Posted on 08/13/2006 8:13:34 AM PDT by STARWISE
It was the last week of July, heading into the lazy dog days of official Washington, but Michael Chertoff was suddenly busy.
The homeland security secretary discreetly asked subordinates about plans developed months or even years ago, focused on aviation safety, threat levels and other minutiae. In briefings, he quizzed staffers about responses to an aviation threat: What was the default plan for going to "orange alert"? What items can we ban from airplanes if we need to?
Those taking the questions -- including many of Chertoff's closest aides -- had no idea what was really going on, two senior counterterrorism officials said.
Chertoff's stealthy information-gathering was just one example of the U.S. government's secretive response to an emerging terrorist plot, in which at least 41 suspects were arrested in Britain and Pakistan in connection with alleged plans to blow up jetliners as they flew from London to the United States.
Until the last hours, details of the British probe were confined to a limited coterie of U.S. Cabinet members and senior officials, according to interviews with more than a dozen people who were involved or have since been briefed.
The approach ensured that no advance word of the operation leaked out -- but also meant that airlines, airports and even the Transportation Security Administration had only a few hours to ramp up sweeping new measures after being alerted to the threat late Wednesday night.
"Operational security was the paramount concern on our part and on the part of the Brits," one senior U.S. law enforcement official said. "We had a very small number of people who were actually read in on it and operating with full knowledge."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Several sources suggested last week that the extensive secrecy irritated some officials who were kept out of the loop at intelligence and law enforcement agencies, but declined to discuss the tensions in detail. Michael P. Jackson, Homeland Security's deputy secretary, said the secrecy "wasn't controversial. It was operational security."
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Hallelujah !! Thank God, the leakers were left out in the cold. Wonder if Rocky was told ... Peter King says he was in on it.
Thank goodness Leahy didn't know.
As the Washington Times put it, "We shudder to think," what the NYT would have done with leaked info...
Several sources suggested last week that the extensive secrecy irritated some officials who were kept out of the loop at intelligence and law enforcement agencies....
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And it was a super-smart move to keep the lid on it. Without any doubt, the treasonous leakers would have made sure it got printed on the front page of the NYT BEFORE THE BIG BUST.
Yes, people in Washington are getting smart about treason. It is too bad we do not hear more about these scum in our own government being identified and sent to prison.
Or if any Democrats in Congress had been briefed.
"Or if any Democrats in Congress had been briefed."
Just wait...by Monday morning the 'rats will be screeching that President Bush once again kept information from them, "lied" to them, endangered our safety...blah, blah, blah. ;)
The dems have given us a lot of ammo for the midterm elections. First show a clip of Reid, Pelosi, Feingold and the rest bragging about how they hated the Patriot Act and the NSA surveillance. Then, show the Scotland Yard guy explaining about how these and similar measures prevented another 9/11. Finally, cut to an airplane falling out of the sky, and ask:
"Would you feel safer with democrats in charge of your security?"
They are into conspiracy theories. Completely illogical. Only ridicule will combat that.
Absolutely!
Finally, confirmation!
A caller to Roger Hedgecock (who was filling in for Rush) the day after news of this plot broke said that the CIA was kept out of the loop because the British and US officials didn't trust them not to leak. The CIA and the State department are disgraceful. I hope Bush hasn't given up on cleaing them up.
Ditto! This seems to constitute good reason to do so, one would hope. Otherwise, the Slimes would've probably printed the home addresses, phone #'s and routines of the suspects and blown the whole deal ... AND they would've BEEN PROUD OF THEMSELVES!
Funny,
Pelosi and reid were screaming about how Bush hasn't done enough.
Looks like they got PAWNED again!!!!
A 'Rope-a-Dope' for sure. ;)
This report confirms what the caller to Rush's show (w/ Roger Hedgecock filling in) said earlier in the week about the CIA (and the FBI and others) being left out of the loop because of the fear of leaks. It's all part of the Plame/Wilson legacy: rogue leftists at the CIA and State Department.
"Operational security was the paramount concern on our part and on the part of the Brits," one senior U.S. law enforcement official said. "We had a very small number of people who were actually read in on it and operating with full knowledge."
Even now, three days after British authorities arrested 24 suspects -- and two days after most of the suspects have been publicly named -- U.S. officials are tight-lipped about the most rudimentary details of the case, citing strict British secrecy laws and a desire to avoid the strained relations that followed U.S. leaks about the 2005 subway bombings.
Several sources suggested last week that the extensive secrecy irritated some officials who were kept out of the loop at intelligence and law enforcement agencies, but declined to discuss the tensions in detail.
You forgot to mention the date on the paper would have been August 9th.
bttt
bttt
See how godless liberals portray America? Join their state-sanctioned church because they have the knowledge, they will indoctrinate you, journalists and teachers the high priests...they are a god unto themselves and do not hold themselves accountable to basic values such as honesty, integrity, truth, because those are things the real God wants, they don't want Him, so they don't want His commandments.
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