Terrorism

Dawinder S. Sidhu's recent op-ed in The Sun echoed the first thing that I thought about after I heard about the recent attack at a Colorado movie theater and then began to wonder why our expensive and extensive anti-terrorist network did not pick up on the amount of ammo or even the number and quality of the guns purchased in such a short period of time. Are we not looking for this? The answer might be that this is a common occurrence and no one notices. That is a scary thought. Professor Sidhu is right.

The contradictions at the heart of the Obama presidency are finally out in the open. As a result, a man who came into office hell-bent on restoring faith in government is on the verge of inspiring a libertarian revival. There have always been (at least) two Barack Obamas. There is the man who claims to be a nonideological problem-solver, keen on working with anybody to fix things. And there is The One: the partisan, left-leaning progressive-redeemer. As E.J. Dionne, a columnist who can usually be counted on to make the case for Mr. Obama better than Mr. Obama can, recently wrote, the president "has been a master, as good politicians are, at presenting different sides of himself to different constituencies.

Those who keep statistical records on the subject report that about 95 percent of terrorist incidents in this country are perpetrated by non-Muslims. Yet U.S. Rep. Peter King wants us to believe that his concentration on the 5 percent is justifiable and that vilifying an entire religious group because of the actions of a few of its members is justifiable, too. Further, he believes that critics of this action are guilty of mere "political correctness" — such a convenient whine when defending one's bigotry!

Every time I drive between Baltimore and Washington and come upon those big, spooky National Security Agency buildings in Fort Meade, I have cinematic thoughts about what goes on inside. I imagine the best and brightest of surveillance nerds spying on nuclear activity in Iran, on terrorist training camps in Yemen, on Kim Jong-un's playroom in North Korea. I also assume they're watching me as I drive along Route 32, taking my picture and running it through face-recognition software, recording the license plate on my car. If there's a cellphone in use, they're probably listening to the conversation, too. But wait.

Regardless of whether a man or woman joins an international organization like al-Qaida or simply acts alone, terrorism has wended its hellish way into the very fiber of our society ("At least 3 dead, scores injured in Boston blasts," April 16). So this the brave new world. The concepts behind terrorism are entirely antithetical to the rules and strictures our country was founded on. America has become the hunted, not the hunter. There are thousands of anti-Americans, mercenaries, and religious zealots who despise America, and all for which it stands.

The debate about the location of a mosque in New York City has reached a point beyond ridiculous and has become a dangerous example of the intolerance of American citizens. Equating an entire religion with terrorism is ignorance and bigotry. Think back several years ago when the federal building in Oklahoma City was bombed by Timothy McVeigh, a man who was raised as a Christian. I don't recall any outrage or debate about the proximity of Christian churches to the bombing site. I don't recall anyone stating that Christian churches near the site would be an insult to the memory of the people who died there.

For the past few days, I've watched commentators on both the left and the right examine and analyze the reaction of the "American street" to the news of the death of Osama bin Laden. Many of those who gathered at the White House and other places of national significance have been college and university students. It is an error to compare these spontaneous demonstrations with those in the Arab world following the attacks of 9/11 or to insinuate that such demonstrations by young people were simply expressions of over-excited youth.

In the wake of Sept. 11, there were many over-reactions. As a result of some of them, our hard-won constitutional rights were eroded. There were also attempts to gain partisan political advantage by claiming to be tougher on terror than the other guy. Unfortunately, some of that kind of dangerous over-reaction and game playing is still happening. A phony problem has been manufactured, and the solution created to solve it would damage all of our rights and undermine our legal system.

Thank you for your editorial concerning lapses in security that resulted in the Christmas day airline bombing attempt. I was chagrined by the GOP reflex response laying blame on President Obama, and suggest that in constantly attempting to bring down a duly elected sitting president for every imaginable selfish reason, irresponsible congressional Republicans can be as great a danger to the strength of this nation as any possible enemy terrorist organization...

Last week, a man named Joseph Stack set his Texas home on fire, stole a single-engine plane and intentionally crashed it midday into Austin's Echelon Building, where the local Internal Revenue Service offices are located. Mr. Stack left behind a lengthy suicide note complaining about the U.S. government, and particularly the IRS. His strongly populist letter directed anger at the powerful and wealthy often echoed by liberals. But Mr. Stack's letter was mostly full of conservative rage against the "tyranny" of government taxation.

That was truly, truly disturbing. It doesn't always happen, but at least once a season “Game of Thrones” delivers an amazing episode of television. Sunday's “The Rains of Castamere” was such a moment. For about 15 minutes, the show's writers, actors and directors transformed HBO into a bloody, unsettling horror movie. At the wedding reception for Edmure Tully and Roslin Frey - an arranged marriage designed to unite houses in a war against the Lannisters - Walder Frey committed a massacre, slaughtering Robb and Catelyn Stark.

"I know this sounds racist, but ... " So goes the subject line on last week's email from Bill, a reader. It seems Bill has an idea. Given that "all of the radical terrorists have been Muslims," he wants the government to mount a program to surveil every follower of Islam who immigrates to these shores. We are, claims reader Bill, "faced with a population who swears an oath to God to kill Americans -- not Canadians, not Mexicans, but Americans. " It is, he says, "time we protect ourselves.

"This war, like all wars, must end. That's what history advises. That's what our democracy demands. " -- President Barack Obama at National Defense University, May 23, 2013 They say all is fair in love and war (I'm skeptical), but that doesn't mean war and love have much in common. When it comes to love, both parties need to be in on it. In war, all it takes is one to tango. Sure, if the nonbelligerent party doesn't want to fight, it can try to talk, or cut a deal, or even surrender.

The Palestinian immigrant and his brother lived next door to each other in homes in West Ocean City , over the years opening a number of businesses throughout the area — three pizza shops, a Mexican restaurant, a liquor store, gas stations, and development companies, court records show. This week, however, authorities in New York alleged that Basel, 42, and Samir Ramadan, 39, were also at the top of a multimillion-dollar cigarette-smuggling ring and said they believe members of the organization may have funneled some of their proceeds to terrorist groups.

Terrorism, whether practiced in the U.S. or overseas, can be defined as a deliberate act of violence to instill fear in a target audience. We fight terrorism when we stay calm but resolute; we abet terrorists when our response is to panic or try to foment panic in others. This past weekend, the CEO of the National Rifle Association stood up on a stage in Houston and chose to follow the latter route, linking the recent bombings in Boston with gun ownership - or a lack thereof. "How many Bostonians," the NRA's Wayne LaPierre asked, "wish they had a gun two weeks ago?"

The arrest of three friends of the surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing reminds us of the consequences of withholding information from investigators, lying or being an accessory after the fact for a friend or loved one. In other words, if the authorities are correct, "snitching" could have saved these three young men from facing criminal charges, international notoriety, and a future scarred by the cover up of their friend - a suspected terrorist....

Members of Maryland's congressional delegation praised the U.S. raid in Pakistan that led to the death of Osama bin Laden on Sunday, but many members also tempered their optimism by cautioning that the war on terror will continue. While expressing hope that bin Laden's death would bring closure to the families of those killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, lawmakers also said the threat of terrorism remains real and cautioned the public, in the words of Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, to remain vigilant to "confront the national security threats we face.

In the search for answers in the wake of the shootings in Aurora, Colo., authorities have made one curious conclusion about the suspect, James Holmes. The FBI has made clear that Mr. Holmes has no ties to terrorism. This is flat wrong - he is a terrorist. And this label matters. According to the police, Mr. Holmes - armed with an assault rifle and other guns, and ensconced in battle armor - indiscriminately and emotionlessly shot at moviegoers, some of whom were children, and some of whom were trying to escape.

In the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings, we heard strong proclamations from the president that "justice will be served. " It should be. Our spirit of justice is based on the principle that punishment should outweigh any benefit derived from perpetrating crime - a premise that has guided our nation since its earliest days. However, we expect more. The punishment should be harsh enough to send a strong message to others that they, too, will suffer if they attempt to hurt the American people.

We are all Boston. It's something we said on Monday, when we were at a loss for words to describe our shared sorrow and horror at the marathon bombings, when we knew no other way to express our solidarity with a city reeling from terrible loss. Four days later, it is something we said as we cheered along with all those gathered on a quiet street in Watertown as police captured the second suspect in the bombings alive, put him in a squad car and drove away. We say it now out of pride for a city that responded to tragedy in a way we all hope we would and brought a terrifying week to a close with a professionalism and dignity that represents the best in us all. We now know just enough details about the two men believed to be responsible for the bombings to invite speculation about what could have led them to commit such a terrible act. The older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was a promising amateur boxer who experienced troubles in this country.