Texas Two-Step

By yon castle wa' at the close of the day,
I heard a man sing, tho his head it was grey,
And as he was singing, the tears doon came,
There'll never be peace till Jamie comes hame.

The Church is in ruins, the State is in jars,
Delusions, oppressions, and murderous wars:
We dare na weel say't, but we ken wha's to blame,
There'll never be peace till Jamie comes hame.
--There'll Never Be Peace Til Jamie Comes Hame,
Robert Burns
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CIA Director Michael Hayden said Sunday the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan presents a “clear and present danger” to the West. He is another 4-Star General shilling for the War President and Vice (vice) President who never bothered to personally go to war. Quail hunting has proven challenging enough.

It is policy lived as a Tom Clancy novel. "Michael Hayden cited the belief by intelligence agencies that Osama bin Laden is hiding there in arguing that the U.S. has an interest in targeting the border region."

Intelligence production should not operate on "beliefs," but rather "facts." Beliefs are the domain of faith, which has no place in intelligence briefs.

If Hayden's statement is true in 2008, why was Osama bin Laden allowed to escape into the hinterlands of a distant mountain range, when bin Laden was in Tora Bora it would have taken limited conventional assets to physically occupy and block the routes of egress to Pakistan. It wasn't important then, but now it has become a "clear and present danger."

“'If there were another terrorist attack against Americans,' Mr. Hayden said, 'it would most certainly originate from that region.'

“'It's very clear to us that al-Qaeda has been able for the past 18 months or so to establish a safe haven along the Afghan-Pakistan border area that they have not enjoyed before, and that they're bringing in operatives into the region for training,' he said.”

While they are probably bringing operatives into the region, to what purpose? Are these al-Qaeda or Taliban operatives? Are they for in-theatre use, or are they as alleged being trained to attack U.S. homeland targets?

The 9-11 hijackers may have been trained by al-Qaeda and harbored by the Taliban in Afghanistan, but their operations skills were acquired and honed in the western environment.

Al-Qaeda does not need to train anyone in Afghanistan or Pakistan that will target our infrastructure. their recruits are to replace battle losses in Afghanistan. If this is untrue, then let us see proof to the contrary.

The National Intelligence Estimate should provide analysis based in fact. The beliefs expressed by General Hayden are just that. Our tax dollars do not pay his salary so he can spout beliefs. When will America tire of opinions peddled as intelligence?

Mr. Hayden added that that those operatives “wouldn't attract your attention if they were going through the customs line at Dulles (airport, outside Washington) with you when you're coming back from overseas — who look Western.”

Is he talking Stetson hat and Tony Lamas? This is insidious infiltration indeed. If they "wouldn't be noticed," then why are the U.S. taxpayers footing the bill for $100's of billions of TSA/HSA expenditures? The average citizen doesn't need to recognize these operators; that is the job of layers of defensive posture.

Disrupting terrorist plans far forward in their assembly areas is a viable and proactive option, but it is only one layer of breaking the tempo of their operations. Here's a news flash: How about checking their passports?

If they are the slightest bit questionable, isolate and deny them access to flights. Deport them. What is so hard about that?

Or is it simpler to romp and stomp about, keeping a war going in regions that are already unstable? Good police and intelligence work is more valuable than border warfare in far-flung mountain ranges.

"Over the weekend, Pakistan's new Prime Minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, pledged to make the fight against terrorism his top priority. But he said peace talks and aid programs could be more effective than weapons in fighting militancy in tribal areas along the Afghan border."

Good points. Note, however, he also equates terrorism with militancy. It would be wise for U.S. policy makers to explore and understand these concepts before they whitewash everything as terrorism.

The U.S. leadership should get a firm grip on securing U.S. borders before widening elective wars to secure remote borders in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

--Jim