Al Qaeda Tries to Harness Ricin for Bombs - But You Said Al Qaeda was Almost Dead?

A terrifying story in today's New York Times about how Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is working to create highly toxic (i.e. instantly deadly) ricin.  The goal: Pack explosives around the ricin and detonate them in public places causing a high death toll and extraordinary psychological fear and damage.

What is remarkable about this report is that President Obama and White House national security advisers were briefing a year ago about AQAP's efforts.   Yet, only weeks ago senior White House national security officials briefing the Washington Post on how Al Qaeda was on the verge of collapse following the death of Osama Bin Laden.  The question that needs to be asked - publicly - is not only who said this but why did they say it when they knew that Al Qaeda in Yemen is strong enough and well organized enough to reach out globally in their effort to obtain the key ingredients (castor beans, ricin, bomb making materials, etc.) to create this nightmare weapons of mass destruction.

Unfortunately, Washington is completely distracted by the debt crisis and now the chance to take a short holiday away from work (and the world).  But somebody has to start asking questions about this conflicting reports.

Americans Still Consider United States Great Nation

Considering the enormous challenges the United States has faced in recent years - massive economic crisis, two wars now lasting a decade, political crisis and a lack of national leadership - these numbers polling numbers from Pew are quite inspiring. 

What I found most interesting about the response is that 53 percent of those who responded believe the United States "is one of the greatest countries in the world, along with some others."  Nearly six-in-ten (57%) say that "as Americans, we can always find ways to solve our problems and get what we want." Just 37% say "this country can't solve many of its important problems."   Congress and the White House surely understand these voters are not just optimistic folk but also activitist -- they are not just hoping for problems to be solved but expect them to be solved.

The last time Pew conducted this poll was 2004 and at that point 59% of respondents expressed confidence in the US's ability to deal with major problems.

But what I found of particular interest was the differentiation between liberals and conservatives in their views of the United States vs. the rest of the world.  Conservatives had a significantly higher view of American exceptionalism than liberals -- 62 percent to 19 precent when asked if they considered the United States "standing above all other countries."

Being less than a year and half away from the next presidential elections and control of the US Senate being decided, we have long felt foreign policy is going to become a critical decision point for voters.  If the US voters feel that President Obama has done nothing to solve our critical problems -- and the Democratically controlled Senate is conplicit -- both will be voted out of office.  Americans are proud of their nation and a great majority of Americans believe the US must be strong enough influence world events -- although that does not necessarily mean bombing tinpot despots like Ghaddafi in Libya with no strategic vision.   Hopefully, Pew will conduct this poll again several months in advance of the 2012 elections.  It will be quite interesting to see if these numbers have moved.

More Weekend Reading: IISS's 2011 Military Balance

Best in class. The International Institute for Strategic Studies' (IISS) The Military Balance is an annual assessment of the military capabilities and defence economics of 170 countries worldwide. Everything you want to know, need to know and  (probably never would have known) are inside the covers of this annual report.  Always good to have on the shelves as a superb reference book.

DR Congo: 48 rapes every hour, US study finds - where is the United Nations?

This is staggering and one of the most hellish statistics I have ever read. The Democratic Republic of the Congo seems to slide deeper and deeper into a hellish state.  The question that comes to mind is where is the United Nations?  This is a perfect example of how and where the UN should be stepping in to re-establish the rule of law and provide protection to those who are being destroyed at a rate like this -- 48 rapes per hour?? 

But when you step back for a moment and look at all the crisis' that have emerged around the world -- and the opportunities for reform and democracy to emerge such as Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, North Korea (a long list that seems to grow longer daily), the UN seems to be missing in action EVERYWHERE.  In years past, they at least gave the appearance and mouthed the words that they wanted to be involved.  But aside from a pointless resolution on Libya, the UN seems to have become more like a high school version of the model UN than the real thing.   And more surprisingly, the White House and President Obama have not tried to engage the UN in these efforts - quite surprising and something we hope to explore more on these pages in the weeks ahead.

Weekend Reading: The Wrong War: Grit, Strategy, and the Way Out of Afghanistan

I found this to be BingWest's very best book to date (and that's saying something if you've read any of his other excellent books). A tough, in the dust and blood walk though the war in Afghanistan to day. At times, the book is rightly painful as West exposes some of the more senseless tactical efforts in the first five years -- of which many failed and too many brave young American lives were taken or mained. Every member of Congress and every general who thinks he knows what is going on on the ground should read this excellent book. I'm betting the Pulitzer Prize Committee will be taking a close look at it, as well.

Weekend Reading: The Frugal Superpower

Being a self-confessed bookaholic, I thought maybe we should highlight and recommend some weekend reading each Wednesday.   In this week's (and our first) recommendation, Michael Mandelbaum offers a robust and in-depth explanations of an enormous national security threat of our own creation: the United States ever expanding out of control federal deficit. His conclusion is both dramatic and frighteningly on point: While a good portion of the world may dislike the seemingly all-powerful United States, they will soon come to regret the creation of a weakened United States due to grotesque fiscal profligacy -- in short, the United States is at risk of becoming a nation no longer capable of projecting soft or hard power globally. 

The book, which was published last year, is particularly timely as Congress and the White House exit a ridiculous squabble over the 2011 budget and begin to battle over the 2012 federal budget -- a debate which the White House seems to not take as seriously as they should.  Mandelbaum provides a good primer of how the global shifts could be significant and severe without the US getting their fiscal house in order.   If you want to get a deeper sense of what we are truly facing, then read this book.

China and Cybersecurity: The Growing Threat Everyone Seems to Ignore...

Adam Segel over at the Council on Foreign Relations has an interesting analysis analysis up on CFR's Website on the growing threat of Chinese cyber attacks. It's getting tough out there, folks -- China Inc, working with Chinese security services and the People's Liberation Army (PLA) are swamping US corporations, the US government -- seemingly everything and anything with a computer attached to it.

At what point does the US officially and publicly begin to complain?