Coddling Terrorists

Someone has boarded a plane heading for the United States and has attempted to blow the it up while in flight. The attempt fails as the terrorist on board can not light the bomb he has planted on him. Quick thinking passengers and flight attendants subdue the terrorist until the plane lands and the authorities can take over the situation. The now captured perpetrator gets a lawyer and is to be tried through the American Justice system. The Republican party is up in arms. "Why are we coddling terrorists" they shout. "Our system of constitutional protections should not be allowed to protect the rights of people that we are at war with" they scream. "The President just does not get it!" "He is coddling terrorists!"

Does this sound familiar to you? It should since this is the line of attack the Republican party is using against the White House since the failed Christmas day bombing attempt. Yet, if we turned the clock back to the day before Christmas would this sound familiar to you? Possibly not, unless you recall the December 2001 failed bombing attempt by Richard Reid, the shoe bomber.

Richard Reid was arrested, allowed to "lawyer up" and go to court. He pled guilty and will spend the rest of his life in prison.

This happened while George Bush was in the White House. Where was the outcry then? Where was the accusation that he was soft on terrorism or that he was coddling terrorists. You would be hard pressed to find much criticism from that time for the White House because Congress and the American people rallied around the President in 2001 in a show of solidarity against the purveyors of terror.

Today the Republican party is not rallying around anyone or anything except the effort to paint the President as weak and ineffectual. This is the same President who has ordered the escalation of the Afghan war and the same President who ordered the take down of the Somali pirates. These are not the actions of a President who can be defined as a coddler.

Try to imagine where would would be if the Republican Party ceased the baseless accusation that Democrats are weak is respects to security. One can only hope that the GOP tones down the rhetoric so we, as a country, can face our foes with a single voice in order secure the safety of all Americans now and in the future.