Al-Qaeda used webmail, simple codes

It's been revealed that al-Qaeda terrorists in the 9/11 attacks used no sophisticated hardware or software, and employed simple codes to communicate. They depended on pre-paid calling cards, public phones, webmail, and search engines to plan and execute attacks. These items and services are what everyday Americans use in their daily lives.

So just think about the administration's plans to shutdown Gitmo, relocate its prisoners, and the possibility that these terrorists may end up in the population with easy access to these services again.

So ends the War on Terror?

In the NYT, Roger Cohen thinks the War on Terror has ended with President Obama's interview with Al Arabiya news:

In his first White House televised interview, with the Al Arabiya news network based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, President Obama buried the lead: The war on terror is over.

Yes, the with-us-or-against-us global struggle — the so-called Long War — in which a freedom-loving West confronts the undifferentiated forces of darkness comprising everything from Al Qaeda to elements of the Palestinian national struggle under the banner of “Islamofascism” has been terminated.

What’s left is what matters: defeating terrorist organizations. That’s not a war. It’s a strategic challenge.

Is it a "strategic challenge" to hunt down the terrorists who killed thousands of innocent people in NYC? That is a disturbing categorization. Most people already agree that the War on Terror isn't a conventional war, but to call it a strategic challenge would be to absurd.

Al Qaeda faces Black Death?

Apparently the plague has struck some al Qaeda terrorists in Algeria, North Africa. Let's hope it'll spread among the caves these terrorists hide and train in. Left-wing nuts are probably going to start some conspiracy theory about Bush authorizing CIA in the use of biological warfare against al Qaeda.

Ultimately liberalism brought down Wall Street, not terrorists

Wall Street, the stock market, the Twin Towers. These are icons of Western capitalism, or even more specifically, American capitalism. The free market catapulted America into a world power, wealth amassed and opportunities abound. In the eyes of Islamic terrorists, America was corrupting the world -- their world of purity and faith. Our enemies would make many attempts to destroy not only these symbols of America's financial achievement, but also have no regard for human life.

Today capitalism is diseased and the American dream shattered. Al Qaeda couldn't have hoped for a better attack on America and the Western world. But this time terrorists didn't do a thing except watch TV as the news cycles break story after story of bear markets and economic doom.

On February 26, 1993, Ramzi Yousef drove a rental truck into the underground garage of the WTC North Tower then detonated the 1,500 lbs. of explosives. Six people died and thousands injured. The Twin Towers were damaged, but still stood -- an icon still.

Then the 9/11 attacks struck. Al Qaeda terrorists flew passenger airplanes into the Twin Towers, causing them to eventually collapse. Islamic terrorists danced in the streets when they saw the news footage of the towers' downfall. The stock markets closed on that day of infamy and reopened on Sept. 17 to a 7.1% decline. By the end of the week it'd fallen 14%, wiped out nearly $1.4 trillion in value for the week.

However, Wall Street titans still stood firm. Business conducted under a cloud of despair, but there were no major bankruptcies or fire sales.

Now look at where Wall Street stands today. Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, AIG, Merrill, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Washington Mutual, Wachovia, IndyMac -- those are just the major institutions. Many other regional and smaller banks have failed. Subprime mortgages are blamed, but the deeper issue lies in how American liberalism influenced Washington policies and the adverse effects trickled down to Main Street from Wall Street.

Liberalism is the disease which sucked the life out of American capitalism. For decades Democrats in Washington have willingly manipulated our free market under the guise of social equality and fairness. We are now just getting a taste of the bitter fruits of their labor...