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Bogus analysis led to terror alert in Dec. 2003
NBC News ^ | 27 June 2005 | Lisa Myers

Posted on 06/27/2005 7:42:14 PM PDT by Hal1950

WASHINGTON - Christmas 2003 became a season of terror after the federal government raised the terror alert level from yellow to orange, grimly citing credible intelligence of another assault on the United States.

"These credible sources," announced then-Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, "suggest the possibility of attacks against the homeland around the holiday season and beyond."

For weeks, America was on edge as security operations went into high gear. Almost 30 international flights were canceled, inconveniencing passengers flying Air France, British Air, Continental and Aero Mexico.

But senior U.S. officials now tell NBC News that the key piece of information that triggered the holiday alert was a bizarre CIA analysis, which turned out to be all wrong.

CIA analysts mistakenly thought they'd discovered a mother lode of secret al-Qaida messages. They thought they had found secret messages on Al-Jazeera, the Arabic-language television news channel, hidden in the moving text at the bottom of the screen, known as the "crawl," where news headlines are summarized.

(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: cia; ciaanalysis; dhs; homelandsecurity; jihadinamerica; orangealert

1 posted on 06/27/2005 7:42:15 PM PDT by Hal1950
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To: Hal1950

"which turned out to be all wrong..."

Well, we did not get attacked, so it seems pretty obvious it was wrong. Of course, the media thinks it's breaking news because they found a CIA source who will say what's been obvious since 2003.


2 posted on 06/27/2005 7:48:51 PM PDT by Brilliant
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To: Hal1950
Would it make the networks feel better if the CIA had blown it off and we got attacked?

I love the media's tactic here. If we get attacked, it's Bush's fault for enraging the islamics with his foreign policy. If we raise the alert and don't get attacked, it's due to Bush administration incompetence.

3 posted on 06/27/2005 7:55:33 PM PDT by Excuse_My_Bellicosity ("A litany of complaints is not a plan." -- G.W. Bush, regarding Sen. Kerry's lack of vision)
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To: Hal1950

How about this? Lets have 2 seperate alert systems. One for red states and one for blue states. The red states will be alerted immediately if we have any reason to believe there is danger. Then we'll alert the blue states after a 2 year investigation to see if the info was correct. This way the liberal scum in the media won't have something to bitch about.


4 posted on 06/27/2005 7:58:43 PM PDT by Ron in Acreage (It's the borders stupid! "ALLEN IN 08")
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To: Hal1950
They thought they had found secret messages on Al-Jazeera, the Arabic-language television news channel, hidden in the moving text at the bottom of the screen, known as the "crawl," where news headlines are summarized.

Geez, this is almost Northeast Intelligence Network Material....

5 posted on 06/27/2005 8:03:04 PM PDT by Strategerist
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To: Ron in Acreage

Didn't Osama only threaten the red states before the last election?


6 posted on 06/27/2005 8:06:53 PM PDT by Wristpin ( Varitek says to A-Rod: "We don't throw at .260 hitters.....")
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To: Hal1950

Once again the Media Insurgency trying to undermine American people's support for the war against terror.


7 posted on 06/27/2005 8:07:41 PM PDT by montag813
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To: Wristpin

Yes he did. He knows the bulk of his supporters are in the blue states.


8 posted on 06/27/2005 8:11:05 PM PDT by Ron in Acreage (It's the borders stupid! "ALLEN IN 08")
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To: Hal1950

Better safe than sorry... perhaps the MSM has forgotten that.


9 posted on 06/27/2005 8:19:55 PM PDT by nj26
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To: Hal1950

Have they captured Obama yet? :^)


10 posted on 06/27/2005 8:21:33 PM PDT by claudiustg (Go Sharon! Go Bush!)
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To: Excuse_My_Bellicosity

Yep. The luxury of being a critic and never having to actually DO something about anything. How much does one get paid for that?


11 posted on 06/27/2005 8:24:08 PM PDT by pollyannaish
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To: Ron in Acreage
Lets have 2 separate alert systems. One for red states and one for blue states.

Can we do this county-by-county?  MI is a blue state {spit}.  That is so embarrassing when I see it typed!

12 posted on 06/27/2005 8:37:13 PM PDT by softwarecreator (Facts are to liberals as holy water is to vampires)
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To: softwarecreator

My sympathies.


13 posted on 06/27/2005 8:40:34 PM PDT by Ron in Acreage (It's the borders stupid! "ALLEN IN 08")
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To: Excuse_My_Bellicosity
Would it make the networks feel better if the CIA had blown it off and we got attacked?

The networks have it figured out -- if the Bush Administration responds and nothing happens, they get condemned. If the Bush Administration doesn't respond and something happen, they get condemned.

That's the key for the networks - how to condemn Bush no matter what he does. Charming. And their numbers keeep going down...

14 posted on 06/27/2005 8:40:53 PM PDT by GOPJ
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To: Ron in Acreage
Yeah ... I know.  I should have moved back to FL like I wanted to.  Wife wants to stay here.  {{sniff}}
15 posted on 06/27/2005 8:45:00 PM PDT by softwarecreator (Facts are to liberals as holy water is to vampires)
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To: Ron in Acreage

I like your plan


16 posted on 06/27/2005 8:52:46 PM PDT by mylife (The roar of the masses could be farts)
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To: Ron in Acreage
LOL

I love the opening.

"Christmas 2003 became a season of terror....."

Oh puhleeeeeeze! I don't remember being terrorized Christmas 2003 and I flew to Ft. Lauderdale for Christmas and New Years.

I guess only weenie MSM types were terrorized by the alert going from yellow to orange. I just remember promising myself if anyone gets between me and my Holiday I will kill them. No one gets between me and my family for the holidays. No one! What a bunch of weenies.
17 posted on 06/27/2005 9:13:18 PM PDT by Chgogal ("Congressmen who willfully...during war...damage moral...should be arrested, exiled or..." Lincoln)
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