A REMINDER – AT 9:16 A.M. ET:  A reminder that our freedom isn't free, and that American operations around the world continue in the face of growing threats.  It is also a reminder to neo-isolationists here at home that isolationism has never worked, ever, ever.  It only kicks the can down the road and leads to a greater conflict in decades ahead.   From The New York Times:

WASHINGTON — The clandestine American military campaign to combat Al Qaeda’s franchise in Yemen is expanding to fight the Islamist militancy in Somalia, as new evidence indicates that insurgents in the two countries are forging closer ties and possibly plotting attacks against the United States, American officials say.

An American military drone aircraft attacked several Somalis in the militant group the Shabab late last month, the officials said, killing at least one of its midlevel operatives and wounding others.

The strike was carried out by the same Special Operations Command unit now battling militants in Yemen, and it represented an intensification of an American military campaign in a mostly lawless region where weak governments have allowed groups with links to Al Qaeda to flourish.

COMMENT:  At a time when "come home America" seems to be all the rage in some circles, we should note that the war against terror is going to be very long, and very hard.  We have a choice:  We can fight it through to some kind of victory, much as we fought the Cold War (which had its hot moments).   Or we can turn delusional, as we were before World War II.

Leadership will determine that choice, which is one reason why the 2012 election will be so critical.

July 2, 2011