Is our Middle East intellgence as bad as 9/11/2001?

After 9/11 happened, we were told one of the first things to be fixed were the weaknesses in our Mideast intelligence. We were told that lack of information sharing and lack of human intelligence had allowed Osama Bin Laden to operate freely, and large below the radar. Thus was born the "Department of Homeland Security". Ten years later, reasonable people are asking if anything has really changed, since all of the Jasmine Revolutions took us by surprise.

Did we have adequate intelligence of what was about to happen? The obvious answer is "no," across the board. The ensuing debate about why we were caught so flatfooted will undoubtedly reverberate over the next several months. We are not looking for predictions, but for more information for policy makers and less reliance on foreign intelligence services. Our dearth of human sources in the Middle East has been a problem for decades during many administrations. And what we need now are more resources and operations, not fewer.

If it turns out that after 10 years and multiple billions of dollars have been spent that we have no better understanding of the Middle East, then we have been deceived and a special prosecutor may be needed. At the very least, the Bush Administration needs to be called out for not delivering an effective intelligence apparatus to President Obama.

Truly the Internet Revolution

From Townhall.Com.

Egypt's Next Choice

Egypt hits their Internet Kill-Switch

The Obama administration has been trying to pass a law giving the President an "internet kill-switch" to allow him to effectively shut down the internet in the case of a national crisis. Presumably, this is to allow us to resist an attack being coordinated over the internet. But as civil liberties groups have reminded us time and time again, the most-common use of such "kill switches" has been to stifle dissent.

Now, Egypt has flipped its "internet kill switch" in an attempt to disrupt protests convulsing the nation. These protests - like the ones in Tunisia last month and Iran last year - have largely been organized over social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) which allowed protesters freedom to communicate outside of traditional means.

Before we give our government the power to shut down such a powerful communication medium, we need to decide if there are enough "good" uses for such power to offset the many, many potential "evil" uses for it.

Why is Tunisia important?

The question has been asked again and again - why should Americans care about Tunisia? After all, their main contribution to our culture was to serve as the shooting location for Tatooine in the Star Wars movies. The so-called Jasmine Revolution has been going on for days now, but still is not garnering much attention in the US press.

CNN has up a good explanation of why this is important, and why a revolution in this tiny nation could have far-reaching implications for the world.

It might be too soon to predict a populist revolution erupting throughout North Africa anytime soon following the example of Tunisia. But these recent social uprisings in a region of the world important to Europe and the United States should serve as a warning call that state stability achieved through intensified political oppression, economic marginalization and social injustice are certain guaranties of the kind of societal uncertainty from which future instability occurs without any guarantee of a democratic outcome.

Tunisia had a revolution! Did you notice?

"Revolution" is a big word for Americans. Our own nation was founded by a Revolution where our founding fathers wrested control from a monarchy to found a Republic. So, whenever another country cries "Revolution", we are usually quick to sit up and take notice. But not so much with Tunisia, the north-easternmost country in Africa and a neighbor to Libya.

On December 17, a 26 year old Tunisian man named Mohamed Bouazizi reached the end of his rope. An unemployed university graduate, Bouazizi had become a seller of fruits and vegetables in the southern Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid. When authorities confiscated his wares to punish him for selling without a license, Bouazizi set himself on fire...Bouazizi’s suicide struck a chord with other frustrated Tunisians. Thousands took to the streets in Sidi Bouzid to protest widespread unemployment, government corruption and lack of opportunity. Another frustrated youth in Sidi Bouzid, Lahseen Naji, killed himself by climbing an electricity pylon while crying out “No for misery, no for unemployment!” before grasping the high voltage line. The Tunisian government responded by sending baton and teargas-wielding reinforcements to the city and by promising future economic development projects...The director of Mr. Ben Ali's presidential security force was arrested in the afternoon, and after nightfall army special forces battled armed units loyal to the former president that had holed themselves up in the presidential palace on the outskirts of Tunisia...Tunisia's caretaker prime minister said a new coalition government would be announced Monday that includes members of the country's opposition and some leaders, like himself, from the previous regime—a move that could fill the country's power vacuum and help stabilize the tense North African country.

But America has barely been paying attention, distracted by the shooting in Tucson and the NFL playoffs. Now is the time to catch up with your knowledge of Tunisia as this revolution is expected to have international repercussions, and may trigger other revolutions across Africa.