Officials warn: Terror threat is 'significant'

USA Today ^ | 2/11/03 | Mimi Hall and Jack Kelley

[JustPiper]

WASHINGTON

[RepublicanHippy]

bump

[Brad’s Gramma]

bttt

[CDHart]

I have an O2 concentrator also, but doesn't it have to pull the oxygen out of the ambient air to concentrate it?

Carolyn

[TrappedInLiberalHell]

I couldn't agree more. I've been saying almost exactly this same thing for weeks now.

I think an important clue was when President Bush, in the State of the Union address, indicated that he would not leave problems for future administrations to handle. Those are the words of someone who governs from his heart, rather than from polls or conventional wisdom. I am so glad that we have term limits for the office of the President. I shudder to imagine Bill Clinton in office during these times. Even Al Gore would be decidedly preferable to Clinton.

[TrappedInLiberalHell]

Chris (that's my name too!),

Taking no sides here, and playing Devil's Advocate (or in this case, Satan's Advocate), I think TGS might be employing the term 'myth' in a broad fashion. I think he means to say "Al Qaeda as self-determining enemy number one is a myth."

Again, I don't purport to agree with TGS. I think he might be more persuasive if he would only add phrases like 'I believe...' or '...in my opinion'. Perhaps I've missed something, but without any obvious credentials, I think it rubs Freepers the wrong way to be told "this is how it is and that's that."

I'm not trying to stir up trouble, indeed I'm hoping to calm the waters. I enjoy posts by both of you a great deal. Even if I don't always agree with you.

[section9]

Again, I don't purport to agree with TGS. I think he might be more persuasive if he would only add phrases like 'I believe...' or '...in my opinion'. Perhaps I've missed something, but without any obvious credentials, I think it rubs Freepers the wrong way to be told "this is how it is and that's that."

Thanks. Look, I had no problem with the guy until he decided to act like a jerk. That's his business. I don't agree with his assumptions, and I do believe that he is asserting that Al Qaeda worked hand in hand with Iraqi intelligence to pull off 9-11.

I simply don't believe this to be the case, as I believe we would have got wind of it beforehand. Iraqi operational security pales in comparison to that of Al Qaeda. I do believe that AQ has dealt with Saddam, I do believe that there is a marriage of convenience, I do believe that the "enemy of my enemy is my friend".

GS makes assertions which are deliberately apocalyptic to increase the shock value of his posts, such as this howler...

We have been outwitted and out-maneauvered by a Third World thug our leaders told us was "contained" ten years ago, and he can kill millions of us and lay our greatest cities to waste if we attempt to move against him. Bad truth, but it's the truth. Deal with it, everybody.

This kind of millenialist nonsense is better left for Friday Prayers in downtown Riyadh than on FR. Saddam can no more kill millions of us now than can Michael Jackson fall in love with women.

The problem is, when one disagrees with a True Believer like our Satanic friend, one brings down the wrath of God, as in, "a child could see what I see so clearly, so why don't you?"

This is all blak helikopterz and Mad Scientists stuff, the kind of light reading best left to The Spotlight than to FR.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[Stefan Stackhouse]

I just heard it on MSNBC. Chris Whitcomb, former FBI said FEMA is new to BioTerror and they should NOT being telling people to go out and buy plastic & duct tape for their windows. He said it makes smart sense to be prepared as in any tornado, earthquake etc. but do not waste your money and panic.

Obviously, not every place in the US is at equal risk. Most of us living in small towns in flyover country are pretty safe, really. But I can think of several reasons why FEMA cannot really publicly admit this, and tell just some people in some places that they should have these preps. First of all, it might tip off AQ about our intel sources. Or AQ could just change their plans and hit someplace else. Then there is the whole thing about causing panic. And there is the "Boy who cried wolf syndrome" if the hit doesn't take place. And if prep instructions are only given to people in some locations, people in other places will say "what about us", etc.

[Las Vegas Dave]

A Las Vegas hospital, with Las Vegas Emergency personnel?

No! The Vegas hospitals are 4 1/2 hours away by non-stop Boeing 757!

[The Great Satan]

Taking no sides here, and playing Devil's Advocate (or in this case, Satan's Advocate), I think TGS might be employing the term 'myth' in a broad fashion. I think he means to say "Al Qaeda as self-determining enemy number one is a myth."

There are at least three myths which have been carefully and deliberately promulgated by the Bush White House in the service of the Iraq war strategy:

1. Al-Qaeda/OBL is the prime mover behind 9-11.

2. Colin Powell is a hand-wringing dove.

3. The FBI thinks a right-wing DoD scientist sent the anthrax threats.

None of these ideas have been explicitly endorsed by the administration, but all have been seeded into public consciousness and allowed to flourish there. All three propositions are absolutely false, but they serve the administration's strategic needs -- thus, they are pragmatically true. Our leaders' lives would be much harder without these convenient illusions. Interestingly, all three cover stories leverage the stupidity and intellectual dishonesty of the Left – by now, a trademark Bush motif. My hat is off to them, because this is really splendid work.

Now, if you want the real story of what's been going down for the last eighteen months, just click on Colin Powell's pic for a complete briefing:

[oceanperch]

thanks saved me allot of searching.

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

Use a perpetual calender and link it to the date of the event a la 12/07/1941 was a Sunday. etc. Good Luck God Bless!

[section9]

See? How can you deal with someone like this...

There are at least three myths which have been carefully and deliberately promulgated by the Bush White House in the service of the Iraq war strategy:

1.Al-Qaeda/OBL is the prime mover behind 9-11.

2.Colin Powell is a hand-wringing dove.

3.The FBI thinks a right-wing DoD scientist sent the anthrax threats.

None of these ideas have been explicitly endorsed by the administration, but all have been seeded into public consciousness and allowed to flourish there.

1. Al Qaeda was deliberately blamed by the Administration for 9-11. Bush did so early on in the campaign. GS's assertion here is a fantasy. But he needs it to be there to serve his larger vision of an America prostrate before Saddam. An Al Qaeda that is merely a catspaw is more convenient for GS's argumentative construct. An Al Qaeda that is an organic, standalone complex is the card that, when removed, collapses Great Satan's entire conspiracy theory.

As to Binnie being the prime mover, we have the bin Laden "party" tapes to prove it.

All three propositions are absolutely false, but they serve the administration's strategic needs -- thus, they are pragmatically true.

Saying so does not make it so. But anything to serve a laugher of an argument, one would suppose.

2. Powell and Rumsfeld always agreed on the outcome: their means were different. The President chose Powell's option because of the political difficulty that a "go it alone" approach would have engendered during the fall election season and because Tony Blair needed some political cover within his Front Bench, which showed signs of restiveness even after the successful conclusion of the first battles in Afghanistan.

Powell is a soldier. Soldiers understand the need for force, but having studied Sun Tzu, recognize that the greatest victory is that which is achieved without firing a shot. However, during the past six months, the Pentagon was allowed to proceed with force augmentation in Qatar, Jordan, Turkey, and Kuwait.Our leaders' lives would be much harder without these convenient illusions. It was always reasonable to suppose that some general might put a bullet in Saddam's brain, thus, we had time for diplomacy while the buildup got going and the JDAM stocks were replenished.

3. The only thing that I find even remotely convincing as a lie is proposition number 3, that the FBI posited the existence of a rightwing researcher as the Anthrax culprit. Rather than go down that road, however, it might be more profitable to assume that the FBI has suspicions of who might be involved, but no actual proof of anyone. Could be OBL, could be the Mukhabarat, could be a rightwing crazy.

The FBI doesn't actually know. Admitting that they don't know is like death in Washington. Actual incompetence is much worse than wrongdoing, and I fear for the competence of the FBI. I hope I am wrong.

Interestingly, all three cover stories leverage the stupidity and intellectual dishonesty of the Left – by now, a trademark Bush motif. My hat is off to them, because this is really splendid work.

No, actually there's nothing interesting at all. He just goes on to raise the Anthrax Spectre again. It all gets back to the proposition that America is in thrall to Saddam's Anthrax Magic Bullet, and that is the foundation of everything he believes about this war.

It is a foolish proposition. Were it true, it would have been leaked by those opposed to the war within the Pentagon, Justice, and the State Department. You can know that Great Satan is simply blowing smoke out of his butt by the fact that our mobilization in theater is not only increasing, but accellerating at an sprinter's pace.

Great Powers do not draw the sword only to return it sheepishly to the scabbard. Were that to be done, the chaos that would result would be fatal for American foreign policy.

Great Powers do not hold themselves in thrall because of secondary issues, such as the fear of an anthrax attack. Great Powers do what they must if they must, and what they will if they can. We can do both.

That Great Satan considered none of this to be important says more about the weaknesses of his central thesis than it does about the actual issues at hand.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[Fred Mertz]

Thanks. Look, I had no problem with the guy until he decided to act like a jerk.

Deal with the facts and theories regardless of where they come from.

Be seeing you.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the heads up!

[section9]

Deal with the facts and theories regardless of where they come from.

I try to deal in facts as hard as I can. I choose not to deal in conjecture, nor will I spin wild yarns about Anthrax bombers and space aliens.

I do not have to accept bullsh#t being peddled as fact. Period. No matter where it comes from.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[Fred Mertz]

What are you calling bullsh#it? Do you have facts to prove the bullsh#t is not true?

I'm all ears.

[Travis McGee]

Forget sealing all those cracks! It's much easier to jury rig an "Apollo 13" style forced air filter, and over-pressure your house. Bring in good air intentionally, and send it out all the cracks.

[Travis McGee]

I don't agree with your final conclusion, but I respect your intellect and your candor, and will always read your words with care.

[The Great Satan]

"Imagine those 19 hijackers with other weapons and other plans, this time armed by Saddam Hussein. It would take one vial, one canister, one crate slipped into this country to bring a day of horror like none we have ever known."

Does anybody still think we are about to attack Iraq? Fuggedaboutit.

[Travis McGee]

I do.

We are.