jfore's Blog

Have any of you ever heard of Imad Mughniyeh (pronounced Mug-ny-uh). Don’t feel bad. Most Americans have never heard of him. So let me take a moment and tell you a little bit about him.

. 

Mughniyeh was born in southern Lebanon in 1962. He joined up with Yasser Arafat’s group at the age of 17 and became a master terrorist. He went on to be one of the founding members of Hezbollah and a high ranking official in the group.

.

He is responsible for the kidnapping and murder of many people who opposed Hezbollah. But here are a few of the highlights of his career.

.

On April 19, 1983 he masterminded the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon that killed 60 people.

.

On October 23, 1983 he masterminded the bombings of the Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon that killed 360 people, 240 of them Americans.

.

In 1985 he planned the hijacking of a TWA airliner.

.

In 1985 he was behind the kidnapping and execution of William Buckley, the CIA section chief in Beirut.

.

In 1986 he kidnapped British journalist John McCarthy and held him captive for over 5 years.

.

In 1987 he was behind the kidnapping of the Church of England’s emissary, Terry Waite, and did not release him until 1991. Waite was in Lebanon trying to negotiate the release of four hostages being held by Hezbollah at the time. John McCarthy was among them.

.

On March 3, 1992 he was behind the bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina leaving 29 dead.

.

On July 18, 1994 he planned the bombing of the Israeli Mutual Bank in Buenos Aires killing 85.

.

Well, needless to say, the FBI and the Israeli Mossad have been trying to find this guy for years. He was finally killed on February 12th of this year in a car bombing in Syria. Of course Hezbollah immediately blamed Israel for his death. But Israel says that they had nothing to do with it. The U.S. also denies any involvement. The U.S. Director of National Intelligence, Mike McConnell, suggested that he was killed by internal Hezbollah factions or the Syrian government.

.

So what does this have to do with you and me. Simple, Hezbollah has vowed to take revenge on Israel and the United States for the killing. So the Homeland Security Agency issued an alert to step up surveillance of people with known ties to al Qaeda, Hezbollah and other terrorist groups.

.

But here’s the problem. In the face of this threat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has decided to unilaterally disarm the United States in its War on Terror. The Protect America Act is the legislation that allowed us to monitor terrorist communications overseas without having to go to the FISA Court for a warrant. You see, getting a warrant takes a lot of time, and by the time the warrant was secured the conversation was over. Take note that this only allowed monitoring of foreigner to foreigner communications. Surveillance within the United States still requires a warrant.

.

Our Democrat controlled Congress has known for the last 6 months that that bill was going to expire at midnight Saturday night, February 16th . But they did nothing.

.

Well, the Senate scrambled at the last minute and passed a bill by an overwhelmingly bi-partisan majority that would extend the Protect America Act. But, the Democrat leadership in the House, led by Nancy Pelosi, refused to let the bill come up for a vote. Instead, she adjourned the House until after the Easter vacation leaving this country vulnerable to attack. The Republican members of the House, led by Representative Dick Boehner of Ohio, actually walked out of the session. Boehner said, "We will not stand idly by and watch the floor of the United States House of Representatives be abused for pure political grandstanding at the expense of national security."

.

Well, why do you suppose Nancy Pelosi was willing to put the American people in such danger by unilaterally disarming us in the War on Terror? TRIAL LAWYERS, that’s why. It’s not that the bill didn’t have bi-partisan support in the House, because it did. But the trial lawyers didn’t like it.

.

You see, that bill also included a provision that would grant immunity from lawsuits to any telecommunication company that cooperated with the government in the War on Terror. But the trial lawyers have already filed dozens of lawsuits demanding millions of dollars in damages against phone companies that helped keep us safe by cooperating with National Security officials when they requested information about communications between suspected overseas terrorists.

.

Well, this put Nancy Pelosi firmly between the proverbial rock and a hard spot. If she allowed the vote to happen her fellow Democrats would be forced to go on record as favoring the trial lawyers over the safety of the American people by voting against the bill. This would keep one of their biggest contributors, the trial lawyer lobby, happy by allowing their lawsuits to go on. Lawsuits against companies that were simply helping to keep us safe. But it would put the Democrats on record as being weak on National Defense. They ARE weak on National defense. But this is a presidential election year and she can’t afford to give the Republicans evidence that proves it.

.

So her solution was to place every American citizen at risk by simply refusing to allow the vote and unilaterally disarming America in the War on Terror. The bill has expired; there is a known threat out there; and we no longer have one of our most vital tools in preventing terrorist attacks in America. And we have Nancy Pelosi and her Democrat cronies who chose to side with the trial lawyers and go on vacation to thank for that.

.

House Democrat Caucus Chairman, Rom Emanuel of Illinois came right out and said what this was about when he attacked the President’s support for the bill. He said, "This is not about protecting Americans. The President just wants to protect American telephone companies." Sorry Mr. Emanuel, it is about protecting Americans, not the trial lawyers’ lawsuits against phone companies.

.

So as of midnight last Saturday America is at risk because our intelligence people can no longer monitor conversations between a terrorist in Afghanistan and a terrorist in Iran without going through a very lengthy bureaucratic process. But the trial lawyers are happy. And the Democrats in the House got to go on vacation without having to take a stand in favor of National Defense.

.

Isn’t it comforting to know that the Democrat controlled House of Representatives thinks more of about protecting contributions coming from trial lawyers than they do about protecting you. Well, now you know where you stand in the mind of Democrats. You finish second whenever campaign contributions are waved under their noses. When it comes to protecting money or you, you might as well kiss your bacon goodbye. To them, when it comes to choosing between special interests and the American people, the American people are expendable. Your safety is secondary to their political goals. But remember, you were warned. But you voted for them anyway.