Another Government Secret

“US spy spending revealed for first time, tops $80 billion”, by Pam Benson, tells about how the government has only just revealed the cost of spy network. Many men in the intelligence community have argued that the total cost shouldn’t be announced claiming that the enemy can learn valuable information from our spending trends. The director of national intelligence, James Clapper, because he believes that to lower non-military intelligence spending since it has doubled since the 9/11 attack.

            This article makes me wonder what else the government haven’t told us yet of. This might be the only thing they have kept quiet, though I seriously doubt that to be the case. This may not seem to be a big secret to some people and I have to admit that it doesn’t seem to be a huge one to me either. No, what the real issue for me is the fact that they did try to hide it. They men in the intelligence community probably did think that showing the numbers could be a danger to some extent but I believe that the real reason they didn’t want those  numbers to get out was because they were afraid it would outrage the public, and with good reason. What this all boils down to is trust. Some people might be willing to trust the government completely but I won’t be as long as they try to keep facts hidden. People may say that I am too suspicious but I’ll remain the way I am now until these people have earned my trust. I have a few questions though. Why keep this a secret? Did they not realize that they would have to tell the truth eventually? Do they really still expect people to trust them? All in all, I believe that trust is the force behind any successful government and betraying that trust is the fall of it.

Is the end of Bin Laden near?

“NATO official: Bin Laden, deputy hiding in northwest Pakistan”, written by Barbara Starr, tells about how a NATO official with access to some of the most sensitive information in the NATO alliance. It also mentions how other NATO officials aren’t so sure that this information in completely accurate. An official who doesn’t completely believe this information says, “If we knew where he was – in a house, an apartment, a villa, or an underground cave or bunker—we would have gotten him”, said the official. “We can’t rule out he may be in a cave one day and a house in a city another.” Those who do trust the information also believe that these top al Qaeda leaders are being protected by locals and some members of Pakistan’s intelligence services despite the countries denials.

I believe that this is probably the most crucial moment in this war so far because I think there are two possible outcomes. One is that we have it right and we can finally put an end to this war and make it so that al Qaeda is never as powerful as it today again. If we are wrong, however, the failure to capture him will demoralize troops and increase the confidence of al Qaeda and even increase their numbers. I also believe that if the information is right but we fail to capture or kill him it will not only demoralize our troops but make this war drag on much longer than necessary and making Bin Laden far more cautious. A side effect of that would we would put even more money into the war and we would go even further into recession. I have only two questions.  Is it worth the risk to try to attempt and capture him when so much is at risk? The second one is, isn’t a foolish move to make considering not everyone believes that this information is completely accurate? All in all, I believe that this decision will either end the war or extend it far further into the future than anyone anticipated.

al Qaeda on the offense again.

“Sources: Senior al Qaeda leader directed Europe plot”, by Nic Robertson and Paul Cruickshank of CNN, talks about a massive terrorist that was aimed at Europe. The plan was to bomb cities in Europe and the attack was led by Ahmed Sidiqi. Sidiqi claimed to have met a senior member of al Qaeda named Younis al Mauretani, and that he was responsible for the actual plan. He is believed to be part of al Qaeda’s “external operations.”

When I read this article it probably scared me more than any haunted house or scary movie ever could. The reason why is because this is actually happening right now, and real lives are really at stake. The other reason this terrifies me so much is because it makes me think that our position is utterly hopeless, and that no matter how hard we fight, or how far we pursue these terrorists they will keep coming back for more. If we ever even do manage to get rid of al Qaeda that will be an empty victory because there will always be people who will come and take their place; maybe not as powerful or influential but they will be there. I try to keep some form of hope alive that someday things will be better but then I look at people like the terrorists who are willing to kill hundreds of people to reach their goals, and my hope dies with those people. As Catholic bishops have said, “ Humanity is the forsaken race” and if they have no hope that humans can find their own way who am I to say they are wrong when I believe the same thing. But I have a few questions. What makes these terrorist do what they do?  Why do they want to serve a god who orders this destruction? On the other hand is it right that we judge those that have recently joined them considering they have lost their homes, relatives, loves, and other things to this war? Does killing them and hating them for what they have done to us make us any better than them?  All in all, it is my belief that humanity will only progress once we leave our love of destruction and violence behind us.