Gee, I wonder what would give him that idea. 
Posted on 02/09/2006 1:31:15 PM PST by Thanatos
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Thursday he was blindsided by President Bush's announcement of new details on a purported 2002 hijacking plot aimed at a downtown skyscraper, and described communication with the White House as "nonexistent."
"I'm amazed that the president would make this (announcement) on national TV and not inform us of these details through the appropriate channels," the mayor told The Associated Press. "I don't expect a call from the president _ but somebody."
Bush has referred to the 2002 plot before but he publicly filled in the details Thursday.
Bush said Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks who was captured in 2003, had begun planning an attack to fly a commercial airplane into the tallest skyscraper on the West Coast, the Library Tower in Los Angeles, since renamed the US Bank Tower.
Instead of recruiting Arab hijackers, Southeast Asian men would be used, Bush said, because they were less likely to arouse suspicion. He said they would use shoe bombs to blow open the cockpit door.
The president said the plot was derailed when a Southeast Asian nation arrested a key al-Qaida operative. Bush did not name the country or the operative.
"I go to work every day knowing that we are a target," Villaraigosa said.
The mayor said homeland security needs better funding, including for the protection of high-risk targets in Los Angeles. He said some funding could be redirected from the war in Iraq, but he did not advocate an immediate withdrawal of troops.
Antonio R. Villaraigosa is the 41st mayor of Los Angeles.
He was elected on May 17, 2005 and sworn in to office on July 1, 2005.
And just what did the mayor think it is he could have done about an attack that sas prevented?
Los Angeles Times, March 31, 2004
Al Qaeda had planned to attack Los Angeles' tallest building in the months after Sept. 11 as part of a second wave of strikes that was never carried out, according to a statement by an alleged terrorist that was passed on to the Los Angeles Police Department. "We were made aware of that information last spring," said John Miller, the LAPD's top anti-terrorism official. "From a public safety standpoint, we took a number of immediate steps to tighten our procedures on notifications of any hijackings in the area."... Two law enforcement sources said that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the former operations chief for Al Qaeda captured last March, reportedly told his interrogators that the Library Tower -- now known as the U.S. Bank Tower -- was targeted along with Chicago's Sears Tower. Law enforcement officials, however, caution that Mohammed's statements since his capture have been viewed with a degree of skepticism by U.S. intelligence.
I love your screen name... I made the association with the vacuum tube, but had forgotten all about Jean Shephard...
it is because the mayor has repeatedly saying there have been no known threats to the city repeatedly.....even with the Terrorist incident at LAX on 7/4/02 and this plot known for three years now.
The Mayor is referred to as Mayor Reconquista by John and Ken on KFI.
Do you suppose the mayor would be scared if he realized that the Library Tower was destroyed by space aliens in 1996? Didn't he see the movie "Independence Day?" All 73 stories were blown to bits in a fireball (in a matter of seconds!) Why wasn't the mayor informed back then (nine years before he took office?) Sounds like the man is a bit self-absorbed!
Gee, I wonder what would give him that idea.
Ping to Karl's post, #124.
Well aren't YOU the rocket scientist.
The d-ckhead Villaraigosa wasn't elected until 2005, so why is he complaining about not knowing anything?
And Bush is smart. He knows that the number of Democrats in leadership positions nationwide, that he can trust with a secret or something with national security implications, is so small that he can count it on one finger: Joe Lieberman.
If you are thinking, "Aw c'mon Tom, Democrats can be trusted to keep a national security secret!" just visualize the following: Howard Dean, Patty Murray, Barbara Boxer, Patrick Leahy, Harry Reid, Ted Kennedy, Terry MacAuliffe, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Jimmy Carter ... need I say more? I wouldn't trust virtually any Democrat with something sensitive. At the worst they would twist it to support their own party's political power.
Greens it up immediately.
"What, Me Worry?"
January 20, 2006
In Los Angeles, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said city police deployed additional resources at the airport and "posted signage indicating that bomb-sniffing dogs and searches will occur frequently." He described the measures as precautionary, as the city had received no known threats.
September 13, 2005 (LA DWP workers black out Los Angeles for higher pay contract)
Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa of Los Angeles, appearing at a community event, said "there was no credible threat" against the city but cautioned that terrorists had previously considered Los Angeles targets. He said a blackout coming in this age of terrorism understandably "created a heightened sense of concern" but that most of the city quickly returned to normal.
September 11, 2005
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Sunday that authorities didn't know of any "credible threat" to the city after ABC News aired a threatening video in which a masked speaker claiming to represent al-Qaeda warned of terrorist attacks on Los Angeles and Melbourne, Australia.
July 7, 2005
"No Credible Threat...No Credible Threat....1 Photo Op per Day....No Credible Threat"
LOL!!!
The DEMS rolled out James Hahn, the former Mayor, saying he didnt know either....
What a bunch of TARDS.
Thanks for clarifying my clarification. This looks like "if we can't find something (anything) to blame Bush for, we will make something up."
You know what? I was in the barber's yesterday and picked up the ESPN magazine from Jan 16th, and there it was, the photo of the pig-squealing guy, with name and all. Couldn't believe my eyes. I'm sure none of the 'sports commentators' bothered to notice this either, even if it really could have been a scoop for them to point out.
Why do I keep seeing David the ex-station chief, now city councilman from 'The Shield' whenever I read about Villagairosa acting 'surprised'.
Antonio, there would be plenty of money if we didn't have 5 million illegal aliens in L.A. county sucking out all the services.
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