After a troubling week, to say the least, the nation breathes a sigh of relief with the death of one Boston bombing suspect and the capture of his brother. While watching it unfold and reading about reaction, it troubled me how deep the divide is in this nation, even when obvious enemies threaten us all. And there’s no need to point out which half of the political divide is always quick to throw out unfounded and callous assertions. The political left in the United States never misses an opportunity to berate conservatism and conservatives as long as it fits their agenda. And berating conservatives IS a major part of their agenda.
The Boston bombings were no different. It was a crisis to be exploited by any means possible. From speculation about who the perpetrators were to how budget cuts affected state and local government response. Never mind the threat. The potential political capital was too great. Never let a good crisis go to waste! Playing right along, the media trumpeted their efforts on NOT speculating while they did just that.
We live in a free (though some may argue diminished) and open society. Threats from groups and individuals are a risk we take. However, that doesn’t mean we have to accept it. We can remain vigilant while preserving our freedoms. We can call out the enemy for who and what they are. Unfortunately, in our misguided efforts at political accommodation and correctness, many are not willing to pursue the latter.
Now what?…Well, we return to our daily lives as this chapter is closed. That is until the next time something like this happens. The New York Post offers an editorial today on why the war on terror is not over. Despite what we’re told by the Obama administration. That belief definitely deserves some consideration….
THE UNFINISHED WAR
“America this morning owes a huge debt of gratitude to its law-enforcement agents. Just over 100 hours after the Boston Marathon bombings, one suspect is dead and a second was captured last night. The threat they posed, for now at least, appears to be over.
Whew. These have been scary days. Indeed, the sight yesterday of the whole city of Boston on lockdown, with streets deserted and silent, couldn’t have been more eerie.
It was also chilling to see how successful the suspects, Chechen Muslim immigrants, were — not just in allegedly killing people, but in instilling widespread fear, especially in the Northeast. The week served as a painful reminder that this nation remains in an ongoing fight against terror — and that the homeland is still vulnerable.
On Thursday, cops first identified the two brothers, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, as the key suspects and confronted them in a wild and bloody battle that left Tamerlan dead. With Dzhokhar still on the run through the day, officials ordered folks to stay inside. They said the pair had killed an MIT police officer, wounded a transit cop, carjacked a vehicle and sped off with its owner, hurled explosive devices and engaged cops in a shootout.
It will take time for their motives to be properly understood, but the pair appears to have left tantalizing clues: Both became devout Muslims and used social media to link to pro-jihadist videos. Tamerlan, a champion boxer, wrote that he would not fight on his native Chechnya’s team until it won its independence from Russia. He also wrote about his alienation, claiming, “I don’t have a single American friend.”
Classmates and associates painted a different portrait of the two — one of a total assimilation into US culture with no signs of religious or terrorist obsession.
All the possible motives, of course, need to be explored fully — and with no punches pulled for political correctness. More details may come in the days ahead. But whatever the bombers’ motives, this much is clear: The war on terror isn’t over. Alas, far from it.”
The Life in Exile 