Does Congress Realize We're At War?

Does Congress Realize We're At War?
By Joel Arends

At midnight tonight America will become much more susceptible to a terrorist act. It will happen because the Democrat-controlled Congress failed to reauthorize the Protect America Act. This legislation gives our military, intelligence, and law-enforcement communities the tools they need to conduct surveillance on terrorists. Yet, instead of fighting to make us safer Congress, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, blocked a vote on this bill all week and then went home on a twelve-day recess.

America is at war. I can attest to that after serving in Iraq as an Infantry Platoon Leader with the Army’s First Calvary Division. My unit, an Infantry platoon, was responsible for capturing terrorists. I can tell you first-hand that we are fighting a very real enemy, radical Islamic terrorists, who want to do harm to America and her citizens. We are fighting the same terrorists that recently strapped bombs onto women with Down's Syndrome and forced them to walk into a crowded marketplace and explode the bombs, killing themselves and dozens of other innocent women and children.

My comrades in uniform, brothers and sisters and moms and dads, have given their lives in the fight against radical Islamic terrorism. This Congress, meanwhile, refuses to authorize our intelligence officials to collect important information that can disrupt terror attacks and refuses to give our law enforcement community the legal authority it never had before 9/11, but so desperately needed.

Today, because Congress failed to act, our intelligence officials no longer have the legal authority to collect foreign intelligence. Exactly the type of intelligence that disrupted several planned terrorists attacks on the United States. Because we face a very real threat to the national security of this country, we must take very real measures to protect our citizens and give our soldiers and our allies around the world the tools they need to keep us safe.

When will our Congress begin to display even a small amount of the courage that our men women fighting for us display day in and day out? Their refusal to reauthorize this legislation is more than an act of submission to trial lawyers, Moveon.org, and the far-left wing of a party that fails to recognize that we face deadly threats from radical Islamic terrorists. Its an act of political cowardice. It's a sign of an unwillingness to respect the sacrifices made by the members of the military who need that intelligence to successfully accomplish their mission.

http://tank.nationalreview.com/post/?q=M2Q4MTM2ZmI4OTdjOWU1MWM1ZDk2Zjk2NzNhZmU2ZmU=

Dereliction of Duty

http://www.frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=C27E296F-ABE2-4168-A7D3-6DE7076A8B5B

In Case You Missed It: The President's Radio Address On FISA

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives2/2008/02/019808.php