Posted on 08/22/2009 9:33:07 AM PDT by God luvs America
Ridge Changes Tune On Terror Alert LevelsPITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― Click to enlarge1 of 1 Tom Ridge (File) Alex Wong/Getty Images
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numSlides of totalImages Former Pennsylvania Governor and Homeland Security Chief Tom Ridge is calling out former colleagues in the Bush Administration, suggesting they tried to play politics with the terror alert level.
The charge comes in a book due out next month.
Ridge claims other members of the Cabinet pressured him to raise the terror alert level shortly before the 2004 Presidential election.
He says Attorney General John Ashcroft and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld pressed him to support increasing the nation's terror threat level from yellow or "elevated" to orange, meaning "high."
Just four days before the election, Osama Bin Laden had issued a videotape threatening new attacks on the United States.
But in his book, Ridge says there was "no support" within his department for boosting the threat level and he refused.
He writes: "I wondered, 'Is this about security or politics?'"
This new contention directly refutes what Ridge told KDKA-TV's Ken Rice in an interview in June of 2008.
(Excerpt) Read more at kdka.com ...
here's an accompanying news video that goes alond with the story- pass it on to talk show hosts...
http://espanol.video.yahoo.com/watch/5793169/15166919
Day 2 I bought socks.......
OlberChrissie is breaking his neck to set the record straight he distorted this week.
Ridge is a damnable liar. I don't believe for a minute that Rumsfeld would do this. And, there is NO WAY that John Ashcroft, as pious and God-fearing as he is, would ever ask someone to lie TO THE WHOLE COUNTRY, merely for a political cheap trick - wouldn't happen.
Ashcroft, as it turns out was the one guy speaking the loudest against water-boarding (which was a mistake, but is neither here nor there) - much louder than Powell. It is not in Ashcroft's DNA to deceive like this. Period.
This is a classic case of he said/she said. Unless he can produce more than “I was told” we will never know for sure what really happened
Love how people turn into whores at the direction of their publishers.
Also, unless Osama bin Laden was in on the game when he issued one of his raving videos just before the election, I think there was obvious justification for raising the terror alert. Granted, the whole alert system seemed pretty lame to me, anyway, but there was certainly ample reason to implement it at that time. Or have we forgotten the fact that there were (and still are) very real threats?
Every so often someone floats Ridge as a presidential candidate—I hope this puts all of that to rest, permanently.
I never liked Ridge. He is the epitome of what’s wrong with the Republican Party.
Ridge, being a Pennsylvanian RINO, deserves a prime office space in the same reeking Garbage Dumpster as the Renowned Turncoat RINO named Arlen Sphinchter! another POS that was supported Loyally by Our Great President and then did everything he could to screw America and Republican Ideals and Principles:-)
I wish they would both just go away. Lynn Swann should have been Governor of PA.
To be on the safe side it is probably best to assume that everything he is saying or has ever said is a lie. To do otherwise would be naive.
“Love how people turn into whores at the direction of their publishers.”
Love how people TURNCOAT into whores at the direction of their publishers.
I completely agree.
I found the individual who made the claim credible.
Its Pathetic! Yes, Lyn Swann would have been Wonderful for Pennsylvania and a Great Leader for Our United Statesand a great Representative and Role Model! Instead, FAST EDDIE is still Trashing Pennsylvania and holding Minoritys in virtual Slavery to control their Votes and Nothing Else!
THank GOD that FAST EDDIE wasn’t able to steal Pennsylvania’s Once Proud Turnpike System for his Mob Thugs in return for a few pieces of Silver in his demented pockets:-(
I know that is funny and it almost is but I don’t get the joke.
“Ridge is trying to profit by separating himself politically from Bush.”
He (or his publisher) likely recognized that he had to say something to get some comments in the lib press.
However, what he actually says is that we wasn’t sure if alert levels were political or not.
There seems to be cause for thinking they were NOT political, and that he failed to grasp the larger picture of OBL and AQ’s public messages.
In 2001, the intelligence community was discredited, following the attack and MANY false alarms (including nuke reports) after 9/11.
Ridge missed most of this, and didn’t understand the context of mistrusting “quiet” intelligence.
The administration was very, very tramatized by what happened, expecially in the weeks after 9/11, at how rotten our intelligence was. We came very close to a few brinks during this time, based on false reports. Only wisdom and a steady hand in the WH saved us (stratfor has a lot on this).
Why would they think that Ridge or his brand new department would be able to see trouble coming? They (HSD) were all rookies, and new to the intelligence game.
It is not even that. His job was to deal in facts not fantasy. He has absolutely no evidence for this unless he claims to be a mindreader
It is not even that. His job was to deal in facts not fantasy. He has absolutely no evidence for this unless he claims to be a mindreader
CYA. Ridge must be looking for a new job.
Ridge, Mel Martinez, and McCain can all vanish from U.S. politics for life and things would be better off...total losers.
Never mind. It’s a book! What a shocker.
“Love how people turn into whores at the direction of their publishers.”
I think you hit the nail on the head. The publisher wanted some “red meat” to help sell the book. Ridge prostituted himself for the publisher. Truth be damned.
I think it’s a sneak preview of what you can expect to read in a memoir penned by The Dullest Man Alive, Tom Ridge. That’s how I took it anyway.
Ridge did what all politicians do: put his own and his party’s ambition and gain above truth or the good of the nation. Another news flash: water is wet.
Perhaps...but we know that Ridge is absolutely, positively a bald faced liar.
Germany fears terror attacks ahead of elections
July 11th, 2009
Asperg (Germany), July 11 (DPA) Terrorists are planning an attack in Germany ahead of general elections Sep 27, Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Saturday.
He said “friendly” intelligence services had informed their German counterparts of internet discussions about a possible attack designed to disrupt the parliamentary vote.
Was a law broken, assuming what Ridge said in his “Look at me, I wanna sell a book” tour is true?
POSSBILE ANSWERS:
“Yes, a law is broken”...then Ridge should be prosecuted for not reporting.
“No, a law was not broken”...then this is Ridge just rambling.
Madrid.
I feel the same way. I didn’t trust him from day one and, another thing, his mouth is too small for his face.
On March 11, 2004, Islamic terrorists set off the infamous ‘Madrid train bombings’, just before the Spanish elections. The conservative party had been leading, but the Socialists won. I can see where the Bush administration thought that al-Qaeda might have wanted to give John Kerry a similar boost.
On this you are exactly right.
Oh! Like the day I retired I *.* and day 2 I bought socks. I get it now and it is funny.
The Left is projecting.
This is a trick they wouldn’t hesitate to use.
In fact, they did use a similar trick to pass the stimulus.
They are the scumbags and would do anything for power. I don’t believe Ashcroft or Rumsfeld would do something like this.
I never liked Ridge. Pro Abortion Catholics like Ridge are the worst. He's right up there with Sebelius and Kennedy, IMHO.
So is Mel Martinez a “veteran...a war hero...” too?
He doesn’t say anything like the references in the article. He actually says things like “I wondered if...” and “it felt like...”. This piece is a total fabrication.
that seems to be the consensus....any links???
You’re exactly right about Ashcroft (Rummy too). Ashcroft is the guy who refused to contest a winnable election result for Governor because it would not cause emotional stress to the declared “winner” (the widow of the old governor). He just walked away from the recount. Neither he or Rummy would ever do anything remotely unethical or even borderline political.
Ridge never claims he “was told”. He only says he “had a feeling”. The article is a lie and as much as I think Ridge is a total weenie, it will come out that the story was hyped by his publishers to promote sales. Just like Paul O’Neil, Richard Clarke, Scott McClellan and all the other disloyal punks pimping themselves out for a payday, Ridge didn’t deserve the faith and loyalty Bush extended to them.
Just reports on FOX from people who have actually read the excerpts.
http://espanol.video.yahoo.com/watch/5793169/15166919
This new contention directly refutes what Ridge told KDKA-TV’s Ken Rice in an interview in June of 2008.
Rice: “Was there ever pressure to raise the alert level for some reason that had nothing to do with the actual threats out there?”
Ridge: “Never.”
Rice: “Never even a hint of that?”
Ridge: “Never. It’s a great question though.”
Ridge went on to point out that he didn’t have authority to raise the alert level alone and that decision had to be a consensus of the president’s Homeland Security Council, including the heads of the departments of State, Defense and Justice and the FBI and CIA.
But for an issue that was quickly dismissed when raised a year ago, Ridge now writes that he was so disturbed by what happened in 2004, it reinforced his decision to resign from the Bush administration.
On CNN Friday, President Bush’s former Homeland Security Adviser Frances Townsend denied Ridge’s new claim and said she thinks Ridge is trying to profit by separating himself politically from Bush.
Ridge’s DC office has not responded to KDKA-TV’s request for comment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now, to see how many people are willing to spend money in this economy on a book of lies.
What a scumbag. This sounds like pillow talk between Ridge and Scott McClellan, another useless lightweight with no ethics.
You mean the president of the United States used lies and mass manipulation/fear mongering to get himself reelected? Who would believe this?
Only stupid people would fall for it.
I wouldn’t be surprised in the least bit to find out this was true. Rove is an absolute political genious, and as we know political hacks have very low standards for what they won’t do to win an election. I don’t see what the big deal is, nobody got hurt. It’s not like they LOWERED the threat level for political gain which would’ve put people at risk. The whole thing is just more big government micromanagement anyway.
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