip.

Zero.

No sir.

Sure, we laugh now, but in a presidential cycle or two, this will be a serious campaign plank of theirs. They’ll just pretend 9/11 away so much they don’t believe it happened anymore.

Jesus H.

US prosecutors have charged a Chicago man with involvement in the deadly Mumbai (Bombay) attacks of a year ago.

The man, named as David Headley, had already been accused of plotting to attack a Danish newspaper.

Background
NYT: Chicago Man Is Charged in 2008 Attack on Mumbai
Police: Pakistani group behind Mumbai attacks
Boston Globe Photos: Mumbai under attack
Vanity Fair: Letter From Bombay

Afghanistan harbored the plotters of the 9/11 attack. Al Qaeda is there, supported by the Taliban. I don’t think there is much hope of a western-style democracy in much of the middle east, and that pipe dream should remain dead with the Bush administration. But we can’t allow our clearly defined enemies to continue to operate, nor can we give them room to do so. That is why I believe President Obama is engaging in this strategy in Afghanistan.

And I think its the right thing to do.

The neverending legacy of the failed Bush presidency.

Osama bin Laden was unquestionably within reach of U.S. troops in the mountains of Tora Bora when American military leaders made the crucial and costly decision not to pursue the terrorist leader with massive force, a Senate report says.

The report asserts that the failure to kill or capture bin Laden at his most vulnerable in December 2001 has had lasting consequences beyond the fate of one man. Bin Laden’s escape laid the foundation for today’s reinvigorated Afghan insurgency and inflamed the internal strife now endangering Pakistan, it says.

Staff members for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Democratic majority prepared the report at the request of the chairman, Sen. John Kerry, as President Obama prepares to boost U.S. troops in Afghanistan.