http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/08/03/us_terror_alert_political_football/p... US terror alert becomes political football By Thomas C Greene (thomas.greene at theregister.co.uk) Published Tuesday 3rd August 2004 15:15 GMT Update As we reported recently (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/08/02/al_qaeda_cyber_terror_panic), the latest ratcheting up of the terror threat level in the United States was based on captured documents dating back some time. In that article, we observed that it was "not clear whether any of the information recently obtained relates to current or future schemes." <SNIP> "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 terrorist plot or preparatory surveillance operations were still under way." <SNIP> Why now? If anyone is wondering why terrorism, and especially attacks at home, should have been so fully hyped on such thin evidence, it's useful to consider the news cycle. Last week, John Kerry did a surprisingly good job of introducing himself to the nation as a plausible replacement for Bush. <SNIP> Politics But this rain dance was not undertaken from a security point of view. It was concocted with a political motive, and its purpose was to distract the public from the additive disasters in Iraq, and the unexpectedly strong showing by the Democrats in Boston last week. It was designed to make Junior look like the "strong leader" that his cheerleaders insist, against all evidence, that he really is. (We note that the true Prince of Darkness, Dick Cheney, has been dutifully silent, and conspicuously absent, during the recent national security festivities, to vouchsafe the limelight to Junior.) <SNIP> ----------------------Kaos-Keraunos-Kybernetos--------------------------- + ^ + :"War is Peace /|\ \|/ : Freedom is Slavery /\|/\ <--*-->: Ignorance is Strength \/|\/ /|\ : Bush is President" - Bret Feinblatt \|/ + v + : -------------------------------------- http://www.sunder.net ------------