Terror Talk...Becoming Terrorizing

National security is worthy of one of the President's and our biggest concerns. If we are not safe, then we as individuals as well as our country are at risk. On Christmas we had the latest terrorism threat/scare. Luckily, the suspect was reprimanded before he could carry through his mission. And not surprisingly, "party politics" and "partisanship" have entered into the terrorism spectrum once again. Republicans toot their horn as they party that has the priority of keeping America safe and claim that since Obama took over as President the nation is less safe and these type of attacks are more likely. I will safe going into a lengthy run down of things that happened between 9/11 and President Bush's last day in office. However, let's take a deeper look at the recent developments.

As stated, there was a failed Christmas Day bombing of a plane heading to Detroit. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the terrorist in question, did not leave an American airport so if any Republican wants to claim that we have TSA problems; we might not be perfect, but they can't use that as a reason to say we have weak security. But nonetheless, Republicans have seen an opening as the midterm elections inch closer and they are clawing for political capital. They want to find any and every weakness and exploit to their advantage despite the fact that national security issues should bring together the two parties and not create a reason to bring one down for the other to rise. To make things easier for the critics of the White House, is the mixed statements by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. If the system in place worked then this wouldn't have happened, but the fact that is prevented further action must stand for something.

Republicans point to events in the last two months as warning signs of a failed system and the administration's perspective. The Fort Hood attacks as well as the five Pakistani-Americans with terrorist roots and now this incident only give the White House's opponents more fuel to their fire. The Republican Party have used each incident to spark the "we are better than them" debate. Some even bring up the downside of attempting diplomatic efforts with our enemies. The "soft talk" and talk of closing Guantanamo Bay only encourage these terrorists to act according to many members of the Republican Party.

However, anyone who has studied history and politics knows that the Republican Party has held the mantle of strong national security for years now. The trust gap closed greatly under President Bush mostly due to his administration's and the Republican-led Congress' actions in the Mideast; mostly the Iraq War. Despite the criticism directed his way, President Obama continues to stay the course and focused on making America and the world safe from terrorism. Regardless of what the other party is doing, the president has avoided turning this into a partisan issue. Worth mentioning is the GOP's hold on the clearing the appointment to head the TSA. Also there was legislation involving screening at airports and it favored less evasive tactics and it was brought up by a Republican Congressman.

I just see this latest potential terrorist threat as a reason for "politics as usual" to creep in. The Republicans know that after 9/11 the American public is a lot more on edge as at any moment a terrorist threat might arise or even worse. That sense of uncertainty has been exploited for political gain and maybe it is time to same enough is enough. There is no doubt that both parties vastly disagree on how to how national security. They disagree on procedures and protocol. This is the age of anti-partisanship as the Republicans want to stall anything that would make the Democratic Party look good. I mean you can't blame them. Democrats have used stalling practices and such to better their position. But there are certain things that shouldn't be tossed around to further one party or another. And national security is definitely one of those. Republicans should stop playing the blame game and we would not have allowed that game. They should not tell terrorists what they did wrong and also make those said terrorists feel that the United States is not united against them is not exactly the smartest approach. Frankly all this terror talk and how one party is weak is becoming terrorizing within itself.