Morning Jolt - . . .

with Jim Geraghty

Fewer Islamists Freely Roam the Streets of Europe This Morning
Good morning -- and in many ways, it is a good morning. Always better to hear
about sleeper cells of terrorists being arrested than sleeper cells of terrorists being
activated.
Dozens of terror suspects were arrested in Belgium, France, and
Germany early Friday, a day after Belgian authorities said that they
halted a plot to attack police officers by mere hours.
Eric Van der Sypt, a Belgian federal magistrate, told a news conference
Friday in Brussels that 13 people had been detained in Belgium in
connection with the plot, with another two arrested in neighboring
France. He added that a dozen searches had led to the discovery of
four military-style weapons including Kalashnikov assault rifles.
On Thursday, Belgian police had moved against a suspected terrorist
hideout in the eastern town of Verviers. In the ensuing firefight, two
terror suspects were killed, while a third was wounded and arrested.
At the time, officials said the militant group targeted in the raid
included some who had returned from Syria. Authorities have
previously said 300 Belgian residents have gone to fight with extremist
Islamic formations in Syria; it is unclear how many have returned.
. . . Meanwhile, French police arrested at least 12 people in antiterrorism raids in three towns around Paris, the city prosecutors office
said early Friday.
Also Friday, Berlin police said that they had taken two men into
custody on suspicion that they were recruiting fighters and procuring
equipment and funding for the Islamic State group, better known as
ISIS, in Syria.
The two were picked up in a series of raids involving the search of 11
residences by 250 police officers. Authorities said the raids were part
of a months-long investigation into a small group of extremists based
in Berlin. However, they also said there was no evidence the group was
planning attacks inside Germany.
Raids and a serious effort to root out the Islamist radicals returning from the Middle
East could be the silver lining to the abominable attacks in Paris.
Im thinking of a little anecdote from Tony Robbins:
Confidence and competence is not the same thing, Robbins tells
SUCCESS, following his return from a recent seminar tour through

Australia and India. No one should go into their garden and chant,
There are no weeds. There are no weeds. There are no weeds. For
people to be true leaders, they have to first see things as they are, not
worse. Then see it better than it is, and then make it the way you see
it.
Seeing a problem is not really a bad thing; if you see a problem, you can deal with
it. If you see the weeds, you can pick the weeds. One of the worst and most
dangerous circumstances is to have a problem and to not see it, or to walk around
with a false sense of security that a problem has been solved.
Which brings us to Jonahs latest bit of brilliance:
The Obama administration seems to believe that the wonder-working
power of their words can get everyone to stop believing their lying
eyes and ears. Its tempting to ask, How stupid do they think we are?
But the more relevant question is, How stupid do they think the
worlds 1.6 billion Muslims are? Whatever appeal the Islamic State
may or may not have in the larger Muslim world, Barack Obama
insisting it is not Islamic surely makes no difference whatsoever. And
as for the jihadists, its not like his words speak louder than his drone
strikes.
Its true that the Obama administration has had remarkable success
playing word games. They created or saved millions of jobs as if
that was a real economic metric. (For what its worth, I do or save 500
pushups every morning). They decimated core al-Qaeda, with the
tautological definition of core al-Qaeda being the parts of al-Qaeda
that we have decimated.
But this is different. Those distortions were political buzzphrases
intended for domestic consumption and a re-election campaign. This is
a much bigger deal. The threat of Islamic extremism transcends
Obamas theological hubris and lexicological shenanigans. All that
Obamas insipid rhetorical gamesmanship does is send the signal to
friend and foe alike that he cant or wont see the problem for what it
is.
Not only does Obama not see the problem for what it is, he behaves as if he doesnt
want us to think of it as much of a problem at all. Look at what Obama has spent
the past few days talking about: faster broadband. Methane emissions. Mandating
paid sick days. Its as if he wants to talk about everything except the guys who have
infiltrated Europe and no doubt, the United States as well, who are planning terror
attacks.
Do We Have a Veterans-Employment Problem or Not?
File this under, half of what you hear turns out to be wrong. Undoubtedly,
initiatives like Hiring Our Heroes have the best of intentions and noble goals.

Peter A. Gudmundsson, who was a Marine artillery officer and is currently chief
executive of RecruitMilitary, a national veteran-recruiting company, contends that
there really isnt a jobs crisis for veterans:
Americans may be shocked to learn that there is no veterans
unemployment crisis. The unemployment rate in 2014 for post-9/11
veterans was 7.2 percent, the lowest level in seven years of tracking
these veterans.
Although post-9/11 veterans did have a higher rate of unemployment
than the overall workforce last year which was at 6.2 percent the
disparity is more attributable to the relative youth of those in this
group rather than their military experience. In fact, compared with
civilians in the same age ranges, post-9/11 veterans experienced lower
rates of unemployment.
Gudmundsson writes that the Hire More Heroes Act, passed by the House last week,
is misguided.
Heres former Undersecretary of Defense Michle Flournoy, writing in April, pointing
to a lot of the same statistics eight months ago to make the case that there is a
serious problem:
One crucial area of disconnect between veterans expectations and
reality is their prospects for civilian employment. Sixty-six percent of
the veterans polled believed they have the education and skills to be
competitive in todays job market; 81 percent thought their skills would
translate well to the civilian job market; and 62 percent thought
employers would see military service as an advantage. These high
expectations contrast with what many post-9/11 veterans are
experiencing: Whereas the jobless rate for all U.S. veterans was just
6.9 percent in October 2013 slightly lower than for the overall
population the unemployment rate for veterans who have served
since 9/11 stood at 10 percent.
The truth: It is not easy for a service member who has conducted
hundreds of patrols in a combat zone to translate that experience into
skills that a civilian employer can understand. And with less than 1
percent of Americans having served in the military, misconceptions
abound, such as the assumption that every veteran has PTSD or that
service members are trained only to take orders, not to lead.
Is part of this the expectation among Americans that the unemployment rate for
post-9/11 veterans ought to be much closer to zero than the rate for the general
population?
Walker, Running
No surprise, but I suspect a lot of Republicans will welcome him:

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker left little doubt Thursday that he is

planning to run for the White House in 2016.
Speaking to the Republican National Committee (RNC) at its winter
meeting in San Diego, the union-busting Midwesterner cast himself as
a new, fresh leader, laying out a clear rationale for his candidacy as a
blue-state governor with a proven record of reforming government
I look at our country, and Im worried about our country the same way
that I was worried about my state back in 2009, Walker said when
discussing his two sons, craftily referencing the year he decided to
launch his first campaign for the governorship.
Less than 24 hours before former Republican nominee Mitt Romney will address
party leaders as he considers a third White House campaign, Walker said, People
want a fresh, new look. They want new ideas.