A NAVY WARNING – AT 9:28 A.M. ET:  There are other things happening besides the seizing of one sixth of the American economy by the Democratic Party in the House.  The Navy is issuing a stark warning about a new Al Qaeda maritime attack.  From superb defense reporter Bill Gertz, at the Washington Times:

The Navy is warning ships sailing in waters near Yemen that al Qaeda is planning seaborne attacks similar to the 2000 suicide boat bombing of the USS Cole.

A warning notice posted on the Web site of the Office of Naval Intelligence and dated March 10 stated that the alert was issued to promote security for shipping companies and other vessels transiting the piracy-plagued region.

"Information suggests that al Qaeda remains interested in maritime attacks in the Bab-al-Mandeb Strait, Red Sea, and the Gulf of Aden along the coast of Yemen," the special advisory notice stated.

A U.S. counterterrorism official said the warning was intended to boost awareness of the threat of al Qaeda attacks such as the Cole, which killed 17 U.S. sailors, and a later attack on a French oil tanker that killed one crew member.

"Extremists on the Arabian Peninsula continue to look to maritime interests as possible terrorist targets," the official said.

According to the warning notice, the exact method of any planned attack is not known but it "may be similar in nature to the attacks against the USS Cole in October 2000 and the M/V Limburg in October 2002, where a small to mid-size boat laden with explosives was detonated."

More sophisticated attack methods could include missiles or projectiles fired at ships.

COMMENT:  Sooner or later, we'll be hit again, either at home or in some American position overseas.  There are some new isolationists in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party who would like us, in the pathetic words of George McGovern, to "come home America."  More rational voices must prevail.  The threat continues, and will probably go on for decades, as did the Cold War.

March 22, 2010