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The terror warnings

24 comments on The terror warnings

The terror warnings

: I actually bought a copy of Time today to read what they said about the terror intelligence and warnings. I challenge the nya-nyaers to go read it and still argue that the government should not have warned us about what they learned.

But there remains plenty of cause for concern. Al-Qaeda has cased targets for years before attacking; preparations for the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa began in 1993, for instance. Intelligence and law-enforcement officials familiar with the material recovered in Pakistan told TIME that the discs revealed far more detailed, wide-ranging and current research and planning by a terrorist group than have so far been made public. Though the surveillance information on the discs was done mostly in 2000 and 2001, one disc contained an updated photo of the Prudential Plaza building that was added to the al-Qaeda file in January of this year.

24 responses to “The terror warnings”

  1. Michael Zimmer Avatar
    Michael Zimmer

    Good points. The only thing that still confuses me about these recent warnings is that it makes it sound like the gov’t didn’t consider the major financial institutions in NYC or public helicopter services potential targets/tools in the first place. If it was only after uncovering this (old) intel that the gov’t became concerned with these potentialities. Is this an example of the “lack of imagination” that the 9/11 commission is referring to?

  2. Oliver Avatar
    Oliver

    I read the article today. The idea of Tom Ridge and George Bush overseeing my security scares the crap outta me (I work 1.5 blocks from the White House, I saw the big gun toting soldiers right at the subway exit).

  3. Angus Jung Avatar
    Angus Jung

    Oh, you work in Washington DC? Where at?

  4. Andy Avatar
    Andy

    Whether it is a residential district in Baghdad or neighborhood in Oakland, “we” have to be involved in our own security. Security cannot be imposed from the outside. The police and security apparatus do not work in isolation.
    Our govt. has chosen to involve us in the discussions, details, planning, reporting of our own security. We have demanded this access and participation. We have threatened our elected leaders with removal if they withhold information.
    Somewhere in the midst of our demands and threats is an unstated, implicit commitment to act responsibly. We cannot have it “all” ways. Are we adults who can receive and react to news? Or are we children to be protected from the details and told only at the last minute or in the aftermath?
    This is a war. The frontlines are NOT in the headlines. They are right outside our door. How do we propose to live for the next 20-50 years of this fight?
    Communism and the Cold War took over 70 years to learn how to fight, learn how to win and to find the emotional/political will to change the comfortable accommodations we had made. Do we have the strength and will for such a fight against terrorism?
    Are we ready to accept the alternatives to fighting for our survival?
    Being distracted by the ticket-sellers who see politics as celebrity ignores and obscures the generations of killers in madrassa’s and the local high school. The 17-year-old with a bomb is the same whether he is home grown or foreign born. The dead innocents are not the fodder of a 15-second video blurb. They are the children, wives and families of our community. They do not get up when the camera cuts away.
    It does not seem that America is ready to take this war seriously. Do we really need for a few thousand MORE innocents to die? Must we have slaughter on our streets before we come together ?
    Is it the essence of democracies to have short memories, little will for a fight and ready desire to resume pursuing happiness as soon as possible?
    Can we stop chasing happiness long enough to chase away evil?

  5. syn Avatar
    syn

    Well, since the prior Adminstration failed to fully disclose to the American public any Islamofascist threats or even attempt to bring to the public’s awareness the rising tide of Islamofascism, it is understandable that today, some in the public are confused. The current Adminstration is simply disclosing information the public is not accustomed to hearing.
    I live in NYC, we were attacked twice yet some seem only to remember 9/11. Just as the 1993 WTC bombing was whitewashed it appears that 9/11 is also at risk for being whitewashed out of the public’s eye.
    Islamofascists have always maintained they have time on their side, and I have no doubt they have managed by this time to have thousands of plans for attacking the West to use at their time of need.
    In less than three years, I feel much safer today than I did all throughout the 1990’s. We are finally going after Islamofascists instead of waiting for Islamofascists to come to us.

  6. doug Avatar
    doug

    I would feel a lot safer if PC was not the order of the day. I see the same man who told me that he had ” a duty and an obligation to lie to me, to cheat me, and to steal from me,” pictured in my local paper protesting against the treatment of Moslems. When the local imam tells me that the man who I quoted above is ” an honored and respected member of the local Islamic community,” I get worried. Why aren’t people who know the local hotheads interviewed by the local media? Are they waiting for the local mosque to start handing out rpgs like in Albany?

  7. shark Avatar
    shark

    Don’t worry Oliver. George Soros’s money will protect you, you paid hack.

  8. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    Jeff:
    Stop with your hysterical whining already. You sound like a nervous old lady. Okay, there are terrorists — they’ve always been here, they always will be. But, you still have an overwhelmingly greater statistical chance of being killed in a car accident, by a handgun or even being struck by lightening. To put it another way, you have a better chance of hitting the lottery than being killed by in a terrorist attack.

  9. syn Avatar
    syn

    Well, the 3000 who died from the 9/11 terrorist attack feel otherwise, as do those who died at the hands of Islamofascist terrorism over the past two decades.
    Too bad Michael was lucky enough to beat his own odds, we would not be subjected to his gambling theories.

  10. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    syn:
    All I’m saying is it

  11. Ken Avatar
    Ken

    That’s OK Oliver. I recommend therapy for the next 4 years as your nightmare comes true.
    I wonder how many Americans would enjoy an attack on U.S. soil just so they can say “I told you so” in a smug, self-satisfied manner and congratulate themselves for their Bush hatred? As I watch the far left and far right drive over a cliff, they seem hell-bent on dragging as many people with them as possible…

  12. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    syn:
    >”Too bad Michael was lucky enough to beat his own odds, we would not be subjected to his gambling theories.”
    When you say this, do you mean that it’s too bad I wasn’t killed in a terrorist attack so you wouldn’t have to hear what I have to say now?
    (Please have the courage and dignity to answer the question.)
    If the answer is “yes,” that strikes me as extreme. Syn, how do you feel about freedom of speech? Is it a bit outdated in post-9/11 America?

  13. Angelos Avatar
    Angelos

    Warnings and announcements about real information, sure!
    Campaign ads from Tom Ridge, no!
    Revealing the names of important moles, um, well, from morons like Bush and Condi, I would expect nothing less.

  14. ed Avatar
    ed

    What Michael said. Also, I agree that those warning were in order. But the incompitant way in which they were rolled out does nothing to bolster the seriousness of the threat. If this is what we’ll have to look forward to, four more years of weeklong rollouts of terror warnings with different/contradictory information leaking/announced everyday, followed by cynical sniping, i quit.

  15. syn Avatar
    syn

    No Micheal, I am saying that I would not have to listen to your theory that dying from Islamofascist terrorism is simply reduced to a game of odds. Thing is, you are fortunate to still be alive to spout your freedom of speech yet unable to comprehend how priviledged you are to still be alive and free to voice your ‘odds’ theories. You were not one of the ‘odds of dying from a terrorist attack’ now, were you.
    Maybe people are so freaked with having to hear about terrorists threats because right after 9/11 people were so freaked out that we were not warned of these threats.
    Either you want to be notified or you don’t, there is no in-between, sometimes, occasionally, or whenever the mood fits, options available to us. Islamofasicsm has been threating and attacking for at least two decades now, time to take these threats seriously. Not wanting to hear about the threats is not going to end the threats.
    Get used to it, we are at war with a long-standing enemy of the West, and crying about terrorists alerts is not helping.
    And, Michael, if you are so worried about odds of dying from auto accidents then my I suggest advocating for lowering auto emmission standards so that auto makers are not forced to manufacture death traps made out of plastic. Nader’s environmental plans excludes human safety and is unable to accept the concept that man-made global-warming is a myth.
    Islamofascist, on the other hand, is not a myth.

  16. jeremy in NYC Avatar
    jeremy in NYC

    Michael – that’s great that you’ve got national statistics, but they prove nothing to me:
    (1) You note that some of the other things are more preventable – exactly. I can look out for cars before crossing the street, stay off golf courses in storms – but I need the government to take care of terrorism for me.
    (2) I don’t live in Iowa, I live in New York. So when you take the 253 million AMericans who live elsewhere, throw them into the mix and then say “here’s your statistical chance of being killed by terrorists,” that doesn’t tell me much. Aplpes and Oranges.
    (3) Some things people fear more or are more concerned about. I think intentional killing (versus random) is one of them. You ask, Why does Jeff (or you) not express consternation and fear about those far more likely (and preventable) dangers? I dunno, Michael. Why do we spend all this time and money and attention on catching murderers, and so much less on discussing proper nutrition with people? Should people dying of heat failure gfet the same space in the paper as people murdered by a serial killer?

  17. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    syn:
    For the record, I’m not “so” worried about dying in an auto accident, nor am I particularly concerned about being killed by a handgun (or lightening). So, I see no need for new laws on either issue.
    But, then again, I don’t stay up at night worrying about terrorists. I just don

  18. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    jeremy in nyc:
    I live in Manhattan — and my office is one block from Broad and Wall. I sleep just fine, thank you. I do have bad news for you though: The goverment is never going to be able to protect you from a determined terrorist willing to exchange his life for yours.
    You can throw yourself at the feet of your government, beg and plead, promise them oral sex, but no matter what, they aren’t going to be able to protect you. They will, however, be happy to feed your fears and bait your hopes, and they

  19. syn Avatar
    syn

    Michael
    Remember your words and do not ask for any govermental protection should a gun-toting car-jacker shoot you and steal your valued BMW in front of a police-officer. Easy to be a sissy in a BMW.
    Particularly since you and I live in a city where it is almost impossible to legally and FREELY purchase a gun to protect ourselves.

  20. jeremy in NYC Avatar
    jeremy in NYC

    Michael:
    Well, at least we know that you think insult is a substitute for reason. Beyond that, I think I’m losing sight of your point, other than the fact that you’re a big he-man and everyone else is a big sissy (or sissy-lala – seriously, what is that?). Is your point simply that everybody should shut up and stop worrying?
    Because frankly, I think apart from the posturing, that’s not a point at all. Neither Jeff (nor I, nor anyone else here) has suggested fleeing in terror, or runnig around screaming, or anything of the sort. I get up every morning and go to work acress from one of the supposed targets, and it’s not a big deal. But to just stop thinking or worrying about terrorism, because there’s nothing that can be done? That’s quality planning.
    (P.S. – the government can do a lot to stop terrorist attacks, idiot. Can it stop all of them? No, but I’m sure the people who are saved in the ones that are stopped would prefer the government not listen to you.)

  21. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    syn:
    I simply stated the obvious: The goverment can never give anyone absolute protection from a determined terrorist willing to exchange his life for yours.
    For this I should be deprived of police protection? I don’t see why. (Should I still be forced to pay taxes for it though?)
    I do agree that we should be allowed by our (paternalistic) government to defend ourselves and protect our families. Ownership of a handgun goes along way toward that end, and disarming the citizenry leaves us defenseless.

  22. syn Avatar
    syn

    Michael,
    I agree with your assessment ‘the government can never give anyone absolute protection’ however, the primary purpose of the government is to defend and protect its’ people and must make every effort to accomplish this task.
    I see no distinction between the function of the soldier, the police, or the firefighter, each equally provide venues through which our government is able to fulfill its’ primary function of defending and protecting the people.
    Your tax dollars should be spent to support the government’s primary function. On the other hand, providing housing, health care, and income redistribution are not functions of government.

  23. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    syn:
    I checked the Constitution, you’re right, and we agree on something. The “defending and protecting” part is there; the “housing, health and redistribution” part is not.
    Does that mean that GWB can stop doing the latter?
    As for the former, I want the government to do that, but I don’t want them to destroy the Constitution, me and the world while their at it.

  24. Darryl Avatar
    Darryl

    The terror alert is like pulling the arm on a slot machine. When you need a boost in the poles pull the terror arm. They are playing psycology on the American public. I’m sure they are using the CIA to figure out there next move.
    We have the largest and most poerful organized crime group in American History. They have control of the US Defence as a whole and the Federal Genral Fund is there check book. Cheney is the closest thing to Crewshef (the first Russian Kennedy faced off) in modern history. Cheney owns the Federal Government and it is his personal checksing account. He is in your face with it. He says God and got a Lesbian daughter.
    If your a Christian Party at least lvie it.
    The Republican Party needs to be disbanned. It has went way past the bounds of what our government should even allow. Send Bush and Cheney to jail not on the campaing propaganda trail.
    Get me on the radio I’ll win this election for Kerry this week.