Terrorist Warnings Another Way To Steal Election

Terrorist Warnings Another Way To Steal Election (Scoop--New Zealand) Why? It just so happens that every single terrorist warning was issued whenever Bush's approval ratings lagged and when bad news was coming out of the war in Iraq, such as the failure to find any weapons of mass destruction, the huge financial cost of the war and a shortage of troops. Need evidence? Check pollingreport.com and then check the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department web sites and you'll see how the terrorist warnings were issued at the same time Bush started to fall behind in the polls.
The Australian newspaper, The Age, ran a Reuters story (click to read) that quoted unnamed senior U.S. officials as saying that the constant flow of terrorist warnings since March 2003 "may also just be a ploy to shore up the president's job approval ratings or divert attention from the increasingly unpopular Iraq campaign."

Reports That Led to Terror Alert Were Years Old, Officials Say

NYTimes : Much of the information that led the authorities to raise the terror alert at several large financial institutions in the New York City and Washington areas was three or four years old, intelligence and law enforcement officials said on Monday. They reported that they had not yet found concrete evidence that a terror plot or preparatory surveillance operations were still under way.

People keep seeing red: 'There's no reason to alarm the public if the people can't do anything about it.

People keep seeing red: 'There's no reason to alarm the public if the people can't do anything about it. All you create is a state of pre-traumatic stress.'
As the national terror alert goes up, so do people's fears - but when the color code goes down, people's emotions stay on alert. Zimbardo, Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Stanford University, riveted the over-capacity crowd of psychologists in the Hawaii convention hall by saying that the Bush administration “weaponizes fear” – using the color code system as a vehicle for their political agenda.
Worst yet is a boy-who-cried-wolf phenomenon where the public has lost confidence in the alert system, says Zimbardo, citing 10 terror alerts and no attacks.
As a result of false alarms, Zimbardo doesn’t think there will even be another attack.
“The terrorists don’t need to attack,” he says. “We’re doing the terrorists’ job for them - by creating fear and causing the government to spend millions of dollars every time the terrorists send out some threatening message that they might do something.” (NY Daily News)

New information points to terror attacks--Businesses in New York, Washington considered top targets

Officials: New information points to terror attacks--Businesses in New York, Washington considered top targets

Ridge's statement includes a plug for Bush: 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. The reports that have led to this alert are the result of offensive intelligence and military operations overseas, as well as strong partnerships with our allies around the world, such as Pakistan. Such operations and partnerships give us insight into the enemy so we can better target our defensive measures here and away from home.

Howard Dean speaks about the timing "I am concerned that every time something happens that's not good for President Bush, he plays this trump card, which is terrorism," Howard Dean, a former rival of Mr. Kerry for the Democratic nomination, told Wolf Blitzer on CNN on Sunday.
"His whole campaign is based on the notion that 'I can keep you safe, therefore at times of difficulty for America stick with me,' and then out comes Tom Ridge," Mr. Dean, the former Vermont governor, added, referring to the homeland security secretary. "It's just impossible to know how much of this is real and how much of this is politics, and I suspect there's some of both in it."
White House officials denied that suggestion, and other Democrats and Mr. Kerry's advisers would not embrace it. "I certainly hope not," Steve Elmendorf, Mr. Kerry's deputy campaign manager, said. "You have to take them at their word."

and the Independent in the UK: A nation in danger. Or a president in peril? Given that America is in the middle of a closely fought election campaign, there was, perhaps, little surprise that some would accuse the Bush administration of playing politics. With an eye to possible criticism from Republicans, the Democratic candidate, John Kerry, felt the need to distance himself yesterday from Mr Dean's comments.
At the same time, there have been numerous terror alerts since the 11 September attacks that appear to have been based on little more than chatter. Some - such as the arrest of Jose Padilla, the alleged "dirty-bomber" - have been announced in a way designed to have maximum political impact. Other warnings have been based on information later shown to be incorrect.
In regard to the latest alert, Mr Ridge admitted the intelligence did not give crucial details about when, where or how terrorists might strike. Officials said, however, the information showed al-Qa'ida operatives had been scouting the targets, seeing how to make contact with employees, as well as traffic patterns and locations of hospitals and police posts.

on CNN just before this new warning,

it was all about Kerry/Edwards and giant explosions in Iraq. (Transcript of Late Edition)

GAO report criticizes terror warnings

U.S. government terror warnings to local police and citizens fail to give the specific information many authorities say is needed to protect the public, a report made for Congress said Monday.

The report followed a series of official warnings about possible attacks -- most recently voiced last week by Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge -- which lacked new intelligence or details on the threat and how to respond.
...
Some critics have accused President Bush's administration of using terrorism warnings as a political tool. Bush has made the fight against global terrorism a major theme of his campaign for re-election.

The administration denies playing politics with terror threats, but a GAO official said the warning system's credibility could be undermined by vague announcements.

"When the government gives warnings without more information about why they're giving them ... that inevitably leads to people questioning whether the timing is a diversion, or politically motivated," said Randall Yim, head of GAO's homeland security division.

roundup of stuff June 2002 and others--will categorize later

Who's jerking whom around on terror alerts (6/02-Final Call): In the midst of the latest terror-warning surge by Bush officials, several questions could and should have been asked about the timing and the motives for the alerts. Were the alerts tossed out to take some heat off Bush for allegedly having foreknowledge of a pending September 11 attack and doing nothing to stop it? Are the alerts a political ploy by Rumsfeld to get Congress to pump even more billions into the Pentagon’s already bloated budget for, as he put it, greater military "preparedeness?" Or, with-off year national elections this November, is terror alerts part of the Bush campaign strategy to pack even more Republicans into Congress and state offices?
If Rumsfeld, Mueller, Powell and Cheney overplay the terror card for self-serving domestic political gain, they are following a well-worn script.

Analysis: Is US terror fight 'overplayed'? (6/02-BBC) It has made some people question the sudden and dramatic television address of John Ashcroft, especially in the light of the criticism the CIA and the FBI have faced over mishandled warnings prior to 11 September.
They wonder whether John Ashcroft's announcement was deliberately meant to counter some of the negative publicity the agencies' have endured.

Terrorism Warning of the Day
(or: How the Bush Administration is Using Our Fear of Terrorism to Advance Its Own Agenda)--Great roundup from 02 of past warnings, from About.com

Just ridiculous--Almanacs?!? Xmas 2003

Almanac Carries Lot of Weight in Warning:
FBI's Recent Alert Has Editor Bemused--from Baltimore Sun

May 26-28, 2004

Ashcroft gives a warning, later joined by Ridge, knocking Bush's declines in a variety of polls off the front pages.

San Francisco Chronicle wonders about the timing as well: Skeptics wonder whether politics motivated warnings

CNN wonders as well: Out of sync on warning?

MSNBC/Newsweek says: An Overreaction?

and--Terror Warning Surprises Homeland Security Dept-- from Newsday

Warning? Again? Why now?

This blog is a look at the suspicious timing of Homeland Security Warnings.

Today Tom Ridge gave yet another warning, knocking John Kerry's selection of John Edwards as Vice-Presidential candidate off the front pages and off the airwaves, along with the indictment of Kenneth Lay (former head of Enron, and longtime Bush/Cheney friend and supporter).

Bush is sowing fear for votes: Critics--from Toronto Star

This is one in a continuing pattern of conveniently timed warnings, including no new information, and nothing useful for the population to use. I'm starting with today's, and will work my way backward, examining what stories are knocked off the front pages by these announcements.

November 21, 2003

Tom RIdge gives a warning,