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The War: Cheap Partisan Fodder for the Daschle Democrats
The Federalist ^ | 5-17-02 | staff

Posted on 05/17/2002 11:03:53 AM PDT by EternalVigilance

Events this week reminded our countrymen that "homeland security" in the war with Jihadistan is not all that secure -- and can certainly be used as cheap partisan fodder by unscrupulous Leftists.

Coast Guard intelligence reports surfaced about 25 Islamic militants who have entered the U.S. since March in shipping containers at the ports of Miami, Savannah, Georgia, and Long Beach, California. This report arrived amid charges by Sociocrats and their Leftmedia cadre that an intelligence report given to President Bush last August constituted "advance knowledge" that Osama bin Laden planned a terrorist airline hijacking in the U.S.

Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle led the charge: "I'm gravely concerned that the president received a warning in August about the threat of hijackers by Osama bin Laden and his organization. Why was it not provided to us, and why was it not shared with the general public...?"

Vice President Dick Cheney laid bare the crude political attack, saying, "Such commentary is thoroughly irresponsible and totally unworthy of national leaders in a time of war," and a livid (but somehow composed) President Bush simply said, "There's a sniff of politics in the air."

While Daschle's comment was a prime candidate for the "BIG Lie," this transparent, phony, execrable political ambush on President Bush has become such a "chatter head" feeding frenzy that it had to be addressed top of the fold. To wit: Thursday, the front-page of the New York Times read, "Bush Was Warned Bin Laden Wanted to Hijack Planes," and The Washington Post's headline read, "Bush Was Told of Hijacking Dangers." CNN's Judy Woodruff issued a damning indictment: "President Bush knew that al-Qa'ida was planning to hijack a U.S. airliner." An incensed Katie Couric posed the question on NBC's Today Show, "What did he know and when did he know it?" -- the famous question asked of President Nixon during the Watergate scandal.

Here are the facts. The President is provided a "world situation briefing" every morning by his senior national security staff. One morning in August of 2001, that briefing included information that Osama bin Laden's al-Qa'ida cadre might attempt to hijack an airliner -- perhaps domestic, perhaps international. The warning, like many before it concerning al-Qa'ida threats, was "unconfirmed, unsubstantiated and unspecified." National security analysts have, for years, predicted aircraft hijackings, including the possibility that those aircraft might be used as missiles against high-profile targets.

In 1993, after the bombing of the World Trade Center in an unsuccessful attempt to collapse one tower into the other, a national security analyst (and member of The Federalist's Editorial Board) predicted in an intelligence summary briefing: "The next time they hit the WTC, it will be from the sky." In 1995, the FBI and CIA had warnings that Abdul Murad, a pilot and al-Qa'ida terrorist linked to the 1993 WTC bombing, planned to fly a small plane filled with explosives into CIA headquarters. In late 1998, intelligence analysts estimated that Osama bin Laden was planning retaliatory strikes on Washington or New York in response to the U.S. missile strike on his headquarters in Afghanistan. It is important to note that the above estimates constituted only a small part of the threat scenarios that were surfacing for analysis. (Theses estimates were provided in the years that Bill Clinton was president -- you know, the guy who missed three promising opportunities to kill or capture Osama long before 9-11, but was too busy appeasing Palestinian terrorists.)

Looking forward from 1993, there were, literally, millions of intelligence threads pertaining to terrorism groups and activities around the world. Looking back from 9-11 with 20/20 hindsight, one may determine with some accuracy which threads were connected to the horrific events of that day. But to suggest, because such thread clues existed, that the FBI and CIA should have divined this al-Qa'ida attack plan, and added it to their list of successful terrorist interventions, is grossly uninformed. (However, Director Robert Mueller is restructuring the protocol for information collected to centralize the analysis at FBI headquarters, and similar restructuring is taking place at CIA.)

To suggest further that President Bush knew about the 9-11 attack in advance is utterly ludicrous! To suggest that he should warn the public about every threat in the "Early Bird" intel summary is equally absurd. Note that three weeks ago, while generally praising the administration's Homeland Security measures, The Federalist (No. 02-17) specifically criticized the administration "for crying wolf and prompting duck-and-cover exercises by repeatedly issuing alerts for unconfirmed, unsubstantiated and often unspecified threats."

The above facts not withstanding, Hillary Clinton found an open mike yesterday and declared: "I am just here to get answers.... One of our New York newspapers had a headline this morning, 'BUSH KNEW!' Bush knew what?" Ms. Clinton was referring to a full page blast in the New York Post, a tabloid. She did not demand answers about celebrities being kidnapped by aliens as recently reported in other tabloids like the Star and National Enquirer.


TOPICS: Editorial; Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 911; bush; daschle; dasshole; desperatedemtactics; terrorism; warlist; wtcattacks
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To: floriduh voter


21 posted on 05/17/2002 2:02:42 PM PDT by Joe Brower
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To: Joe Brower
NOPE! That honor belongs to the spawn of satan himself, the beast from NY, AKA Hitlery!
22 posted on 05/17/2002 2:24:20 PM PDT by RoseofTexas
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To: floriduh voter
I am definitely hearing a backlash, both for the picture nonsense, Carter's trip, and trying to blame Bush for 9/11 many diehard Democrats are telling me they are discussed and sick of these Democrats all over TV. Some will probably just tune out politics and election. Not a single person was upset with the President.
23 posted on 05/17/2002 3:01:03 PM PDT by not-alone
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To: floriduh voter
I think you are right. I've been freeping a lot of pols, and most all seem to be in our favor.
24 posted on 05/17/2002 3:23:28 PM PDT by Giddyupgo
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To: Giddyupgo
Like my lawyer always tells me, you don't object unless you have a solution to offer. The dems always object but they never have any solutions. They truly are the donkey party. Stubborn as mules. LOL Thank you for freeping the polls and making a report here.
25 posted on 05/17/2002 3:29:24 PM PDT by floriduh voter
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To: livius
It's the holdovers still in govt. jobs who are leaking and you can be they are Algor sorelosers. They will never get over that Dubya won. Never.
26 posted on 05/17/2002 3:31:51 PM PDT by floriduh voter
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To: Joe Brower
Ouch, Joe. Looks like Daschle visited the Gulf of Mexico, avoided the sharks but got an awful sunburn. Or, should I say, the sharks AVOIDED HIM. They don't like the death tax either.
27 posted on 05/17/2002 3:37:27 PM PDT by floriduh voter
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To: princess leah
"Nothing gets my mouth foaming faster than the drivel that comes spewing out of the mouth of THAT WOMAN SENATOR! The utter GALL of her to say anything about what Bush knew when it was HER HUSBAND who had the MEANS, the KNOWLEDGE, and THE OPPORTUNITY to HAVE BIN LADEN INCARCERATED! She crawls lower than the worst snake on this earth!"

I concur with and expand the direction of your rant with this thought: Shouldn't we know if there is a concerted and organized effort within the leadership of the Congressional Democrats, particularly the Senate, to use the fraudulent issue of "What did Bush Know about 9/11" to divide the country politically during time of war? We all know that the DNC acts like a giant conspiratorial underground cadre in its robotlike response to their faxed-in talking points or marching orders of the day. Is this a coordinated effort to use fraud and innuendo to divide the country for short term political gain during time of war? I point my finger of blame at Hillary Clinton, and her yes man Senator Daschle. This is right on the border, if not crossing the line, of an extremely serious crime, treason to undermine the US war effort against Terrorism.

28 posted on 05/17/2002 3:45:16 PM PDT by Richard Axtell
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To: livius
BTTT and a correction to my last to you. "you can be sure they were Algor sorelosers".
29 posted on 05/17/2002 3:46:41 PM PDT by floriduh voter
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To: EternalVigilance
I thought this excerpt from today's Federalist was one of the most cogent examples I have read about the current Daschle Democrat attempt at political slander and slime. I'm sure the whole thing was hatched in the deep dark recesses of James Carville's mind. Yuck!

Yes, once again we see the #1 Dem tactic is a smear campaign of misinformation and slander, in hopes of exploiting the ignorance of their constituents.
Only total Bush hating idiots would buy this crap.
I predict they will fall into the pit they've dug for the innocent.

30 posted on 05/17/2002 4:57:06 PM PDT by Jorge
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To: EternalVigilance
bttt
31 posted on 05/17/2002 5:17:35 PM PDT by davidosborne
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To: Registered
Now that is priceless!!!

ROFLMAO!!!!!

32 posted on 05/17/2002 5:21:13 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
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To: EternalVigilance;Dasshole;Osama bin Laden;war_list;WTC Attacks ;
Excellent post.

Got to have this on some of the lists!

To find all articles tagged or indexed using above index words

Go here: OFFICIAL BUMP(TOPIC)LIST

and then click the topic to initiate the search! !

33 posted on 05/17/2002 5:34:12 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
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To: Joe Brower
ROFL again!!!
34 posted on 05/17/2002 5:42:33 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
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To: EternalVigilance;cake_crumb;homeschool mama;bobthenailer;seekingthetruth;sodak;dakota gator...
In addition to talking to friends and relatives in South Dakota, it'd be nice if tourists to S.D. would just happen to mention their displeasure with Daschle specifically and the democratic party in general.

These tourists should also ask SD citizens, "If you still vote democratic but yet you voted for President Bush, why?" They can't ALL be getting SWEETHEART DEALS and feel a sense of obligation to Daschle.

Maybe the split ticketers will have to ultimately decide between Dubya's party and Daschle's party once and for all. How can they begin to justify that they voted for President Bush and also his exact opposite, Tom Daschle; completely opposite philosophies and personalities. One is a uniter and the latter always puts politics first. Always.

35 posted on 05/17/2002 6:29:28 PM PDT by floriduh voter
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To: Richard Axtell
I like that thinking.
36 posted on 05/17/2002 8:10:15 PM PDT by StriperSniper
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To: EternalVigilance
I go to Texas for a week and the whole political world explodes. It's funny to look at most news sources right now and see what they are saying. It's like a dam broke. They've been champing at the bit for the last 8 months waiting for something, and here it is. They smell blood in the water and they are going for it. Tommie D. of course smells the press. What a sickening little weasel.
37 posted on 05/18/2002 12:19:05 PM PDT by SoDak
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To: SoDak
What a sickening little weasel.

I think you owe an apology to weasels everywhere!

;-)

38 posted on 05/18/2002 2:51:58 PM PDT by EternalVigilance
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To: floriduh voter
A backlash against gepfart and da$$hole works for me. Frontlash too for that matter.
39 posted on 05/18/2002 8:59:59 PM PDT by mafree
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To: EternalVigilance
Actually, lately I've been thinking of him more as a jackal than weasel.
40 posted on 05/18/2002 11:25:45 PM PDT by SoDak
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