As you may know, last week in Cairo, President Obama did not mention the word terrorism in his speech to the Muslim world. In fact, some inside the Democratic Party no longer refer to the War on Terror at all. It is now an overseas contingency operation or some dopey thing.
Actually, this debate has been going on ever since the attack on 9/11. You may remember Phil Donahue and I debating how to handle the Taliban, who harbor the Al Qaeda killers.
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O'REILLY: I believe that you have to go to a war mode in the sense that you have to tell these people, look, you've attacked us. It's not a crime. It's an attack. It's war. That's what you have done to the United States. We are going to leave all our options open to defeat you.
PHIL DONAHUE: Please don't make America the great big Satan coming in with the big feet stomping on innocent people in the name of those who died randomly by messianic people who talk to God everyday and God talks back. Don't let them do this to you. Behave in a rational way.
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Now, Mr. Donahue's opinion that worldwide terrorism should be handled by international consensus and the police is a long-held liberal belief, and now it's coming to fruition. The Obama administration has transferred accused terrorist Ahmed Ghailani, who the government says helped kill more than 200 people in the African U.S. Embassy bombings, from Guantanamo Bay to New York City, where he will be tried in civilian court. That will cost millions and take years. Mr. Ghailani should have been tried years ago by a military tribunal, but the Bush administration did not make that happen. Now there's a good chance Mr. Ghailani will use the trial to spout ridiculous propaganda. That's what these guys usually do, and here's a good example.
Speaking to Dan Rather, former Gitmo detainee Lakhdar Boumediene, who was recently sent to France, said this:
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LAKHDAR BOUMEDIENE: They lie, lie, lie. They lied. Nothing change in Guantanamo. Nothing. The same rules. They torture me in the Obama time more than Bush. More than him.
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All right. Well I'm sure the president's not going to be happy to hear that. I mean, give me a break.
For some reason, many Americans want the propaganda fiesta when dealing with foreign terrorists. That is just stupid. Again, the military should be handling all of this. If you attack the United States, our Constitution allows the military to defend the country. That's not hard. But apparently the Obama administration agrees with Phil Donahue, so let the circus begin.
And that's "The Memo."
Pinheads & Patriots
It is Donald Duck's 75th birthday. Now, there is no truth to the rumor Donald is Botoxed up. He looks mighty good for 75. It's all in the genes. Donald Duck is a patriot.
On the pinhead front, another "you decide" situation. Roll the tape.
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DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": One awkward moment though during the game. Maybe you heard about it; maybe you saw it on one of the highlight reels. One awkward moment for Sarah Palin at the Yankee game. During the seventh inning, her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez.
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Is Dave Letterman a pinhead? You make the call.
— You can catch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Pinheads & Patriots" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the FOX News Channel and any time on foxnews.com/oreilly. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com
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