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Real Threat Or Politics Of Distraction?
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Fri, 12 Aug 2005 10:39:47 -0400
Begin forwarded message: From: Richard Forno <rforno () infowarrior org> Date: August 12, 2005 8:24:02 AM EDT To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net> Subject: Real Threat Or Politics Of Distraction?I remember someone did a study that showed a new terror threat alert being
issued whenever Bush's poll numbers sank.....it was a few pages, but was well-researched and I think came out in 2002 or 2003........but this is another example of that phenomenon in action. -rf Real Threat Or Politics Of Distraction? http://crawfordslist.blogspot.com/ Here we go again. The President's polls are down, anti-war sentiment is growing, and it's summer time. Get your August terror alerts while they last. Breaking News (hours after President Bush reacts to Protester Mom):Citing "uncorroborated intelligence," the FBI warns that al- Qaida cells
might use fuel trucks as weapons to attack Los Angeles, New York andChicago. "Though intelligence bulletins usually describe how reliable the information is, this one carried no such statement. The warning has not been
substantiated, according to two law enforcement officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. The intelligence originated from FBI headquarters in Washington. It was not immediately clear why the bulletin was sent without details on its reliability." -- Associated Press (Aug. 12, 2005) Last August (3 days after the Democratic National Convention): "Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge warned of possible Al Qaedaterrorist attacks to financial institutions in New York City, Washington and
Newark, N.J. The information was obtained in the past 36 to 72 hours,officials said Sunday, increasing anxieties about a potential strike. The Bush administration let a 24-hour news cycle pass before making clear that most of the intelligence, while recently obtained, was three or four years old. 'I am concerned that every time something happens that's not good for
President Bush, he plays this trump card, which is terrorism,' former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean said."-- Associated Press (Aug. 4, 2004)For more background on terror alert politics, see "Ridge Reveals Clashes On
Alerts" -- USA TODAY (May 10, 2005) -- shown below:
Ridge reveals clashes on alerts By Mimi Hall, USA TODAYWASHINGTON — The Bush administration periodically put the USA on high alert for terrorist attacks even though then-Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge argued there was only flimsy evidence to justify raising the threat level,Ridge now says. Ridge, who resigned Feb. 1, said Tuesday that he often disagreed withadministration officials who wanted to elevate the threat level to orange, or"high" risk of terrorist attack, but was overruled.His comments at a Washington forum describe spirited debates over terrorist intelligence and provide rare insight into the inner workings of the nation'shomeland security apparatus.Ridge said he wanted to "debunk the myth" that his agency was responsible for repeatedly raising the alert under a color-coded system he unveiled in 2002."More often than not we were the least inclined to raise it," Ridge told reporters. "Sometimes we disagreed with the intelligence assessment. Sometimes we thought even if the intelligence was good, you don't necessarily put thecountry on (alert). ... There were times when some people were really aggressive about raising it, and we said, 'For that?' "Revising or scrapping the color-coded alert system is under review by new Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff. Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said "improvements and adjustments" may be announced within thenext few months.The threat level was last raised on a nationwide scale in December 2003, to orange from yellow — or "elevated" risk — where the alert level is now. In most cases, Ridge said Homeland Security officials didn't want to raise the level because they knew local governments and businesses would have to spendmoney putting temporary security upgrades in place."You have to use that tool of communication very sparingly," Ridge said at theforum, which was attended by seven other former department leaders. The level is raised if a majority on the President's Homeland SecurityAdvisory Council favors it and President Bush concurs. Among those on the council with Ridge were Attorney General John Ashcroft, FBI chief Robert Mueller, CIA director George Tenet, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld andSecretary of State Colin Powell.Ridge and Ashcroft publicly clashed over how to communicate threat information to the public. But Ridge has never before discussed internal dissention overthe threat level.The color-coded system was controversial from the start. Polls showed thepublic found it confusing. Contributing: Associated Press R
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- Real Threat Or Politics Of Distraction? David Farber (Aug 12)