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Friday, August 11, 2006

If terrorism is good for George W. Bush, what incentive does he have to fight it?
Posted by Jill | 6:53 AM
Last night I read a comment on a right-wing blog which opined that the reason Kos and Atrios haven't commented much on yesterday's purported terrorist threat is because a thwarted terrorist attack is good news for the Bush administration.

Aside from the fact that this alleged plot was thwarted by the British, not by the Department of Homeland Security, that is a telling statement. The terrorist threat is good for the Administration.

If that's the case, then what incentive does this Administration have to fight something that does it so much good?

As I posted yesterday, the Bush Administration had known about this threat for days (Tony Snow said at yesterday's press gaggle that he'd known since SUNDAY), and did NOTHING to beef up airline security FOR FIVE WHOLE DAYS, thereby presumably putting tens of thousands of air travelers at risk.

I don't doubt that there is a threat. There are many people out there who wish us harm; many more of them having been created as a result of Bush's so-called anti-terror policies. However, there are only so many times that this bunch can claim that the sky is falling, always conveniently timed to coincide with a drop in the pools, an upcoming election, or a news story that's bad for their image, before people stop believing them. And that time has come.

Then how, exactly, does a terrorist plot thwarted by the BRITISH after our leadership chose to risk having it play out, become good news for the Administration?

It only does if Americans continue to allow this bunch to jerk their chains by continuing to cynically exploit their fears after the 9/11/01 attacks. Because if a continued threat of terrorism is perceived as being good for this Administration, then paradoxically, it's further proof that these people CANNOT be trusted to keep us safe.

The DCCC has a timeline of how the Bush Administration attempted to use this latest threat for its own advantage:

Wednesday: Days after the White House learns that the London terror plot will be uncovered, Cheney says Lamont victory will encourage "al Qaeda types."


7:42 a.m., Today: The White House announces that the threat level has been raised to ‘Red.’


10:54 a.m. (CDT): The President announces, on his way to a Wisconsin fundraiser for congressional candidate John Gard, that the arrests in London are “a stark reminder that this nation is at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom, to hurt our nation.”



12:26 p.m.: The RNC sends out a fundraising email penned by Rudy Giuliani saying “In the middle of a war on terror, we need to remain focused on furthering Republican ideas more than ever before… Please make your commitment felt with a financial contribution for $500, $250, $100, $50, $35 or $25 to the Republican National Committee today.”


2:53 p.m.: Bush official celebrates the terror plot. The AFP reports, "‘Weeks before September 11th, this is going to play big,’ said another White House official, who also spoke on condition of not being named, adding that some Democratic candidates won't ‘look as appealing’ under the circumstances.”


4:22 p.m.: The RNC follows with a statement attempting to elevate the war on terror above those who would crassly use it for politics sake: "On a day when American authorities are working with our allies to stop a global terror plot, instead of focusing on political attacks, we should focus on the fact that we are at war and need every tool to win the War on Terror.”




So do YOU believe that the Bush Administration is about keeping Americans safe? Or are they about maintaining their own power? And futhermore, are we going to buy this bullshit again and again and again?

NY Times editorial, today:

It comes like a punch to the gut, at times like these, when our leaders blatantly use the nation’s trauma for political gain. We never get used to this. It never feels like business as usual.

On Wednesday, when the administration already knew that British agents were rounding up suspects in what they believed was a plot to blow up planes en route to the United States, Vice President Dick Cheney had a telephone interview with reporters to discuss the defeat of Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut in a Democratic primary. Mr. Cheney went off on a rather rambling disquisition, but its main point was clear: In rejecting Mr. Lieberman, who supported the war in Iraq, the Democrats were encouraging “the Al Qaeda types.” Within the Democratic ranks, the vice president added, “there’s a significant body of opinion that wants to go back — I guess the way I would describe it is sort of the pre-9/11 mind-set, in terms of how we deal with the world we live in.”
[snip]

Here is what we want to do in the wake of the arrests in Britain. We want to understand as much as possible about what terrorists were planning. To talk about airport security and how to make it better. To celebrate what worked in the British investigation and discuss how to push these efforts farther. It would be a blessed moment in modern American history if we could do that without turning this into a political game plan.


But we can't. We can't because we have allowed an Administration whose only priority is their own power and their own sorry asses to seize an unprecedented amount of power, not just over our government, but over our minds and our responses. It's time Americans stopped allowing them to manipulate them for their own political gain.

(hat tip for the timeline: Joe in DC)
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