If this is what we consider "intelligence" then I think al Qaeda can take some time off and wait for us to blow ourselves up...
03 August, 2004 :: 9:42 a.m.
Fran Townsend was on Fox "News" this morning...she said that they know al Qaeda is planning attacks soon because the information confiscated had been updated recently and they always update their information right before they attack... Pardon me for being cynical, and I'm sure their answer would be information gathered from interrogations, but how do they "know" this? When is the last time they stopped an imminent terrorist attack? I must've missed it. Granted I don't watch the news every single day, but I rarely miss two in a row and I'm thinking if they could prove they had definitely stopped an attack they would still be crowing about it and talking about what a great job Bush and his cabinet are doing to keep us safe.
Tom Ridge is live in NYC right now saying that important buildings in New York were under surveillance in January...yet the New York Times article I'm reading right now says:
Much of the information that led the authorities to raise the terror alert at several large financial institutions in the New York City and Washington areas was three or four years old, intelligence and law enforcement officials said on Monday. They reported that they had not yet found concrete evidence that a terrorist plot or preparatory surveillance operations were still under way.
Hmmmm...So they uncovered information that might be four years old that says al Qaeda is planning to attack NYC and Washington...hmmm, lets see, have I heard about any attacks by al Qaeda in NYC or Washington in the last 4 years...ummm, well, there was that 9/11 thing, but I'm sure that's not what the info was talking about... Bush saves the day!!! Whew, thanks Dubbya--Four More Years! Four More Years!
It AMAZES me that Bush and Kerry are still so close in the polls...it boggles my mind that half of Americans feel safer staying with Bush--who has done nothing but piss more people off at us around the world--than trying someone new.
It STILL has me completely dumbfounded that Bush is even able to run for reelection (yes, sorry, election...you can't be reelected to an office you were never elected to). I still don't understand how Clinton lying about his relationship with Monica nearly got him impeached, but Bush's lies and lies and lies about Saddam having WMDs and links to al Qaeda are directly responsible for the deaths and injuries to so many of our soldiers now and THAT is not worthy of impeachment or even serious talks...why not?
Instead of working on clever little digs that you can fit into a 10-15 second clip on the news, why don't the Democrats go point-by-point over his lies and demand real answers instead of just accepting Bush's pissy attitude and letting him fall back on how we liberated the Iraqi people. Yes, a lot of you voted for the war, but come back with outrage...you voted for the war, yes, but pretend you thought you were doing it for good reasons instead of the fact that you also receive donations from companies that stand to make tons of money in Iraq. (Your donations from big business are almost never quite as much as the Republicans--doesn't that just piss you off?)
We don't have time to try to catch terrorists coming into the country; we need to just act like they are already here everyday...that's not word-for-word, but damn close to what Ridge just said...so how great is this intelligence they supposedly stole? Are we sure al Qaeda didn't just Fed Ex them a computer full of bogus info?
"We don't do politics in the Department of Homeland Security..." That IS a quote...no, Tom, not at all...you don't try to scare the public any time it looks like complacency might be setting in and people might stop and start thinking for themselves and questioning what you guys tell us...not at all...I trust you, Tom.
Any bets that they get really good information just before the elections that terrorists will be planning attacks for election day? That would be a great way to scare the public away from change--AND it would be a great way to deter voters who might vote against you by suddenly having a need for thorough security checks of people on their way in to vote...
Twice in less than 20 minutes Fox has shown Teresa Heinz Kerry's comments to hecklers at a rally saying that they apparently want four more years of Hell...Oh My God...a woman voicing her opinion! Kerry can't keep his wife under control! Now I'm understanding more about why Bush loves Saudi Arabia and why Laura Bush never speaks unless spoken to and then it's always super-polite and soft-spoken...
Anyway, keep up the good job, fellow Americans, of keeping your heads buried in the sand and not asking any hard questions about Bush and his lies and what his real agenda is for this country.