AMERICA
W.’s Legacy: He Kept Us Safe
DISPATCHES
LIKE ANY PRESIDENT, GEORGE BUSH LEAVES House analyzing threats and parceling out leads.
offi ce with pluses and minuses. Bush’s USA PATRIOT Act tore down the walls
I count as a plus the fact that Bush that Attorney General Janet Reno had imposed,
took down Saddam Hussein, a man walls that prevented FBI agents from sharing
who killed 300,000 people and whose own Iraqi information with each other and with the CIA. The
generals thought they had weapons of mass act, much-maligned in the media, also allowed the
destruction ready to use. FBI to wiretap terrorists the same
Bush may not have heeded warnings from way they capture communications
some quarters to ensure that the Iraq war was in organized crime cases.
prosecuted correctly after the invasion. He did, The National Security Agency
“Since 9/11, the
however, have the courage to turn things around (NSA) intercepts that Bush FBI, the CIA,
with the surge. ordered opened a window for
and the military
In addition to his efforts in the global war the FBI on terrorist activity within
on terror, Bush’s No Child Left the United States.
have put about
Behind Act helped reintroduce Since 9/11, the FBI, the CIA,
5,000 terrorists
phonics — or sounding out letters and the military have put about
— to reading instruction. Since 5,000 terrorists out of business
out of business
the act was passed, tests show worldwide. Every few months, the
worldwide.”
students’ reading scores are rising FBI announces new arrests of
nationwide. In some areas, the terrorists. Thus, many plots are never hatched
achievement gap between black and because terrorists have been killed, arrested, or sent
white students has been cut in half. back to their own countries and imprisoned.
Although the defi cit ballooned Instead of hailing the efforts to connect the dots,
under Bush, much of the increase the media demonizes those trying to protect us, /
AP IMAGES
was because of the war and the portraying the tools that uncover clues to plots as IVINS
RONALD
need to protect the country after
Sept. 11. Until the recent fi nancial
BELTWAY BITS
KESSLER’S
crisis, the defi cit as a percentage
of the gross domestic product
Al-Qaida or affi liated
“They know the United States
WASHINGTON
was in line with the averages of groups probably will try to attack
is spending itself to death,”
the past 40 years. Overall, the
the United States in the early
Stremmel says. “Through terrorist
attacks, they want to try and get
unemployment rate under Bush was better than
months of the new administration
during many years of Bill Clinton’s presidency.
to “welcome” the new president,
us into a bigger economic hole.”
Frederick Stremmel, a former top
Yet in the sweep of history, Bush will be
FBI counterterrorism analyst, tells
Retired FBI profi ler and
remembered for one thing: After 9/11, he kept Newsmax.
forensic
us safe from another terrorist attack. The media
Stremmel, who retired from
linguist
and the liberal politicians will tell you that was an
the FBI a year ago after working
James R.
accident or a matter of luck. They are dead wrong.
major counterterrorism cases for
Fitzgerald
25 years, says al-Qaida would not
told bureau
Terrorists haven’t attacked for more than seven
have attacked before the election
offi cials fi ve
years because of the sweeping changes Bush because that would have assured
years ago
instigated in the intelligence community, along
a victory for John McCain. that they had
with the work of the FBI, the CIA, and our military
“The months following pinpointed
Bruce E. Ivins
under his direction.
the inauguration of the new the wrong man
administration is prime time for in their investigation of the 2001
Bush focused the FBI on prevention. In 2005,
an attack,” he says. “They want anthrax mailings that killed fi ve.
he established the National Counterterrorism to impact the new administration They ignored the advice.
Center in McLean, Va., where 200 analysts from
and its policies. There is a history Fitzgerald reviewed the
the CIA and the FBI sit side by side analyzing
of Islamic terrorists wanting to documents in the anthrax case
threats 24 hours a day. Secure videoconferences
make life miserable for successive and developed a profi le that didn’t
administrations.” fi t initial suspect Steven Hatfi ll. It
three times daily include representatives from all
Al-Qaida sees the economic did, however, closely match Bruce
parts of the intelligence community and the White crisis as another reason to attack. E. Ivins, the man the FBI now
34 NEWSMAX / DECEMBER 2008
0034_AM_Kess Wash.indd 3434_AM_Kess Wash.indd 34 111/7/08 9:28:11 AM1/7/08 9:28:11 AM
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