Prevention: The Primary Goal, Neglected by Obama’s Foreign Policy

Ion Mihai Pacepa

August 10, 2012, marked the 1,200th day that the Obama administration has been running the United States of America without any approved budget and without any coherent foreign policy. It is no wonder that last September, when terrorists assassinated our ambassador to Libya and three of his subordinates, the White House scurried for cover behind Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice. Both initially went out of their way to persuade the country that we were not dealing with terrorism, and when that didn’t fly, blamed the intelligence community. The farce was a deliberate diversion designed to throw dust in the country’s eyes, and it should be treated as such.

The fundamental task facing the U.S. today is not to find out who knew what about that despicable act of terrorism, but to establish why it was not prevented.

Preventing terrorism has been a primary national and international task since 1937, when the League of Nations adopted the first resolution on terrorism — the “Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of Terrorism.” Resolution No. 60/288 defining the U.N. Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, adopted on September 8, 2006, states:

The international community should take the necessary steps to enhance cooperation to prevent and combat terrorism.

The 9/11 Commission Report spent most of its 567 pages on measures for preventing new terrorist attacks on American soil, which includes U.S. embassies. “Protecting the American people from terrorist threats is our founding principle and our highest priority,” states the logo of the Department of Homeland Security, which was created after 9/11. In 2008, the Heritage Foundation reported that 40 terrorist attacks had been foiled since 9/11.  (They are detailed here.)

In his January 15, 2009, farewell address, President George W. Bush said:

[After 9/11] most Americans were able to return to life much as it had been before 9/11. But I never did.

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Every morning, I received a briefing on the threats to our nation. I vowed to do everything in my power to keep us safe.

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[T]here can be little debate about the results. America has gone more than seven years without another terrorist attack on our soil. This is a tribute to those who toil night and day to keep us safe — law enforcement officers, intelligence analysts, homeland security, diplomatic personnel, and the men and women of the United States Armed Forces.

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