Decorated military veteran and best-selling author Oliver North tells Newsmax that the decision to try Osama bin Laden’s son-in-law in civilian court shows that the administration has “abandoned” the war on terror.
He also says that American aid to Egypt amounts to giving help to an adversary, and warns that North Korea’s threat to attack the United States should not be “taken kindly.”
North served in the U.S. Marines for 22 years and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He also served on the staff of the National Security Council during the Ronald Reagan administration.
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He now serves as a military analyst on Fox News Channel and is the founder of the Freedom Alliance foundation. His latest book is “Heroes Proved.”
Osama bin Laden’s son-in-law Abu Ghaith has pleaded not guilty and will be tried in civilian court after being charged with conspiracy to kill Americans. Some lawmakers say he had knowledge of al-Qaeda’s activities and should therefore be held at Guantanamo Bay.
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In an exclusive interview with Newsmax TV, North says the move shows that “the so-called war on terror has been abandoned by the Obama administration, there’s no doubt about it. We’ve seen the last additional detainee sent to Gitmo. This is proof that we’re no longer going to use Guantanamo as a place to send new detainees.
“There’s still a quandary as to what to do about those who are still there. There’s talk again about moving them to a special prison in Illinois that meets what they call super max standards. I would expect that we’re going to see a push to do that again by the Obama administration just like they did two years ago.
“I would look at this as potentially a very dangerous precedent. Gitmo has worked, no matter what anybody in the Obama administration or the progressives seem to think. It has been succeeding in getting information that’s essential to the United States and keeping terrorists from being used as pawns by our adversaries. Unfortunately this administration is adamant about closing it and we are now seeing the result: a trial in New York City that is going to cost billions, certainly tens of millions in additional costs to protect New York.”
North Korea has reportedly pulled out of the armistice ending the Korean War and recently threatened to turn Washington into a “sea of fire.”
North comments: “Clearly they believe that we’re weak. Clearly we’ve given them the signal that we are. The United Nations passed so-called sanctions again on North Korea and they’ve said they “will exercise their preemptive right to a nuclear attack.” I don’t think this ought to be taken kindly.
“There’s the assumption being made by the national security advisers to the Obama administration that the North Korean leadership is not suicidal, that they know they will be obliterated if they attacked the United States. But I would point that everything in South Korea and Japan is well within range of what they might want to do.
“Perhaps most alarming is they apparently intend to provide this technology to the Iranians and we know that they’re suicidal. What this means to Israel is potentially an existential threat. I would tell you that unless the United States makes very, very clear that military action is a possibility, the North Koreans will continue [their nuclear program] and the Iranians will eventually get a nuclear weapon.”
Turning to Afghanistan, where more Americans were recently killed in an “inside attack” by Afghan security forces, North says: “This is a major problem. It’s going to get worse as Americans draw down.
“[Afghan President Hamid] Karzai has demanded that the United States and NATO withdraw their Special Operators from Wardak Province, which is a key stronghold of the Taliban if they decide to come back in toward Kabul. All of this begs the question as to what the United States’ ultimate outcome is.
“Obama refuses to use the word victory. We’re no longer talking about winning but basically handing over responsibility to the Afghans. The corruption is rampant. The explosion of opium we’re expecting this year is the consequence of a failure on the part of this administration to back the U.S. commanders and the NATO commanders and make sure that Karzai understands that the outcome for him is ultimately very unfavorable if the United States withdraws precipitously.”
The House has blocked Secretary of State John Kerry from offering more financial aid to Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood-controlled government. In addition to F-16 fighter jets and Abrams tanks, the U.S. gave $250 million in direct aid to Egypt two days after the sequester cuts.
North is critical of the aid.
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“This administration [is] giving away money to our adversaries, in this case, the Muslim Brotherhood-run government in Egypt. [Egyptian President Mohammed] Morsi is not a friend of the United States. It begs the question is to how the United States intends to proceed as more dominoes fall in that part of the world.
“We’ve got a very difficult situation created by this embrace of the so-called Arab Spring. And that’s not getting better. It’s getting worse. The carnage for the people of Syria is horrific and it’s quite frankly too little too late to reverse a lot of that."
President Obama is making his first trip to Israel later this month. North was asked why Middle East peace talks have stalled these past four years.
“Ultimately, the Israelis can no longer give away more real estate. I was just in Israel a few weeks ago. I’ve stood on the Golan Heights. You can look almost at Damascus by facing north, looking to the right, and see the Mediterranean off to your left. And if the Israelis are forced by some U.S. pressure to give away more land, they would get more war.”
He adds: “If Israel ceased to exist tomorrow there would be still a jihad, and the administration’s convinced that if they can somehow get this so-called peace process back underway, we’ll be safer for it. I beg to differ.”
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