National Security Experts Agree: Biden Was Right; Enemies Likely To ‘Test’ Next President
National Security Experts Agree: Biden Was Right; Enemies Likely To ‘Test’ Next President
Recently, Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) said that if Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) is elected, there will be “an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy.” He followed up his comment by saying that Obama will rise to the occasion, because he has “steel in his spine.” Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) quickly jumped on the first part of Biden’s comments, declaring that the fact that Obama may be tested is actually a sign of weakness:
“I’m gonna test them,” Republican John McCain said at a campaign rally in New Mexico this morning. “They’re not gonna test me.”
Increasingly, national security experts are disavowing McCain’s comments. They agree that an international crisis confronting the next president is not a sign of weakness, but rather a very likely occurrence no matter if Obama or McCain wins:
– “I think the enemy could well take advantage” of the transfer of power in Washington, said the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Michael Mullen, who launched preparations for the transition months ago
– Veteran Pentagon consultant Michael Bayer, chairman of the Defense Business Board, told his fellow panelists that the new president’s inner circle should “set aside time in transition to identify the planning, gravitas and interagency process necessary to respond to a likely first-270-day crisis.”
– Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff says the federal government is monitoring “dozens” of potential terrorists in the U.S. … Chertoff says there is a risk that some would see opportunity during the transition between administrations.
– In its Administration Transition Task Force Report issued early this year, DHS’s Homeland Security Advisory Council placed the peak threat period from 30 days prior to the change in administrations, to six months after.
In June, even close McCain confidante Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) predicted that “our enemies will test the new president early.” As all these experts pointed out, preventing such an attack from being catastrophic requires extensive planning and preparation. So far, McCain has dismissed talk of transition planning, and it doesn’t appear that he has prepared anything except tough rhetoric.
Sort Comments By: Top Rated | Date
44 Responses to “National Security Experts Agree: Biden Was Right; Enemies Likely To ‘Test’ Next President”
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog Roll
National Security Experts Agree: Biden Was Right; Enemies Likely To ‘Test’ Next President»
- - Any regular here knows this to be true and always has. Now how do we get the lemmings at a McPalin rally to understand this?
October 27th, 2008 at 8:55 pmJohn McCain doesn't have any control over whether or not the next President will face an unexpected crisis or not.
UNLESS he has Osama Bin Laden's cell phone number - "Hey Osama, lay off for a while, I won." "Okay Johnny, see ya in New York in 2012."
October 27th, 2008 at 9:00 pmExactly why I am voting for Obama, because he has the foresight to put people in place, people like Joe Biden, who are smart enough to plan ahead rather than playing ostrich
This election is about putting someone in office who is smarter than you are, because the world at large does not care about beer, hockey and whether you were a POW back in Vietnam
October 27th, 2008 at 9:18 pmMcCain the Bush clone will do as his chromosome donor did when he was tested Read "My Pet Goat" and fumble the handoff
October 27th, 2008 at 9:23 pmIt seems plausible that some country would try to gloat President McCain into doing something rash like shoot now and ask questions later.
October 27th, 2008 at 9:24 pmThis kind of subtlety is wasted on the rubes in hicksville, tx, dumphuque, ks, and stoopitopolis, ga...
The troglodyte/macho posturings of McCumstain (how about John S. McCain...the "S" is for "Skidmark") appeal to the lowest, basest instincts which, still, count for a LOT in national personality contests...
And also don't forget, Skidmark's a POW, while Obama's just a negro...
October 27th, 2008 at 9:27 pmMcCain is needling and not reasoning. He’s become a grouchy annoying little ankle-biter. He could’ve been another Wendell Willkie. But maybe it’s not his fault. It’s pretty clear to see he’s exhausted and probably ill. So you shouldn’t be too hard on the old codger.
====
October 27th, 2008 at 9:28 pmI thought mcCain's declaration "They’re not gonna test me" was a little strange.
How exactly does he know that? There is no way he can guarantee it; if someone decides to take action during the transition (whether in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Balkans, or somewhere else), they will do it without asking his permission first.
Although it must have been comforting for the sheeple to hear him say it.
October 27th, 2008 at 9:30 pmBushMcCain said it, so it must be true. Ignorance is bliss indeed.konchster Says: "McCain the Bush clone will do as his chromosome donor did when he was tested Read “My Pet Goat” and fumble the handoff."
the way Booosh sat there, stony-faced and stunned, persuaded me that he had no personal fore-knowledge of the events that day.
Cheney? Shit yes. His portfolio in the cabinet was intelligence. He wouldn't have trusted the Chimperor not to screw it up, so wouldn't have told him anything. Cheney knew everything except the dates and the flight numbers...
October 27th, 2008 at 9:31 pmtokin librul says-- Cheney knew everything except the dates and the flight numbers…
Actually, I would bet money that he knew that information as well
October 27th, 2008 at 9:37 pmBlinky stated "they're not going to test me"
Blinky hangs with terrorists, how else could he know that?
October 27th, 2008 at 9:38 pmBlinky stated “they’re not going to test me”
Then he goes on to say "I'm gonna test them". That's all anybody should need to hear before discarding any temptation to vote for him. He is still the cocky, over-confident, ignorant flyboy he was back when he crashed five planes, endangered his squadron and screwed everything in a skirt.
It is probably a good thing that he hasn't spent any time planning for his presidential transition. It would have been a monumental waste of time.
October 27th, 2008 at 9:47 pmIs MyCane saying HE is planning on causing an international incident before "they" can?!
Oooooh he's so Mavericky....
October 27th, 2008 at 9:54 pmI have just read something scarier than words can describe. God save us from these people!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081028/ap_on_el_pr/skinhead_plot
October 27th, 2008 at 10:05 pmSome believe that Biden shows forethought and preparedness. I find him foolish in bringing up the subject of testing Obama. Why go there? This is fodder for the terrorists and for McCain who can come up with all kind of probabilities on their own. No small thing this loose Biden lip, I equate it to "Bin Laden Determined to Strike the US. Obama, you have been warned so don't blow it like Rice did.
October 27th, 2008 at 10:13 pmgus smith Says:
Some believe that Biden shows forethought and preparedness. I find him foolish in bringing up the subject of testing Obama. Why go there?
October 27th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
_______
Somehow I don't think UBL is watching the CNNi in his cave in Peshawar saying "oh, snap! I totally forgot! The Amrikis are having an election! We gotta get an attack ready! Boy, did WE almost look foolish!"
October 27th, 2008 at 10:29 pmAs always, the actual psychology of our foes is inscrutable to me. The AQ website endorses McCain - what does it mean?
Can someone like UBL, for whom the concept of diplomacy is alien, really look at Obama and think "He is going to open up a can of Charming whupass on me at the UN" and really fear that? Does AQ really want the more belligerant of the two candidates to win? These are guys who choose to live in caves and kill people they have never met in the hopes that they themselves are killed so they can go to Heaven. That is just a few too many mental non-sequiters for me to even begin to pretend to understand how they view a U.S. election.
October 27th, 2008 at 10:37 pmtokin,
What have you been putting in that pipe? Crack?
You obviously lost whatever brainpower you ince possessed a loooooong time ago.
I find your assertions absurd to say the least.
October 27th, 2008 at 10:51 pmLone Voice,
I see more evidence of your intellect on this thread... even MORE unimpressive.
October 27th, 2008 at 10:52 pmBig bad ole frail McLame boasts nobody's gonna test him. LOL
He can't even past the test of running a campaign!!
October 27th, 2008 at 10:54 pmMcLyin has only demagoguery, lies, and crypto-racism left ti campain on--his campaign is now officially intellectually and morally bankrupt.
October 27th, 2008 at 10:54 pmKeltoi at Night Says:
As always, the actual psychology of our foes is inscrutable to me. The AQ website endorses McCain - what does it mean?
October 27th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
________
Considering how many new recruits al-Qa'ida has gained as the result of eight years of the Bush administration, can you blame al-Qa'ida for wanting another four?
October 27th, 2008 at 11:32 pmHI Ho Tim Vaculik
October 27th, 2008 at 11:34 pmWhat's up?
Tim Vaculik Says:
Lone Voice,
I see more evidence of your intellect on this thread… even MORE unimpressive.
October 27th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Tim Vaculik,
Go back to GBS. You are clearly outclassed here, good sir.
October 27th, 2008 at 11:40 pmhussein toasterhead Says:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Keltoi at Night Says:
As always, the actual psychology of our foes is inscrutable to me. The AQ website endorses McCain - what does it mean?
October 27th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
________
Considering how many new recruits al-Qa’ida has gained as the result of eight years of the Bush administration, can you blame al-Qa’ida for wanting another four?
LOTS of those new recruits are with Allah now. And the leadership is hiding in caves. Does UBL call that a win? Maybe, but that is the point - we don't know what really goes on in their heads.
October 27th, 2008 at 11:47 pmKeltoi at Night Says:
LOTS of those new recruits are with Allah now. And the leadership is hiding in caves. Does UBL call that a win? Maybe, but that is the point - we don’t know what really goes on in their heads.
October 27th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
_______
Do we know what goes on in their heads? No. I mean, brain chemistry is still a relatively new field. But we do know what's going on in their web forums. And a lot of the new recruits are quite busy defacing Shi'a web sites. Apparently the latest crop of al-Qa'ida recruits are mostly passive-aggressive nerds. Also, al-Qa'ida has become somewhat of a pariah among other jihadist groups for their rather indiscriminate target selection.
But they're still an active organization with a strong PR effort and a strong ability to recruit impressionable young Muslims. A U.S. President like Obama is far more likely to favor diplomacy over warmongering, which contradicts the al-Qa'ida stereotype of the U.S. as a monolithic anti-Islam enemy. With Obama, the situation becomes more nuanced, and Osama has much more difficulty recruiting.
October 27th, 2008 at 11:59 pmApparently the latest crop of al-Qa’ida recruits are mostly passive-aggressive nerds.
I don't even know what to say to this image...do they watch the Muslim version of Beavis and Butthead in their mom's basement (what would be the equivalent of a basement in a tent or cave?)
As to your assessment of a more nuanced Obama approach being more trouble for AQ, you may well be right, though I don't know that I agree completely. We'll see if Obama's bellicose rhetoric is matched with actions - his words regarding how he's fight AQ have been quite aggressive.
But the thing I keep coming back to is can they see the truth of what you say? Whenever I hear Adam Gadan talk I think what an idiot he is, and he has got to be their "America expert" as far as our psychology goes.
In the end, the question is are they telling us what they really think on these websites or is it reverse psychology? The "warning" UBL issued in November 04 helped Bush, no doubt; if no similar such screed appears in the next week, it would seem to argue they want Obama. But again, there is no way to know for sure.
October 28th, 2008 at 12:35 amTim Vaculik Says:
Lone Voice,
I see more evidence of your intellect on this thread… even MORE unimpressive.
October 27th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Vacuum lick- As I deign to answer your non-comment pertaining to my intellect, I rather call into question yours. Have you no spell-check? So many typos for such a furiously working mind.
October 28th, 2008 at 12:35 amConsidering the fact that U.S. forces are occupying two separate and largely hostile foreign nations, I think it would be accurate to say that the new Prez will deal with, at least, two "tests" from the second he's sworn in. And if Flippy McSpin doesn't consider the situation a "test"? He's more insulated from real-world events than I imagined.
As for Bin Laden, he has succeeded beyond his wildest dreams, thanks to Chimpy providing "them" with several hundred-thousand targets in harms way. Not to mention the war's major roll in the current catastrophic financial meltdown. Assuming he's still alive, I would guess that Bin Laden goes to sleep each night with a hugely satisfied grin on his face.
October 28th, 2008 at 12:46 amKeltoi at Night--Whether the terrorists prefer Obama to McCain or not is irrelevant. I think that rather the question is who will be more in control of their emotions and intellectual capacity as POTUS. I have more of a concern over a self-styled "maverick" who has been known to loose his cool over lesser things and a VP candidate who states that she is keeping America safe from Russian interference when in fact she has had no control over the matter in any official function at all AND has the thinnest resume of any candidate running for VP EVER.
October 28th, 2008 at 12:50 amIt's common sense that the new president is going to be tested. If I was one of the bad guys I would see how far I could push it while the new president cleans up the shambles of the Bush economy. http://straighttalkonmccain.blogspot.com/
October 28th, 2008 at 12:52 amPete at 29: Whenever I think of Bin Laden, I think of a reigious zealot first, last and always. I will bet Torquamada went to sleep with a grin on his face...that type of thinking is so alien to non-psycotics I don't think we can ever know what motivates them.
LVR at 30: Not much to argue with there, but I do think it is good for your enemies to fear you.
October 28th, 2008 at 12:57 amKeltoi at Night--What is that saying? Ah, yes, "keep your friends close and your enemies closer" I believe is the paraphrase. We should not be a nation that causes fear, we are better than that. We should be a nation that offers hope. You can not beat a dog and expect it not to bite you eventually. We seriously dropped the ball when we did nothing to actually help improve the conditions that these people are enduring. That's where we can turn the tide of terrorism. I would hate someone who bombed my country relentlessly, too, then left my family to starve and freeze to death in the winter. We are not providing them with any significant means to improve their lives. Indiscriminate war is never the answer nor is fear.
October 28th, 2008 at 1:07 amKeltoi- I do think it's nice that you were out for the Dems in your area. We have a Republican guy here that I vote for because he does the right thing every time, whether it's with his party or not.
October 28th, 2008 at 1:19 amFear has always been dangerous as a tool of statecraft and it's rarely effective in war. The problem is that fear soon turns to rage and/or desperation. Rage and desperation make people do things like setting off bombs or flying airplanes into skyscrapers.
Hitler was big on instilling fear in his enemies. The Blitz on England was an attempt to frighten the English into suing for peace. The indiscriminate slaughter of Russian peasants was an attempt to frighten the Soviets into capitulation. Neither worked worth spit. In fact, they had the opposite of the intended effect.
Then, of course, there was the combined bomber offensive against Germany which was intended to frighten the Germans into overthrowing Hitler. That didn't work worth spit either.
Bombing in Korea and Vietnam was equally ineffective at frightening people into submission.
Heck! Any sane American Revolutionary was scared to death of what the English could do. That fear, again, translated into defeat of the stronger party.
What frightens me? Another reckless President like Ol' Flippy McSpin. The decisions that he has made in the campaign, especially accepting that horrible woman as a running mate, have forced me to reevaluate a man I once respected, a bit.
Actually, it goes back to his early insistence on the "surge". I find it terrifying that he never even considered a deescalation of offensive operations. Many military leaders wanted to pull back to a position of support before the bombing of the Golden Dome.
Once Saddam was captured, and an Iraqi government was in place, we might have been best served by a cessation of independent offensive action. Of course, we'll never know if such a strategy would have worked because Flippy and the neocons never even considered it. That frightens me to no end.
October 28th, 2008 at 1:45 am“I’m gonna test them,” Republican John McCain said at a campaign rally in New Mexico this morning. “They’re not gonna test me.”
Sounds like a fair amount of fear under that aggressive posturing.
October 28th, 2008 at 1:53 amI'm sure the Republicans fervently wish that test would occur before the election.
Every Republican in the U.S. is on his knees every day, praying for a big terror attack in the U.S. "Please, God," they're saying. "Let us be hit by a terrible terror attack today. It's our only shot. I don't care how many people get killed, just so long as it hurts the Democrats."
That's how much the Right love America. ;)
"The Mess We're In," starring me:
October 28th, 2008 at 6:19 amhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiBWkNFtrEg
George Bush was tested soon after he took power. And he failed miserably in ignoring perfectly good intelligence.
McCain seems to be making the same mistake with his taking it to them attitude. I wonder if he is going after Iran, like Bush went after Iraq, to the exclusion of any attention being paid to Al-Qaeda. Hope you folks don't give him the chance to try!
Obama, on the other hand, is preparing himself for something just in case. Preparing himslef for a terrorist threat and being ready for it.
Hmmmmmm who do you think would be more prepared? The fellas in charge of the WTC debacle or a President who is ready for the enemy.
Have your say on Nov. 4. Get out and vote!
October 28th, 2008 at 7:03 amMy humble apologies to all for my dyslexic writing! I lost my favorite proof reader a little while back so they slip through all the time.
Of course most of the time my comments are not worth reading anyway LOL.
October 28th, 2008 at 7:06 amThe problem is when McLame is tested he's likely to go "nucular".
October 28th, 2008 at 7:30 amMcIIIrd sez, "'I’m gonna test them,' Republican John McCain said at a campaign rally in New Mexico this morning. 'They’re not gonna test me.'”
So what do you have in mind, JohnnyBoy? Nuke Tehran? Have a squadron of B-52's drop cluster bombs on Damascus? Ask Secretary Paulsen to defend his actions visa vi the current economic crisis?
We've had 8 years of a gut-feeling, knee-jerking, ready-shot-aim halfwit in the White House. Enough!
Obama/Biden2008
October 28th, 2008 at 8:11 am“I’m gonna test them,” Republican John McCain said at a campaign rally in New Mexico this morning. “They’re not gonna test me.”
This has to be the most brazenly stupid remark yet by a candidate.
Who are THEY? Who, John? Russia, China, Iran, Lichtenstein?
This old fool will get us all dead. BushitCo rapture accomplished.
October 28th, 2008 at 8:23 amNo need for apologies upnorth. If McIIIrd wins, can I stay in your garage while I look for work and apply for Canadian citizenship?
October 28th, 2008 at 8:25 amBefore everyone decides the "enemy" will do this or that: is it wise to determine who is the "enemy" or will be or which one or ..... even if there is one?
No one has ever made that clear yet.Might be a good time to look into that.
And don't forget now that the military spending is through the roof and that whole industry and related industries are scooping all the loot, you know they have to keep the $$billions$$ flowing. No better way than create more insanity and blame everyone everywhere again.
Isn't that what they did this last 8 years?
And with a new prez they must not let him/her waste $$billions$$ on any social causes or infrastructure.All to the war machine to protect us from everyone everywhere all the time.
Don't get distracted.
October 28th, 2008 at 8:49 amAt least don't stay distracted.