Obama lifts ban on Libyans attending flight school, studying nuclear science here
By Andrew Malcolm
Posted 08/15/2014 09:20 AM ET
9/11 hijackers make their way through airport security–Abdulaziz al-Omari and Mohammed Atta.
.
Remember the aftermath of 9/11 when investigators made the chilling discovery that American flight instructors had unwittingly taught the Arab hijackers how to fly jumbo jets like the ones they plowed into the World Trade Center and Pentagon, killing some 3,000 innocents?
And how one of the dumber hijackers had raised suspicions, letting slip that he had no intention of seeking a pilot’s license? But, you might not be surprised to learn, Washington wasn’t really into taking seriously any alarms from unimportant places like Minnesota?
Turns out, President Reagan worried about terrorist hijackers using airplanes as weapons way back in 1983. He banned Libyans from taking flight lessons or nuclear studies in the United States.
Now, believe it or not, President Obama is lifting that ban because, aides say, post-Gaddafi Libya and its relations with the United States are “normalized.”
Seriously? We just abandoned our embassy there last month.
Seriously!
A Homeland Security spokesman said rescinding the ban “would permit the educational exchange of information with Libyan nationals so they can reconstitute, operate and sustain their fleet to address threats posed by extremist groups seeking to derail the democratic transition.”
S.Y. Lee assures everyone that any Libyan students would be subjected to “robust and thorough security threat assessments and vetting procedures.” Uh-huh. Maybe more thorough than the 19 Arab hijackers got? Or the Boston Marathon bombing duo, whose names were handed to the FBI by Russian authorities long before their deadly deed?
This is the same Libya that brought us Lockerbie. The same Libya Hillary Clinton urged Nobel Peace Prize winner Obama to attack. Citing possible civilian slaughter in the anti-Gaddafi rebellion of 2009, Obama obeyed. He launched an air war that toppled the Libyan and left him to be torn apart by a mob despite having the best hat collection in dictator-dom.
Unfortunately, as the la-dee-dah Obama admitted in a recent newspaper interview, he hadn’t given much thought to what comes after the chaos of war in a tribal land where “democracy” is a foreign concept. (Does any of this sound depressingly repetitious regarding Syria, Iraq and next, Afghanistan?)
What comes after a U.S. withdrawal and war chaos is — Duh! — more chaos, as warring militias and terrorist gangs cast their bullet ballots for leader of the oil-rich North African land. Or parts of it. Chaos of the sort that lead to the 2012 murders of four unprotected Americans in Benghazi. And of the ongoing chaos that’s caused many countries to evacuate their diplomatic missions.
Surely, Obama’s crowd isn’t arguing that al-Qaeda’s newest lawless playground is the new normal.
Homeland Security had promised Congress an update on the controversial revision last spring. Again, you might not be surprised to learn, this Obama administration promise is as dead as Gaddafi.
“It is extremely concerning,” said Rep. Trey Gowdy, “that DHS is moving forward with these plans, but has not provided information on the policy change despite repeated requests from Members.” And with all the other bad news hanging over Obama’s transparent White House, it looks now like they’ll skate on this as well.
Talk about a new normal.
By Andrew Malcolm
Posted 08/15/2014 09:20 AM ET
911 Hijackers
9/11 hijackers make their way through airport security–Abdulaziz al-Omari and Mohammed Atta.
.
Remember the aftermath of 9/11 when investigators made the chilling discovery that American flight instructors had unwittingly taught the Arab hijackers how to fly jumbo jets like the ones they plowed into the World Trade Center and Pentagon, killing some 3,000 innocents?
And how one of the dumber hijackers had raised suspicions, letting slip that he had no intention of seeking a pilot’s license? But, you might not be surprised to learn, Washington wasn’t really into taking seriously any alarms from unimportant places like Minnesota?
Turns out, President Reagan worried about terrorist hijackers using airplanes as weapons way back in 1983. He banned Libyans from taking flight lessons or nuclear studies in the United States.
Now, believe it or not, President Obama is lifting that ban because, aides say, post-Gaddafi Libya and its relations with the United States are “normalized.”
Seriously? We just abandoned our embassy there last month.
Seriously!
A Homeland Security spokesman said rescinding the ban “would permit the educational exchange of information with Libyan nationals so they can reconstitute, operate and sustain their fleet to address threats posed by extremist groups seeking to derail the democratic transition.”
S.Y. Lee assures everyone that any Libyan students would be subjected to “robust and thorough security threat assessments and vetting procedures.” Uh-huh. Maybe more thorough than the 19 Arab hijackers got? Or the Boston Marathon bombing duo, whose names were handed to the FBI by Russian authorities long before their deadly deed?
This is the same Libya that brought us Lockerbie. The same Libya Hillary Clinton urged Nobel Peace Prize winner Obama to attack. Citing possible civilian slaughter in the anti-Gaddafi rebellion of 2009, Obama obeyed. He launched an air war that toppled the Libyan and left him to be torn apart by a mob despite having the best hat collection in dictator-dom.
Unfortunately, as the la-dee-dah Obama admitted in a recent newspaper interview, he hadn’t given much thought to what comes after the chaos of war in a tribal land where “democracy” is a foreign concept. (Does any of this sound depressingly repetitious regarding Syria, Iraq and next, Afghanistan?)
What comes after a U.S. withdrawal and war chaos is — Duh! — more chaos, as warring militias and terrorist gangs cast their bullet ballots for leader of the oil-rich North African land. Or parts of it. Chaos of the sort that lead to the 2012 murders of four unprotected Americans in Benghazi. And of the ongoing chaos that’s caused many countries to evacuate their diplomatic missions.
Surely, Obama’s crowd isn’t arguing that al-Qaeda’s newest lawless playground is the new normal.
Homeland Security had promised Congress an update on the controversial revision last spring. Again, you might not be surprised to learn, this Obama administration promise is as dead as Gaddafi.
“It is extremely concerning,” said Rep. Trey Gowdy, “that DHS is moving forward with these plans, but has not provided information on the policy change despite repeated requests from Members.” And with all the other bad news hanging over Obama’s transparent White House, it looks now like they’ll skate on this as well.
Talk about a new normal.
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