13 Sep 2012 Tragic Deaths in Libya Reveal Lack of Leadership

Fellow Condemns Policy of Appeasement and Apology

Washington, D.C. – National Center for Public Policy Research Adjunct Fellow Horace Cooper comments on the tragic deaths of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans murdered in Libya.

“After announcing that we would disengage in the very counter-terrorism techniques that worked to prevent attacks on America for 7 ½ years, our national sovereignty has been breached 3 times – first with the attack by the so-called underwear bomber, then the audacious attempt in NYC and now with the capture and murder of our ambassador from our own consulate.” Cooper explained, “This ineffectual policy must be rescinded.”

“The policy of appeasement and apology will never succeed. It is essential that the US and its allies engage in an aggressive effort to challenge Muslim extremism and the terrorist threat wherever we find it. That means a return to the Bush policy of aggressive disruption – including enhanced interrogation, infiltration, electronic monitoring and other prevention methods,” Cooper argues.

“Perhaps the President might spend less time on the golf course and more time in intelligence briefings and he too would realize that we remain a nation at war,” Cooper says.

“As commander in chief he should be leading the effort to root out terrorism, not appease or apologize for it. Make no mistake, these attackers will not be persuaded or bribed to end their assaults on our nation,” Cooper explains. “This administration’s refusal to name the threat or acknowledge its nature gives breathing space to the very terrorist effort that we must be vigilant and yes aggressive in responding to.”

Horace Cooper is an adjunct fellow with the National Center for Public Policy Research, a founding member of the African-American leadership group Project 21 and a legal commentator. He was a senior counsel to U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey.

The National Center for Public Policy Research is a conservative, free-market, non-profit think-tank established in 1982. It is supported by the voluntary gifts of over 100,000 individual recent supporters. In 2011 it received over 350,000 individual donations. Two percent of its revenue comes from corporate sources. Contributions to it are tax-deductible.

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