THE DEADLY MIX

THE DEADLY MIX OF POLITICS AND NATIONAL SECURITY MAY EXPLODE IN THE GEORGE BUSH’S FACE  If you thought your stomach was sick over Valerie Plame and Karl Rove, your heart will be twisted with the tale coming out about Naeem Noor Khan.  You will remember his name as the explosion over the beginning of the Democratic National Convention last year.  You may remember the heightened security. Now the latest news. Khan is connected to the bombings in London last year. The announcement of his arrest stunned the intelligence here and across the Atlantic. It may have had deadly results in London last week

Officials tell ABC News the London bombers have been connected to an al Qaeda plot planned two years ago in the Pakistani city of Lahore.
The laptop computer of Naeem Noor Khan, a captured al Qaeda leader, contained plans for a coordinated series of attacks on the London subway system, as well as on financial buildings in both New York and Washington.
"There's absolutely no doubt he was part of an al Qaeda operation aimed at not only the United States but Great Britain," explained Alexis Debat, a former official in the French Defense Ministry who is now a senior terrorism consultant for ABC News.
[ABC NEWS]

MORE ON THIS FROM [MAHA] AND [AMERICABLOG]

Now it seems blowing the cover of Kahn may blow up in  Bush's face with bodies dead all over London. And for what?  Many noted Tom Ridge's odd cheerleading at at the end of his August 1, 2004 ANNOUNCEMENT regarding the continuing terror alert.

I certainly realize that this is sobering news, not just about the intent of our enemies, but of their specific plans and a glimpse into their methods.
But we must understand that the kind of information available to us today is the result of the President’s leadership in the war against terror.
[DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY]

BUSH LOOKED GOOD BACK THEN.  He may not look so good when this is all done.  People will now recall what Tom Ridge said at the start of this important security announcement that came to trump the success of John Kerry's Democratic National Convention.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentleman.  President Bush has told you, and I have reiterated the promise, that when we have specific credible information, that we will share it.   Now this afternoon, we do have new and unusually specific information about where al-Qaeda would like to attack.
[DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY]

WHAT WAS UNUSUAL ABOUT RIDGE'S CITED INFORMATION WAS THAT IT WAS OLD But it had to be released on a Sunday during the Democratic Convention.

Because the US let the cat out of the bag, the media got a hold of Khan's name and published the fact that he had been captured - his Al Qaeda contacts thus found out their "buddy" was actually a mole, and they fled. Our sole source inside Al Qaeda was destroyed. As a result, the Brits had to have a high speed chase to catch some of Khan's Al Qaeda associates as they fled, and, according to press reports, the Brits and Pakistanis both fear that some slipped away.
Again, these were guys involved with the plot to blow up the London subway last week. Some may have escaped because of Bush administration negligence involving a leak.
[AMERICABLOG]

DON'T FORGET George W. Bush is sold as the President who keeps us safe.  How long will people keep buying that?

WHAT THE BLOGS/ONLINE MAGS ARE SAYING
[WORDS HAVE POWER] There were no credible "specific threats" against New York buildings in the summer of 2004, but there was a "specific threat" to George Bush's presidency brewing in Boston at the Democratic National Convention.

Comments

[Desi]

Oh Jeebus Christ on a cracker! If there is something, anything bushtwat does right . . . I'd like to know what it is. Anyone?

Thanks for the excellent coverage on this, Joe. I've been pretty well tied up all day, and this evening getting prepared to go out of country again for a few days -- so I'm not completely up on things. Excellent work!

[Randy Bull]

Great summary. The Ridge stuff is excellent and fills in some blanks. I did a post on this as well. My conclusion is that these guys will do everything in their power to protect their power and do nothing to protect the rest of us. Let's face it, a major terrorist attack plays into their hands and gives Mr. Dress-up In Uniforms a chance to pretend he is a "war president.

Be afraid.

http://whpsocal.blogspot.com/2005/07/be-afraid.html

[JLo]

This will die a quiet death unless you keep it alive... so keep it alive. It's important.

[KathyF]

It's good to know the attack was planned in Pakistan, not Leeds (or even closer to me, Aylesbury, where one bomber supposedly lived). That means we'll just have to bomb Pakistan, not Leeds, as I'd feared.

Whew! Close one! Although we don't invade sovereign countries, do we? Or only some sovereign countries...this is SO confusing!