Tom Ridge And Terror Alerts - The Threats of August, and October

Yesterday US News & World Report helped promote the new Tom Ridge book with the news that Evil BushCo was manipulating terror alerts for political advantage.  This bombshell misfired, however, prompting premature claims of vindication on the left.  First, from USN&WR:

Tom Ridge, the first head of the 9/11-inspired Department of Homeland Security, wasn't keen on writing a tell-all. But in The Test of Our Times: America Under Siege...and How We Can Be Safe Again, out September 1, Ridge says he wants to shake "public complacency" over security. And to do that, well, he needs to tell all. ...[And he] was pushed to raise the security alert on the eve of President Bush's re-election, something he saw as politically motivated and worth resigning over.

Marc Ambinder opined that the Bush critics were right but wrong, then amended himself:

Journalists, including myself, were very skeptical when anti-Bush liberals insisted that what Ridge now says is true, was true. We were wrong.  Our skepticism about the activists' conclusions was warranted because these folks based their assumption on gut hatred for President Bush, and not on any evaluation of the raw intelligence. [Addition: That's a hasty generalization. Many of the loudest voices were reflexively anti-Bush, but I can't accurately describe the motivations of everyone, much less a majority, of those who were skeptical. There were plenty of non-liberals who believed that the terror threats were exaggerated.]

Marcy Wheeler and Glenn Greenwald were among the many who took victory laps, all pointing to the August increase of the terror alert just after the Democratic convention.  Greenwald's title is eerily prescient:

Fringe leftist losers: wrong even when they're right

Hmm - what about "wrong when they are wrong"?  The timeline did bother Ambinder, who wondered why Ridge raised the terror alert in August and then waited until after the election to resign in a huff.

It turns out, per follow-up in the WaPo and CNN that the incident revolved around the response to the release of the bin-Laden tape on Oct 29, 2004 (hence, the eve of the election).  If you don't remember the terror alert being raised in response to the tape, that may be because it wasn't:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge says he successfully countered an effort by senior Bush administration officials to raise the nation's terror alert level in the days before the 2004 presidential vote.

"An election-eve drama was being played out at the highest levels of our government" after Osama bin Laden released a pre-election message critical of President George W. Bush, writes Ridge in his new book, "The Test of Our Times."

Attorney General John Ashcroft and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld strongly advocated raising the security threat level to "orange" -- even though Ridge believed a threatening message "should not be the sole reason to elevate the threat level."

The former Pennsylvania governor also writes that he saw no reason for the move, which he now calls a bad idea, because additional security precautions had already been taken in advance of the election.

"We certainly didn't believe the tape alone warranted action, and we weren't seeing any additional intelligence that justified it. In fact, we were incredulous," Ridge said of the push. "... I wondered, 'Is this about security or politics?'"

The idea that an attack might take place had been discussed, he says. "But at this point there was nothing to indicate a specific threat and no reason to cause undue public alarm. ... It also seemed possible to me and to others around the table that something could be afoot other than simple concern about the country's safety."

In the end, the threat level was not raised.

And the Bushmen get support from the left:

Frances Townsend, a former Homeland Security adviser to President Bush and now a CNN contributor, denied politics played any role in the request to raise the threat level.

"There was a debate," Townsend said Thursday on CNN's The Situation Room. "Tom Ridge wasn't the only person in that meeting who suggested that the terror alert shouldn't be raised. At no time was there any discussion of politics at that meeting. And the president was made a recommendation, a consensus recommendation from the council that he accepted, not to raise the terror alert."

Ms. Townsend was a Clinton holdover made famous by the late Robert Novak.

Which leaves us where?  Well, if Tom Ridge thought politics might have been playing a role in the minds of some of the people urging an October increase in the threat level, that certainly lends credence to the notion that politics may have motivated some of the people who successfully pushed for an increase in the level in August.

On the other hand, the lefty victory lap is a wee bit premature, since the threat level was not in fact raised in October and no one from the Bush side is admitting that politics played a role in the August decision.

From which it follows that Marc Ambinder can make yet another correction to a post he surely ranks high on his "I Wish I'd Never..." list, since this is suspect:

Journalists, including myself, were very skeptical when anti-Bush liberals insisted that what Ridge now says is true, was true. We were wrong. 

Since Ridge has said that he suspected politics was being played yet he successfully opposed an increase in the threat level, we are still in suspense as to whether politics played a successful role when the level was increased.

Of course, in one sense, the notion that politics played a role is a truism - the major point of the threat level seemed to be political CYA.

A SOPHISTRY TOO FAR:  In his "Update V" Glenn Greenwald lauds this "insight" from Atrios:

And just so it's clear: using the threat of terrorism to try to achieve political goals is, you know, what terrorists do.

Interesting.  I agree that "Give me what I want or I will commit violence" looks like terrorism; I am much hazier on "Give me what I want or they will commit violence".  By that new Atrios standard, Ronald Reagan was a terrorist for arming the US against the Soviet threat (Lefties nod!).

But of course, Barack Obama (to pick one name among many) is a terrorist for insisting that any MidEast peace settlement must recognize the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people (liberals frown...).  And should we agree that Obama is a terrorist for warning that without a sustained effort in Afghanistan al Qaeda will regroup and re-attack us?

That's enough - any more worry lines on the left and there will be a global shortage of botox. 

NO, THAT'S NOT ENOUGH:  Can we have a ruling on the man who explained to America's bankers that "My administration is the only thing between you and the pitchforks"?  Domestic terrorist?  Over to Atrios!

TOO FUNNY:  Looks like the publisher was looking for buzz and book sales, not veracity.  Mission Accomplished!

Comments

[the bishop]

So what is he complaining about, frankly considering the Bin Laden tape, I'm kind of surprised that the alert wasn't raised.

[Waybak Machine]

There is absolutely nothing inconsistent or contradictory about us leftists

A. constantly bitching and moaning that 9/11 is Bush's fault because he didn't shut down all U.S. air traffic for months based on a vague "Bin Laden Determined To Strike in U.S." memo, and

B. claiming that Bush was playing politics when the terror alert level was raised by an independent committee based on direct threats issued by Bin Ladin and Al Qaeda.

Nosirree, no inconsistency or contradiction at all. Fucking wingerz!

[Fresh Air]

Teacup weather report for today:

Gale-force, "Rovian" winds expected, followed by torrential, right-wing rains and sugar-cube-sized hail. All saucers should be reinforced in case thrashing lefties spill out of the bowl. Storms are expected to last for up to 20 minutes.

[hrtshpdbox]

On the other hand, the lefty victory lap is a wee bit premature..

Heh heh, he said "wee".

[MayBee]

A. constantly bitching and moaning that 9/11 is Bush's fault because he didn't shut down all U.S. air traffic for months based on a vague "Bin Laden Determined To Strike in U.S." memo, and

Get out of my head, whoever you are.

I was thinking about that as I lay in bed last night. How many times have we heard about the August PDB and how Bush didn't "do something" about it?

[boris]

Seems to be another one of those "how can we criticize dimorats for leaking national security intel, encouraging enemies to keep fighting, provoking enemy rage with endless Abu Graib photo layouts, Gitmo torture, Koran flushing and trying to influence voters with fake TANG memos ... if WE ever even give the hint that WE MIGHT POSSIBLY CONSIDER REACTING TO AN EXPLICIT THREAT in a way that somebody could conceivably suggest so much as A SINGLE VOTER WOULD TAKE THAT INTO ACCOUNT when making their sacrosanct UNBIASED choice in the voting booth.

Heaven forfend the thought !!!

[Ignatz]

Do lefties ever get tired of making a mess in their pants over the latest bombshell that invariably turns out to be a dud?

[clarice]

Beware of ex officials flogging their books.

[Rob Crawford]

Why does anyone -- excepting his white supremacist clients and sock-puppeting cabana boys -- give a rat's ass what Glenn Greenwald "thinks"?

[clarice]

Let Them Eat Arugula.
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/08/let_them_eat_arugula.html

[Pops]

You know I must be jaded, when I first saw this report...my first thought was, OHH BOY, RIDGE MUST HAVE BOOK COMING OUT.

But then I thought, gee how jaded I am.

Then I thought, I guess he wants to get a big spread in the New York Times as free advertising.

But then I realized it was August and I was just Wee Weee'ing.

Got to get that looked at...I'm just not Weee Weeing like I use to.

[clarice]

Change you can believe in
It's the same thing over and over..an ex official writes a book about his days in the Bush administration, before the book comes out we are given a snippet of an interview showing how wicked that group was, and then the book somes out and the story is far less accusatory or incendiary..and the author's agents pockets the change.

[centralcal]

Saw your piece at AT, Clarice!

Gibbs today said that wee wee, means bed wetting. hokay.

[boris]

"I'm just not Weee Weeing like I use to"

Then go to the market and get some rost beef.

This little piggy went to market,
This little piggy stayed at home,
This little piggy had roast beef,
This little piggy had none.
And this little piggy went...
"Wee wee wee" all the way home...

[Original MikeS]

Looks like we may need to appoint a special persecutor to investigate what Ridge now remembers about what he had remembered or forgotten then (at the time he was writing his book) regarding the state of his memory on the dates when the metioned incidents took place.

After all this could be very, very important, because in the final analysis NOTHING HAPPENED!

[BB Key]

When Tom Ridge was at Homeland Security, the lefties and the MSM made fun of him all the time.

Now he jumps on the blame Bush bandwagon and he has instant credibility.

[maryrose]

Ridge is still mad he wasn't chosen as VP candidate for McCain so he decides to flak his book at Bush's expense. I remember how much President Bush liked Ridge and wanted him to be part of his Cabinet. Ingratitude on display once again just like Scott McClelland.

[Boatbuilder]

Heh. Bedwetting liberals. Who knew?

[MayBee]

Quick!

What is the current Terror Alert Level on international and domestic flights?

[MayBee]

I heard Scott McClellan will be giving a speech at Obama's Organizing For America regarding Bush's constant campaign.

[centralcal]

MayBee - I know! I know! (Actually, I saw your twitter, so I won't cheat - dang it.)

[MayBee]

Ha, Centralcal.

I think it's weird that people are so forgetful about how much blame was being slung around then.

When was the last time the press even mentioned the current threat level?
When was the last time the press used the term "grim milestone"?

[Pops]

So is everyone switching to TWEETER.
Hey...send me a Wee.

So did the President actually say the press corp is wetting themselves?

Perhaps thats the tingle going down Chris Mathews leg....

[centralcal]

Ah, but it became a new and glorious day when Obama was sworn in as Presidebt, MayBee.

Memory is so, I dunno, subjective. The press have the one they had been waiting for, lo, all these years. Don't go shining any lights into their many dark corners.

[Pops]

"""What is the current Terror Alert Level on international and domestic flights?""

Would that be a flight taking a Libyan terrorist home to a heroes welcome? Good job Barack!

Or a flight taking a Uighur (That's pronounced WEEEEEgher) terrorist to his island retreat in Bermuda - Good job Barack.

Or a Al Qaeda terrorist to Palua?

In fact, what are the chances of finding a flight that doesn't have a terrorist on board being jetted to his home or an island paradise.

[clarice]

Or a flight carrying a really covert CIA agent after he's been id'd to the terrorists by the ACLU and the volunteer lawyers from the big white shoe firms with whom the group is coordinating?

[MayBee]

Or a flight carrying a really covert CIA agent after he's been id'd to the terrorists by the ACLU and the volunteer lawyers from the big white shoe firms with whom the group is coordinating?

Now that's interesting.

I remember the first Jakarta JW Marriott bombing was supposed to be targeting a CIA meeting being held there.

[SWarren]

Heh,
Charlie Gibson on Cindy Sheehan going to Martha"s vineyard to protest,--"Enough already".

[hit and run]

TM:
A SOPHISTRY TOO FAR: In his "Update V" Glenn Greenwald lauds this "insight" from Atrios:

And just so it's clear: using the threat of terrorism to try to achieve political goals is, you know, what terrorists do.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2009/04/obama-to-banker.html>Well, then, ok:

ABC News’ Matthew Jaffe reports: When President Obama welcomed the chief executives from 13 of the nation's biggest banks to the White House last Friday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs billed it as a “good, productive, and frank” conversation.

Emphasis, it appears, on the frank.

As first reported by Politico's Eamon Javers, and confirmed by ABC News with industry sources, some bankers gave explanations for the industry's high salaries, such as "competing for talent on an international market."

But, President Obama cut them off.

"My administration is the only thing between you and the pitchforks," the president told them.

Obama pals around with terrorists is a terrorist, according to Atrios and made clear by Glenn Greenwald.

[Elliott]

What is the current Terror Alert Level on international and domestic flights?

Is it orange (which I think is "elevated")?

[Elliott]

What is the current Terror Alert Level on international and domestic flights?

Is it orange (which I think is "elevated")?

[Elliott]

Sorry.

[Frau Flohmarkt]

Clarice -Good going with the Arugula King and his Aggy Princess. I'm waiting to hear/see who has been bouncing on the Lincoln bed. The lack of respect for the People's House is stunning. Pres. Clueless has referred to the WH as "my house." Are the protocol people locked away in the basement?

[MayBee]

You win the big prize, Elliott (twice!).

Anyway- that's the same sooper scary level some in Bush admin wanted to raise it *to* in days before election- although nationwide, not just for flights.

So I guess I'm trying to decide what Obama is trying to scare us into, with this horrifying elevation of fear.

[Frau Flohmarkt]

OT, PUK - Several threads ago, I overlooked your question about the funding of Obama's private schooling in Hawaii, California and New York. I have found no definite answer, but I think his mother and grandparents must have used his half-African parentage as a bid for scholarships for foreigners which I venture to *guess* were easier to receive.

[Extraneus]

Trouble sleeping, MayBee?

[Extraneus]

I was thinking about that as I lay in bed last night. How many times have we heard about the August PDB and how Bush didn't "do something" about it?

Don't most people just count sheep?

[clarice]

Thanks, Frau.If you google that article you'll see that in some areas of credentialed moronland the idea is popular--you know it always astonishes me to see how many people (a) have bizarre notions of the role of the presidet(b) have no concept of symbols of power and nationhood, and (c) are perfectly willing to stick their necks out on matters about which they know nothing. As to (c) this city is the recipient of all the money being siphoned out of your pockets which means we have wonderful food available here and a plethora of farmers markets--markets conveniently located near subway stops and parking unlike the WH which for security reasons is very hard to get to.

[Manuel Transmission]

Clarice,

O/T, but getting close: are you gathering folks to start handing out pikes? We are planning on coming to DC for the big event and want to help in any way we can. There will be five of us, which is the max my little plane can carry.

Cheers,

[clarice]

Contact jane who is heading another JOM delegation --perhaps we can all join forces. On the 10th at 12:30 we are planning a simple luncheon at DACOR house ..if your five will be here then and wish to join the festivities (it's a private club, and a three course lunch with wine is only $20 each) let me know so I can add you to the group.

[Sue The Bastard]

Sgt. Jerry Fields. Remember that name.

[caro "three arm" crusher]

Hey, ManTran, so excited that we will meet you.
And if I haven't mentioned to Clarice...It will be a treasured life experience to meet you.

[centralcal]

O/T: Shades of Harry Potter . . .

"The first-ever video advertisement will be published in a traditional paper magazine in September.

The video-in-print ads will appear in select copies of the US show business title Entertainment Weekly.

The slim-line screens - around the size of a mobile phone display - also have rechargeable batteries.

The chip technology used to store the video - described as similar to that used in singing greeting cards - is activated when the page is turned.

Each chip can hold up to 40 minutes of video."

[clarice]

Shucks, Caro--I'm afraid you'll be disappointed.

[daleyrocks]

It's strange that Greenwald takes Ambinder's implied rebuke of him as an unserious fringe leftist loser motivated by a gut hatred for Bush so personally. It's almost like it strikes too close to home or something. From a comment on Glenn's blog:

".......There are some people who treat our conflicts with the Bush administration and their followers as just a matter of basic, friendly political and policy differences - along the lines of "what should the rate of capital gains tax be?" or "what type of laws can best encourage employers to provide more benefits to their employees" - and therefore, we treat people who support the administration with respect and civility and simply have nice, clean discussions to sort out our differences among well-intentioned people.

That isn't how I see that, and nobody should come to this blog expecting that. I don't think I've done anything to lead anyone to expect otherwise. I see the Bush movement and its various component parts as a plague and a threat, as anything but well-intentioned. My goal, politically speaking, is to do what I can to undermine it and the institutions that have both supported and enabled it.............

Not everyone is entitled to respect and civility.......
Glenn Greenwald | 12.02.06 - 4:22 pm | #"

[Jane will cause you pain]

Hey Manuel Transmission,

Email me at [email protected] and I will fill you in.

[caro "three arm" crusher]

I won't be disappointed, Clarice. I am really craving hanging out with like-minded people right now.

[Slartibartfast]

"Bush movement"?

WTF? I mean, WTFF?

[Slartibartfast]

Oh, sorry; unclear.

There's a Bush movement? Who knew?

[Barry Dauphin]

Let's see... Ridge waits almost 5 years to tell us something this "important" and "devious". 2004... 2009? WTF. So Ridge is promoting a book... coincidence. Bushitler stuff is supposed to sell. Except that he and his publisher have the incompetence to time this at the very moment Obama is in free fall in the polls. So this will play for exactly 12 seconds. And this guy was head of Homeland Security? What exactly does Ridge have to say that anyone except Kos Kidz would want to read?

He was never exactly an exciting speaker and was generally as dull as dishwater. This is it, eh? A disagreement among policy makers about which stupid color to use immediately after the terrorist responsible for 9/11 makes an explicit threat against the US? He's given away for free the only thing in the book worth talking about, and it's not worth much it turns out. I hope his publisher gave him an advance, cuz he is not gonna make anything off this book otherwise.

[PD]

So Obama's upset that the Lockerbie bomber's been released? Why? What did he do with the USS Cole bomber?

[Will Carr]

Tom Ridge, Richard Baer and Thomas Tweeten could shed searing light on Bush legacy…..

Letter to Corpus Christi conservative talk show host Eric Von Wade…..

Dear Eric,

Pan Am 103 passenger Matthew Gannon was son in law of Thomas Tweeten. Both high ranking CIA operatives and agency administrators in the Middle East. You can read about them in Richard Baer’s book Sleeping With the Devil who tells us that Matthew Gannon was on his way home with the son of Oliver “Buck” Revell, General Deputy of the FBI and head of Counter Terrorism for the Bureau to press the question “why do rank and file CIA and FBI agents have nothing on the Moslem Brotherhood in their files?” Justice Department lawyer, John Loftus, himself an author, confirms Baer’s report. Baer reveals that higher-ups didn’t want the youngsters in the agency and bureau to know the truth about the Brotherhood’s role in American foreign policy. Our bulldogs turned on us, Eric, then flew right up our kazoo and dropped a big one. So did we go after them….in Saudi Arabia…where they had been living and funded? Heck NO! These were our boys gone a little bad. Let’s go to Iraq!

Now, if you want a really scarry picture, picture this. When Federal District Judge John Howland Wood (Woodsboro, Bayside, Refugio) was murdered in San Antonio in the 80’s the press said it was the Mexican drug dealers the Chagra brother from El Paso that did it. Gary Cartwright (in Dirty Dealing, Texas Monthly reporter) show that the Chagras weren’t Mexicans at all but Syrian/Lebanese who for years had been a part of the weapons and drug dealers that line up along our border with Mexico and blend into the culture there. Were these our bulldogs gone bad as well?

Tweeton’s son went down on Pan Am 103. Revell’s son was diverted from the flight at the last minute.

The Scot’s, as I said on your program, are not afraid to send a message to empires. The British, ours, or any one elses. There is obviously more going on with the release of the Libyan than meets the eye and whether or not it is related to these sad facts, I cannot say, but the bodies of Gannon and the other Americans fell on their soil, not ours.

Buck Revell’s protege in the FBI was Steve Pomerantz, husband of Karen Tandy, former DEA chief and sister of Colleen Tandy McHugh, CC attorney with Rudy Giuliani’s law firm.

Why don’t you have a phone conversation on air with all these parties and let them hash it out. You might ask Mr. Ridge to be a part. It’ll get your highest ratings ever even among the truly conservative who along with many others are sick and tired of all it.

Rev. William H. Carr
former pastor of Oliver “Buck” Revell at
Grace Presbyterian Church, Plano, TX.

[MayBee]

Will Carr- What does Tom Ridge have to do with flight 103? That all preceded him.