Summary: While most Americans are focused on legitimate economic concerns, looming threats to our national security are building on the horizon, for example, the regrouping of al-Qaida to mount coordinated attacks on the United States — including Mumbai-style swarm attacks, Beslan-style school massacres, and other low-intensity, low-casualty (but panic-inducing) acts of terror with the potential to inflict serious damage on the U.S. economy. This week’s suicide bombing at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport is a tragedy that could just as easily happen in the United States. One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on January 26, 2010, Aubrey Immelman reported that a new report warned that al-Qaida had not abandoned its goal of attacking the United States with a chemical, biological, or even nuclear weapon and examined al-Qaida’s high-value target list for terrorist attacks on U.S. soil.

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Summary: Declaring that the nation faces big decisions like those it confronted at the dawn of the space race, President Barack Obama called for sweeping bipartisan “investments” in science, education, and infrastructure in his 2011 State of the Union address — all without increasing government spending. Rep. Michele Bachmann delivered the Tea Party response. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on January 25, 2010, Aubrey Immelman reported that three car bombs exploded near three Baghdad hotels popular with Western journalists, security contractors, and businessmen, killing at least 37 people and injuring more than 100.

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Summary: The search continues for U.S. Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Ahmed Kousay al-Taie, missing in Iraq since Oct. 23, 2006, Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on January 24, 2010, Aubrey Immelman reported that President Barack Obama recalled his former campaign manager, David Plouffe, and was reconstituting the team that helped him win the White House in 2008 to counter Republican challenges in the 2010 midterm elections and recalibrate after political setbacks that have narrowed his legislative ambitions. He also reported on the political psychology of Barack Obama, including Obama’s personality profile, leadership style, and decision-making style.

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Summary: Tea Party-backed lawmakers are not exempting the military’s multibillion-dollar budget from spending cuts in a time of war. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on January 23, 2010, Aubrey Immelman reported that the death of two U.S. soldiers in southern Afghanistan brought to at least 22 the number of American service members killed January 2010, compared with only 14 for the whole of January 2009. Meanwhile, in Pakistan, militants ambushed Pakistani security forces at checkpoints in two regions close to the Afghan border, sparking gunbattles that left 22 insurgents and two troops dead.

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Summary: Ed Mauser, the last surviving member of the “Band of Brothers” who fought in some of World War II’s fiercest European battles, has died at the age of 94. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on January 22, 2010, Aubrey Immelman reported that NATO released video of a complex Taliban attack on the Presidential Palace and other government buildings in Kabul, Afghanistan, on January 18, 2010.

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Summary: Weekly report of U.S. military deaths in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, compiled from U.S. Department of Defense news releases and iCasualties.org. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on January 21, 2010, Aubrey Immelman reported that, for the second year running, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann figured prominently in 2009 year-end lists documenting outrageous political behavior.

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Summary: As Anbar province became a stronghold for al-Qaida and other Sunni extremist groups after the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, Christians and Shiites, feeling singled out, fled the area, until the town of Habbaniya Cece (population 10,150) had only one Christian family, down from about 70 families before the American invasion. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on January 20, 2010, Aubrey Immelman provided his weekly report of U.S. military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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Summary: Rep. Michele Bachmann, founder of the House Tea Party Caucus, is calling the 2010 health care reform law — derisively labeled “Obamacare” — “the crown jewel of socialism.” … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on January 19, 2010, Aubrey Immelman reported that Taliban militants struck in the heart of the Afghan capital of Kabul, launching suicide attacks at key government targets in a clear sign the insurgents plan to escalate their fight as the U.S. and its allies ramp up their own campaign to end the war.

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Summary: A suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowd of police recruits in Tikrit, killing at least 60 people and wounding more than 120 as Iraq struggles to protect itself without foreign help. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on January 18, 2010, Aubrey Immelman reported that Baitullah Mehsud, commander of the Pakistani Taliban until he was killed in a U.S. missile strike in August 2009, had said in March 2009 that his group was planning an attack on the White House that would “amaze” the world. In that regard, it’s notable that Osama bin Laden reportedly told planner Ramzi Binalshibh that he preferred the White House over the Capitol as a target in the attacks of 9/11. Hence, it must be assumed that the White House remains at the top of al-Qaida’s high-value target list.

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Summary: An Associated Press-GfK poll finds disapproval over President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul has subsided, with fewer than one-third of respondents strongly opposed to the law and only about one in four saying they want to do away with “Obamacare” completely. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on January 17, 2010, Aubrey Immelman reported that despite Pakistani protest, the Obama administration was ramping up its missile campaign against insurgent targets in North Waziristan along Pakistan’s northwest frontier with Afghanistan, where al-Qaida’s top leadership, possibly including Osama bin Laden himself, had taken refuge.

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