Allen West On The NSA Snooping

As I ponder the NSA records data mining episode here are my thoughts. This is like carpet bombing vs. precision attack.

Can someone explain why we weren’t listening to Anwar-al-Awlaki and his conversations with Major Nidal Hasan? Why weren’t we able to track Carlos Bledsoe's travel to Somalia and Yemen to receive terrorist training? Why didn’t we pay attention to warning signs of Abdul Mutallab (underwear bomber) with a one-way ticket and little baggage traveling from Nigeria to America? Why weren’t we paying attention to the Tsarnaev brothers’ travels and connections to Chechen Islamic terrorism -- heck Russia warned us?

Why is it that in October 2011, 57 Islamic organizations -- several with ties to Muslim Brotherhood -- sent a letter to then counter-terrorism advisor John Brennan demanding we purge training materials and punish instructors they deemed "offensive" and we didn’t say “shove it” and target THEIR records?

We’d rather carpet bomb Americans to cover our cowardice in confronting Islamic extremism. Benjamin Franklin said, "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

◼ Allen West