Shock and awe: President Obama says we are at war.

In an earlier post today, I questioned National Security Advisor, James Jones' prediction that we would be shocked after we read the declassified White House report today detailing what went wrong in the Christmas day incident involving a 23-year-old Nigerian who tried to blow up a Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines flight.

I've read the reports on the White House website, and haven't been additionally shocked.  Perhaps the real shock was that President Obama responded to former Vice President Dick Cheney's assertion with an about face, admitting that we are at war.

From CBS news:

The president went on to say that while America will strengthen its defenses, "we will not succumb to a siege mentality that sacrifices the open society and liberties and values that we cherish as Americans, because great and proud nations don't hunker down and hide behind walls of suspicion and mistrust."


"That is exactly what our adversaries want," he said. "And so long as I am president, we will never hand them that victory."

 That sounds almost George Bush-like, don't you think?

When they struck, they wanted to create an atmosphere of fear. And one of the great goals of this nation's war is to restore public confidence in the airline industry. It's to tell the traveling public: Get on board. Do your business around the country. Fly and enjoy America's great destination spots. Get down to Disney World in Florida. Take your families and enjoy life the way we want it to be enjoyed. . . .