Rep. Tom Reed, in his Campaign Facebook Page, has been criticizing his opponent John Plumb. In posts from May 12 to June 19,  Reed connects National Security Council member Plumb to President Obama and/or Hillary Clinton. As of June 19, his 38 comments since May 12 has mentioned Obama 28 times and Hillary 21 times.

Reed has declared that Obama/Plumb have failed foreign policies and no plan to combat ISIS; only a republican leader (for example Donald Trump) will keep us safe.

 

A Daily Kos article compared the number of Americans killed by terrorists from 1980 to 2014–Presidents Reagan, Bush (41), Clinton, Bush (43) and Obama. Please note that (1) I have updated Obama’s date to include the terrorist attack since 2014 and (2) the article has fully annotated lists the terrorist attacks with the number of causalities to confirm their data.

No Americans were killed by terrorists while George H.W. Bush was President, but in the 1990-91 Gulf War 190 coalition troops were killed by enemy action.

• Reagan (1981-89) total deaths= 675, per month= 7.4 (major events include October 1983’s Beirut barracks bombing 241 US Servicemen killed, December 1988’s Pan Am flight 103 destroyed by a bomb 259 American killed)

• Bush (1989-93) total deaths=0, per month=0

• Clinton (1993-01) total deaths= 444, per month= 4.6 (major events include the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing 168 killed, 1998 US Kenyan Embassy (214 killed) and Tanzania Embassy (11 killed)–both were bombed)

• Bush (2001-09) total deaths= 3,075, per month= 64.1 (major event Twin Towers attacks, 2,997 killed,  Karachi consulate attacks 18 killed)

• Obama (2009- June 21, 2016) total deaths= 99, per month= 2.4 (major events see below)

I would like to detail Obama’s data. The article states that as of publication date (February 3, 2014) there had been seven Americans killed by terrorists–four in Benghazi and three in the Boston bombing. When I googled for updated data I found articles about other “terrorist attacks” which were between 2009 and 2014:

• Binghamton, NY (April, 2009) 13 deaths
• Little Rock Arkansas (June 2009) 1 death
• Fort Hood, (November 2009) 13 deaths
• Frankfort Germany US Military Base (May 2011) 2 deaths
• Benghazi (September 2012) 4 deaths

Other “terrorist attacks” during Obama’s Administration:

• Boston Marathon bombing (April 2013 ) 3 deaths
• San Bernardino (December 2015) 14 deaths
• Orlando (June 2016) 49 deaths

Reed’s campaign has knowingly used lies and half-truths in Press Releases and social media, authentic or fake, to paint John Plumb as being unfit in his former position on the National Security Council and unfit to represent our district in Congress. Matter of fact the June 17 comment ends with “DC John Plumb, who helped with the foreign policy team, has likewise been silent on this important issue.” (The important issue dealt with the “Chinese government has been cheating economically.”) Reed offers no evidence for that statement.

Plumb has responded that accusations that the U.S. isn’t doing enough to eliminate the group is ridiculous. “The idea that the United States is not focused on combating ISIS is absurd,” Plumb said.

“I don’t know where this idea comes from, but the fact is every single day … we have scores of people in uniform and out working to protect us from terrorism.

“I think it’s become a smokescreen to avoid the real problem, which is right here at home.

Reed disregards the facts. His comments are purely political–he tells his followers what they want to hear; everything Obama and Plumb have done is wrong. Then he pivots, trying to look bipartisan and tells us in an official Press Release, “It’s only right that we come together to defeat terrorism and keep Americans safe.”

Plumb doesn’t pivot.