ABC News identifies world's most dangerous man

President Obama has put out a contract on this American citizen. And with good reason.  Now ABC News reports that this targeted America cleric may well be the most dangerous man in the world:

Yemen is a growing training ground for al Qaeda and is the home of Anwar al-Alawki, the man considered every bit as dangerous -- if not more -- than Osama bin Laden. He helped the failed Christmas Day bomber, inspired the Times Square bomber, and has called for more attacks on Americans. Bombs on board cargo planes also came from Yemen.

Consider this: Anwar al-Alawki is somehow linked to more failed bomb plots than any man alive.  Such a reckless man surely threatens not only the survival of the United States, but also the safety of his fellow terrorists.  The article continues:

Yemeni troops are going after al Qaeda, but that is at risk if the government is overthrown in the poverty stricken nation.

"Yemen becomes an absolute mess," Bender said. "I think the fear is that this would simply fall apart."

So while protests may be cause for cheering in some nations, in others they are making American officials very nervous.

A dangerous American citizen with ties to California is on the lose in Yemen.  President Obama is trying to kill him, but the CIA can't seem to find him.  Now ABC News says this guy could be more dangerous than Osama bin Laden.   Meanwhile, the government of Yemen could fall.  Who's to say Anwar al-Alawki won't seize power in Yemen and try to buy a nuke from North Korea? 
 
One thing's for sure: if American government officials -- the guys protecting us -- are "very nervous," then you should be too.

What a real State of the Union Speech looks like

The president's SOTUS last night disappointed the staff of DoF. Equally disappointing was the response by the Republican side. As a nation, we've got to get back into the grove. Maybe watching this great speech from 2002 can inspire our leaders in Washington.

Miss America says security comes first

Here's the text of remarks by Teresa Scanlan of Nebraska who was crowned Miss America 2010.

QUESTION: "Everybody's talking about the Wikileaks, how do we balance people's right to know with the need for government security?"

ANSWER: "You know when it came to that situation it was actually based on espionage, and when it comes to the security of our nation we have to focus on security first, and then people's right to know. Because it's so important that everyone in our borders is safe, and so we can't let things like that happen and they must be handled properly... and I think that was the case."

Security first.  Spoken like a true American.

Look up and be afraid

The heading for an article by Jeff Goldberg in the Atlantic Monthly reads, "Wealthy travelers routinely bypass the TSA by flying on private jets.  How long until al-Qaeda does the same?"

Here's the key passage from Jeff's alarming article about this threat:

We climbed aboard the eight-seat twin-engine plane. The pilot greeted us, took my bag from me, and placed it on a seat. I noticed that no door separated the cabin from the cockpit.

We took off a few minutes later and headed south, in the direction of the Pentagon, the White House, and the United States Capitol complex.

“So let’s just say that I’m a terrorist pilot,” I said, “and I have a bag filled with handguns and I shoot these two pilots and then I take control of the plane and steer it into the headquarters of the CIA,” near which we would soon be flying. “What’s stopping me?”

“There’s nothing stopping you,” my friend said. “All you need is money to buy a plane, or a charter.”

Luckily for America, I am not a terrorist, I did not kill the pilots, and I did not steer the plane into the headquarters of the CIA. Nor did I pack my bag with Semtex or a dirty bomb. Instead, I occupied myself by taking free candy and bottles of Evian from the plane’s endless stock of free candy and Evian, which reminded me, as if I needed reminding, that it is better to be rich than poor.

Lucky indeed.  As Jeff has illustrated, the freedoms enjoyed by the pilots of private planes are a catastrophe waiting to happen.  

After this weekend's shooting in Tucson, it is important to contemplate the likelihood that any number of small planes are piloted by mentally ill people under the influence of anti-American ideologies.

As SecFear pointed out on Twitter today, in response to the tragedy in Tucson, Americans need to ask themselves what freedoms they are prepared to sacrifice.  Severely restricting private plane flights would be an obvious place to start.  Think about it.  If some freedoms enjoyed by the pilots of small planes were taken away, few of us would miss them, yet all of us would sleep a lot easier.

Our sincerest apologies to Wall Street

POTUS and SecFear discussing threats to national security after diving among sharks in Hawaii.

Dear readers,

In late December DoF staff posted an opinion piece on this blog that had been forwarded to me by SecFear.  I mistakenly assumed that the article had been written by Mr. Stag III, who was vacationing with the president in Hawaii at the time.   

In fact, the article was written by Mr. Frank Aaronson, a decorated Vietnam War veteran and former intelligence man. 

Mr. Aaronson's piece has upset many of our readers, especially DoF supporters in the financial community.   In fact, DoF has received hundreds of emails complaining about the posting.  This tweet is fairly typical of the reaction:
 

Conservative_76 Bob  Apparently @FearDept doesn't understand the country's fiscal situation. Someone should educate them.

Please understand that the article represented only the views of Mr. Frank Aaronson.    On behalf of DoF, I sincerely apologize for the misunderstanding.

Rest assured that DoF remains a strong and loyal supporter not only of the defense sector, but also Wall Street and the entire US financial industry.  For example, DoF fully supports calls for non-military spending cuts. We also recognize that America's most successful citizens are in need of additional tax relief. 

Sincerely,

Rebecca Wolf, Ph.D.
Undersecretary for Community and Social Media

Fox News voted scariest organization in America

Almost three million FoxNews viewers attended Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally in Aug. 2010.

This is the polling question we asked readers to respond to last week:

WHAT INDIVIDUAL OR ORGANIZATION WENT TO THE GREATEST LENGTHS TO SCARE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE IN 2010? VOTE FOR YOUR CHOICE. THE WINNER WILL BE DECLARED "FEAR HERO 2010" ON DEC 31ST AT OUR ANNUAL FUNDRAISING BALL FOR DEFENSE INDUSTRY LOBBYISTS.

Friends of the United States Department of Fear have spoken. The scariest "person or organization" of 2010 was Fox News. The scariest person? That would be Glenn Beck, the prominent Fox News announcer.  In September 2010 Glenn led the massive "Restoring Honor" rally on the Mall in Washington D.C..  DoF analysts estimate that the event was attended by 2.7 million Americans.

Sec Fear, interviewed Tuesday by Fox News about the results, said, "We're pleased with the outcome of our New Year's poll, but frankly, we aren't surprised.  DoF has always considered your network a reliable partner in fear."

We asked Dr. Rebecca Wolf, Undersecretary for Community Affairs at DoF, to analyze the continued success of Fox News.  Dr. Wolf said,  "What they (Fox) understand is wisdom of our department's moto Timendi causa est nescire (ignorance causes fear)."

Dr. Wolf noted that a recent University of Maryland study ("Misinformation and the 2010 Election") had documented the cable network's greater success at spreading misinformation relative to other American  news organizations.

According to the 2010 study, those who watched Fox News almost daily were significantly more likely than those who never watched it to be ignorant about various political issues.   For example, the study found Fox News viewers to be more likely than other American news consumers to believe that:

• most economists estimate the stimulus caused job losses (12 points more likely) 
• most economists have estimated the health care law will worsen the deficit (31 points)
• the economy is getting worse (26 points) 
• most scientists do not agree that climate change is occurring (30 points)
• the stimulus legislation did not include any tax cuts (14 points) 
• their own income taxes have gone up (14 points) 
• the auto bailout only occurred under Obama (13 points) 
• when TARP came up for a vote most Republicans opposed it (12 points) 
• and that it is not clear that Obama was born in the United States (31 points)

The authors of the Maryland study observed, "These effects increased incrementally with increasing levels of exposure and all were statistically significant. The effect was also not simply a function of partisan bias, as people who voted Democratic and watched Fox News were also more likely to have such misinformation than those who did not watch it--though by a lesser margin than those who voted Republican."

DoF extends its heartfelt congratulates to Glenn, Sarah, Sean, Bill and all our friends at Fox News for making the American public more ignorant, and therefore, more afraid in 2010.   We urge our readers to join us in spreading the word about the "fear heroes" of Fox News in the New Year.