Arena Digest: Will the Familiar Post-Sept. 11 Partisanship Soon Break Out?

Politico ^ | 5/3/2010 | Politico

[tobyhill]

Christine Pelosi, attorney, author and Democratic activist

This is what a terrorist can look like: a balding white man in his 40s. Thanks to an alert street vendor and an NYPD officer who ushered in local and federal law enforcement, the Times Square would-be bomber was a bust. So far. They saw the parked car, engine running, hazards blinking, driver departing — in other words, they profiled behavior, not people. Take note, Arizona.

Timothy Stoltzfus Jost, professor, Washington and Lee University

I think the politics of this incident will turn heavily on who is found to be responsible. If, as seems unlikely, the bomb is linked to South Asian or Middle Eastern terrorists, questions will again arise as to whether the Department of Homeland Security is doing all it can do to keep us safe. If, as I believe is much more likely, the bomb was placed by a right-wing lunatic, it seems to me that questions need to be raised as to whether the right-wing media bear some responsibility for stoking the delusions of such people through their relentless and often unfounded attacks on the Obama administration and the federal government.

We need to consider whether it isn’t time to return to responsible, ethical journalism.

[Delta Dawn]

What is amazing is that almost 12 hours after being identified as the attempted terrorist, this guy was able to buy a ticket and board a jet that was headed overseas.

If not for the identification of the suspects vehicle in short-term parking, this guy would be getting ready to celebrate Ramadan this fall.

Did no one notify the airlines and alert them to the fact that this individual was wanted by the authorities? Why wasn't the information about this terrorist disseminated to the people and agencies that could have made a difference in apprehending this scumbag?

[xkaydet65]

Accepted. Thanx!