[FairOpinion]

It's a long article and has some interesting information. While now it does look like it really wasn't terrorism, thank God, but considering terrorism as one possibility was not being paranoid, but realistic.

[Atchafalaya]

Always start worst case and move upwards from there.

[AntiGuv]

Well, it's worth noting that First Energy insists the blackout was not their fault because they claim the "unusual power swings" began hours beforehand - as early as noon..

[FairOpinion]

ping

[thegreatbeast]

As I'm reading this I'm also listening to Steve Malzberg do his overnight show on WABC radio. Steve does a tremendous "Sunday Spin" show where he plumbs the talking heads shows for anything that might be interesting. And he's got the present Energy Secretary being pressed (Huzzahs for Brit Hume & Tony Snow of Fox for the heavy lifting!) to admit that they DON"T KNOW what caused the blackout. But that won't stop them from making recommendations.
Stuff like this is bush league (pun intended). When the answer is "I don't know" anything else is an insult to whoever you are talking to. Be forthright!

[observer5]

Guess how many "muslims" are working in the US energy system...

[Dirk McQuickly]

The rules are simple:

1) If it looks and smells like terrorism, it probably is.
2) If it takes the FBI half an hour to conclude, "this is not terrorist-related", it probably is.
3) If Prime Minister Chretien gets trotted out to make a senile remark about lightning on a clear day, it's almost definitely terrorism.
4) If the energy dept. doesn't know why it happened...
5) If an obscure power station in Ohio has to take the blame...

There is a theory that simple, instinctive reasoning is correct in a vast majority of instances. I think it applies here. You don't have to be some tinfoil poster child to figure this one out.

[flamefront]

FWIW for those who care there are a few additional facts and observations on a earlier thread where terrorism possibilities and contributing causes were dared to be discussed.

[flamefront]

Key paragraphs from the article now being highlighted by Drudge:

The traveling White House learned —about the blackout “simultaneously” as the news was breaking on TV because their cell phones began ringing incessantly. Hagin checked in with the White House Situation Room and the Homeland Security operations center, asking if the blackout was the result of terrorism. “I think everyone’s first conclusion was this was terrorism,” said Homeland Security spokesman Gordon Johndroe.

In fact, federal investigators ruled terrorism out within the first 45 minutes—perhaps prematurely. True, there was no detectable physical intrusion; nor had terrorist hackers left the usual cyber footprints. But despite the initial reassuring signals to the public, during an emergency conference call with senior officials at 5:30 p.m., the CIA “put on the radar” the possibility that there might have been some terrorist tampering. Informants and interrogations of terror suspects have led the CIA to believe that Al Qaeda is seeking to target power grids to produce just the widespread chaos witnessed Thursday afternoon, a senior administration official told NEWSWEEK. Last year the FBI concluded that terrorists are eagerly surveying weaknesses in power grids through Internet connections in Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Pakistan. Even if they had no role in this episode, many worry that the Blackout of 2003 provided them with a perfect case study.

After and hour and a half of the blackout the CIA put terrorism on the radar, but after only 45 minutes the public was reassured that there was no terrorism.

[Pro-Bush]

I don't believe Ohio was responsible for this Blackout.

[JustPiper]

Ping!

[Mo1]

Informants and interrogations of terror suspects have led the CIA to believe that Al Qaeda is seeking to target power grids to produce just the widespread chaos witnessed Thursday afternoon, a senior administration official told NEWSWEEK.

Even if is was .. the american people showed that they can survive a black out. Considering all that happened with the black out .. Everyone handled themselves very well.