Archives for 2004

After a day spent trashing the administration for doing their job, the Political Animal now grudgingly concedes there may just me something to the latest terror threat:

After spending some time reading about the CIA’s “multiple streams” of intelligence regarding uranium from Niger, I’m not as impressed by this as I might have been a year ago. Still, even though my trusting nature has taken a beating lately, for now it looks like this is probably the real deal, not just a politically motivated announcement designed to scare everyone into voting for George Bush (The Only Candidate Who’s Tough on Terror

ProgressPost + Comments (1)

Remember the Jay Rockefeller memo that explicitly called for Democrats on the Senate Intelligence to use their position for partisan political gain? I think that would be an accurate case of politicizing intelligence, not the vacuous claims made below. And you do remember the response from the Democrats when caught red-handed plotting to politicize national secrets:

“Hey- How did you get that memo?”

Politicizing Intelligence, Pt. 2Post + Comments (11)

The Prince of Darkness is still distorting the information that was used for the terror alerts:

1) The WaPo should ignore that Ridge explicitly politicized the terror warning.

2) The WaPo should chastize Howard Dean and unnamed Democrats for pointing out the truth – that this and other terror alerts in the past were explicitly political.

3) Then, finally, the WaPo should meekly suggest that maybe it’s a bad idea to use these for political purposes, without acknowledging that it had been done.

Wow- a stupid trifecta.

1.) Apparently the Al Qaedainformation updates are a pattern of behavior:

Much of the information that led the U.S. on Sunday to raise the alert of a possible terror attack in New York and Washington was three to four years old, the New York Times said, citing unidentified government officials.

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge raised the terror alert to “orange,” the second highest level, for financial institutions in Washington, New York City and northern New Jersey. Ridge cited intelligence on al-Qaeda plans to set off bombs at sites including the New York Stock Exchange, Citigroup Inc. and the International Monetary Fund.

No evidence has been found that a terrorist plot or preparatory surveillance are still under way, the paper said. The intelligence showed al-Qaeda had conducted reconnaissance of the intended targets, a step that it has taken in the past some years before carrying out attacks, the paper said.

Officials are still analyzing computer records, photos, drawings and other papers seized in Pakistan a month ago, the paper said. Combined with more recent intelligence, the documents show that the al-Qaeda network remains active and intent on attacking the U.S., the paper cited an American official as saying.

2.) Dean’s comments were so clearly over the line that even John Kerry recognized it:

Kerry was campaigning Monday in Grand Rapids, Mich., where he dismissed suggestions that a decision to raise the terror alert level was politically motivated.

“You take any threat seriously,” said Kerry, who was briefed on Sunday about the latest threats against financial institutions in New York City, Washington and New Jersey. “What’s important, however, is not to sort of bounce along from threat to threat. It’s to win the war, and I believe that I can fight a more effective war on terror than George Bush is.”

Kerry dismissed former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean’s comment that raising the terror level might be politically motivated.

“I don’t care what he said. I haven’t suggested that and I won’t suggest that,” Kerry said. “I do not hold that opinion. I don’t believe that.”

3.) Why should the Washington Post take advice from a paid political hack funded by extreme leftists? Back in your hole, Atrios.

*** Update ***

Never one to let an accusation against this adminstration go unrepeated, Oliver chimes in. Evidence? Who needs evidence? Oliver’s got assertions! And he really believes them! So it must be true! Vote Kerry!

*** Update ***

Jay has more.

Politicizing IntelligencePost + Comments (7)

Mor Al Qaeda agents have been captured in Pakistan:

Pakistani authorities have arrested two high-ranking al-Qaida terrorists one with a multimillion-dollar U.S. bounty on his head in a days-long sweep that has netted at least six suspected militants, officials said Tuesday.

The interior minister said the arrests in eastern Punjab province were a major break just days after intelligence agents arrested Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, a Tanzanian wanted for the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa.

Predictably, the Washington Monthly is pissed.

Bizarro WorldPost + Comments (1)