Sponsored Content




Intermarkets' Privacy Policy
Support


Donate to Ace of Spades HQ!



Recent Entries
Absent Friends
Bandersnatch 2024
GnuBreed 2024
Captain Hate 2023
moon_over_vermont 2023
westminsterdogshow 2023
Ann Wilson(Empire1) 2022
Dave In Texas 2022
Jesse in D.C. 2022
OregonMuse 2022
redc1c4 2021
Tami 2021
Chavez the Hugo 2020
Ibguy 2020
Rickl 2019
Joffen 2014
AoSHQ Writers Group
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published. Contact OrangeEnt for info:
maildrop62 at proton dot me
Cutting The Cord And Email Security
Moron Meet-Ups

NoVaMoMe 2024: 06/08/2024
Arlington, VA
Details to follow


Texas MoMe 2024: 10/18/2024-10/19/2024 Corsicana,TX
Contact Ben Had for info





















« Obama: Claim that ObamaCare Would Fund Abortions a "Fabrication" and (Wait... for... It...) a "Distraction"
Video Update: It Wasn't a Distraction When He Made Promises to Planned Parenthood in 2007
| Main | Did Glenn Beck Kind Of Sorta Get Suspended? UPDATE: Nope »
August 20, 2009

Oh Boy: Tom Ridge's Tell-All Says He Was Pressured to Raise Terror Threat Level on Eve of 2004 Elections

Not sure how true this is.

I assume Ridge is not lying. But I also assume he needs some hot facts, or even "facts," to sell a book.

Best case for Bush and Cheney: There was an elevated risk and Ridge was wrong; Ridge was too worried about the appearances of raising the level, whereas Bush and Cheney didn't care about appearances.

Second-best case for Bush and Cheney: As people tend to do, they viewed the data with their own best interests in mind, and thus arguable, on-the-line data was seen by them --- honestly, but wrongly, due to the powerful agent of subconscious self-interest -- as warranting a heightened threat level.

Bad case scenarios: I think the lefty blogosphere should have these well-covered.

See Wikipedia for the timing.

In addition, the alert has been raised to High on a select or partial basis three times: August 1 – November 10, 2004, for specific financial institutions in northern New Jersey, New York, and Washington, D.C., citing intelligence pointing to the possibility of a car or truck bomb attack, naming specific buildings as possible targets.[20][21]

July 7, 2005 – August 12, 2005, for mass transit systems only. The DHS secretary announced the level after the 7 July 2005 London bombings despite the absence of "specific, credible information suggesting imminent attack" in the United States.[22]

August 10, 2006 – present, for all domestic airline flights and all international flights to or from the United States, with the exception of flights from the United Kingdom to the United States. Flights from the United Kingdom to the United States had been under a severe alert, but were downgraded to a high alert on August 14, 2006.[19]

That seems like a pretty good reason to raise the alert level to me, but that assumes, I guess, a fair amount of confidence in the intelligence.

It also seems to me that by this point, many people, including Ridge himself, believed the color-coded terror alert system had outlived its usefulness. Indeed, that position seems to have prevailed; you never hear about it anymore.

So this seems to have occurred at a point when some people, like Ridge, were becoming convinced the system was pointless, and other people (presumably Bush and Cheney) thought it was valuable.

That right there suggests ample enough reason for disagreement.



digg this
posted by Ace at 01:23 PM

| Access Comments




Recent Comments
Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere [/i] [/b]: "[i] Is that pronounced - Waff, Wawgg, Waw, Wawf, W ..."

Bulgaroctonus: "When I was very small, I thought the PSAs about "C ..."

Martini Farmer: "During the winter months the Pacific Coast around ..."

Zombie Robbo the Llama Butcher: "73 Is that pronounced - Waff, Wawgg, Waw, Wawf, Wo ..."

Lizzy[/i]: ">>Yup. A good day for a drive around Bass Rocks. ..."

[/i][/b]andycanuck (2yu8s)[/s][/u]: "[TBF, I don't know if it's a blind spot in my brai ..."

Warai-otoko: "Is that pronounced - Waff, Wawgg, Waw, Wawf, Woe.. ..."

The Upper Atmosphere: "[i]Could use some seals. Tell me about it Post ..."

[/i][/u][/s][/b]Muldoon: "Loan arranger! Heh! ..."

Chuck Martel: "Frederick J. Waugh ____ Is that pronounced - W ..."

Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere [/i] [/b]: "[i]Could use some seals. Tell me about it Post ..."

Lady Who Always Has a Burning Question: "A scene I could appreciate, from the shore. In th ..."

Recent Entries
Search


Polls! Polls! Polls!
Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Top Top Tens
Greatest Hitjobs

The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon
A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates
Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny
More Margaret Cho Abuse
Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny
Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman
Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format
John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia
World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading
Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree
Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears
Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed"
Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility
Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips
They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan
Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq
Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town
When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool
What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means
Wonkette's Stand-Up Act
Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour
Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider
My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty
Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA
An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear
The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report!
Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet
The House of Love: Paul Krugman
A Michael Moore Mystery (TM)
The Dowd-O-Matic!
Liberal Consistency and Other Myths
Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias
John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate
"Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long)
The Donkey ("The Raven" parody)
Powered by
Movable Type 2.64