Bombing Plot on JFK Airport Foiled

Only a week after John Edwards declared the War on Terror a "bumper sticker", four men have been charged with plotting to blow up jet fuel flowing under New York's Kennedy Airport. Terrorism as a philosophy and methodology is alive and well.

"The devastation that would be caused had this plot succeeded is just unthinkable," said Roslynn Mauskopf, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, where the criminal complaint was filed.

The alleged ringleader of the plot, former JFK Airport employee Russell Defreitas, 63, was the only person in U.S. custody. Following his arrest Friday night, Defreitas appeared in Brooklyn federal court Saturday but did not enter a plea. He is scheduled to have a bail hearing next Wednesday.

Two other suspects are in custody in Trinidad. Abdul Kadir, a citizen of Guyana who has served as a member of the Guyanese Parliament and a mayor of the city of Linden, and Kareem Ibrahim, a citizen of Trinidad.

We need to understand that really the U.S. is fighting two wars. One, a war against Islamic Extremists who wish to subjugate the world under their dark rule. This war is similar to World War II or the Cold War. Two, we are fighting a war to get across to the world that Terrorism is unacceptable as a tool of war. This War is more like the movements to ban chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. If we do not win the first War, our children may live in a world shrouded in the shadow of tyranny. If we do not win the second war, our children may live in a world without certainty or safety, where every person with a gripe feels they have a right to harm others by any means.

My Impressions of the Democratic Debate

I came into the broadcast a bit late, but did manage to catch the Democratic debate last night. My impressions? We can now start to see the real contest begin to gel as competitors vie for an air of credibility in front of the country. John Edwards was the big "winner" of the night in terms of attempting to change his image. He was aggressive and seemed unafraid up there. His tone of self-righteousness became a bit much by the end, but he seemed much less like an also-ran this time around. Obama and Clinton were unchanged by last night. Both came across as tired of debating with such a large crowd, but able to hold their own in every exchange. Bill Richardson came across as a somewhat smarm politician desperate to remind the electorate that he existed. And both Gravel and Kucinich seemed mostly peeved at being left at the fringes of the discussion in a both a literal and figurative sense. Every throwaway question was given to them, and the CNN cameras seemed to make every effort to accentuate their isolation from the mainstream of the debate. Dodd was the only man who looked MORE presidential and credible walking out of the debate, often looking like the only adult amongst a group of squabbling teenagers.

Overall, I do not think the debate did much for anyone. Edwards may come out of this a stronger candidate, and Dodd may come out of it more credible. But overall, CNN seemed more interested in cementing existing impressions than giving us anything new to talk about.

Iran Laughs; Russia Threatens Europe

Iran is laughing at us for saying that the new missile defense shield to be placed in Europe is to protect Europe from them because their missiles won't reach that far. Part of me is surprised that they would readily admit this given that it shows weakness. The part of me that isn't surprised thinks that perhaps this is just to further provoke Russia which is now claiming that it may have to attack Europe to keep the balance of power. I can't imagine that Russia would seriously do this, but then again we have been at odds with Russia in the past few years. Perhaps a pro-Soviet Union elected leadership could cause trouble.

Also, while Poland and the Czech Republic are our friends now, what happens if they turn on us? Will we be in the position we've been in the past with fighting against our own technology? We seem to have a habit as a country of giving support to a country and then fighting them some years later.

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