Ridge Reveals Terror Threat Against U.S.

[maddezmom]

WASHINGTON - Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Wednesday that new information on a terrorist threat against the United States "talks about an attack" but said there is no need to raise the national alert level.


"I can confirm that we have seen for the past several weeks a continuous stream of reporting that talks about the possibility of attacks on the United States," he said, "but not unlike what we've seen for the past several years."


Appearing on morning television news shows in advance of a news conference scheduled later Wednesday by Attorney General John Ashcroft (news - web sites) and FBI (news - web sites) Director Robert Mueller, Ridge said of potential terrorists on U.S. soil: "It's our job, obviously, to try to identify who they are and apprehend them."


U.S. counterterrorism and law enforcement officials had said Tuesday that new intelligence indicates that a group of terrorists already deployed inside the United States is preparing to launch a major attack this summer. This information was described by a senior counterterrorism official on condition of anonymity as extremely credible and backed by an unusually high level of corroboration.

~snip~
more: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=542&e=1&u=/ap/20040526/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/terror_threat

[DoYouEverWonder]

1. Hagmann, Quayle and Reynalds

must be working overtime cranking up the chatter. Their Big Boss is in trouble and needs a distraction.

[saigon68]

26. THEY ARE SCARING MY 87 YEAR OLD AUNT AGAIN

What Bastards. They are clueless and witless.

They have NO FUCKING IDEA WHAT IS GOING ON !!!!!

ITS ALL ABOUT POLITICS AND SCARING THE HELPLESS AND AGED.

[KamaAina]

32. DING DING DING

Hagman and Quayle were on Coast to Coast just last night, as a matter of fact.

http://coasttocaostam.com

[DoYouEverWonder]

33. Right on cue

My guess is that 95% of the chatter is generated by these couple of so called 'terrorist' experts.

These guys are the real terrorists and the DOJ and HS should be investigating them instead of jailing innocent people for fingerprints that aren't even theirs.

[KamaAina]

35. They hit all the talking points, too

Notably the one about elections being cancelled...

:scared: :scared: :scared:

[russian33]

2. They are not even trying anymore...

...Let's see, 2 days after Dush makes his little speech, and no one buys it, and his numbers hit records lows...all of a sudden, TERRA!!!

[mn9driver]

3. They need a distraction from *'s terrible speech the other night.

Even my 73 year old dad is waving the BS flag on this one. My little brother got an earful last night and put it on the blog.

[efhmc]

8. The blog is well done. Your Dad is a smarty, of course.

[mn9driver]

15. Every once in a while he gets off a real zinger

-meaning my dad, of course. It's fun 'cause his hair and beard are snow white, and he looks pretty elderly these days so people get caught off guard--sort of like if Santa suddenly speaks up to call * and his gang a bunch of incompetent criminals.

[Pachamama]

22. Well said Dad! My BS meter is going off too! Notice the emphasis around.

...the political conventions? And that it might "alter" the elections like Spain? OOOOO....what's next....that the Terrorist's will be running our country? Oops...that's because they already ARE!

[BiggJawn]

4. Get out your Duck Tape!

And your Visqueen! Terra, Terra, TERRA!!!

"The boss' numbers are in the cesspool....Hey, everybody! Really incredible information just in! Terra attack coming! Go SHOPPING!!!"

Ridge is a Putz!

[displacedtexan]

5. "for the past several weeks" (since abuse photos came out?)

Ya think folks might be a tad angry and maybe talking about what they'd like to do to those torture loving Americans?

Duh.

Doesn't mean they have the means to follow through...

But it's time for Repukes to scare the old people again (changing the subject, of course... and the media plays along AGAIN!)

[DoYouEverWonder]

6. Now they are saying

that Tootie and Muldune are going to tell people this afternoon, that they have no new information and there is no specific threat. Just that are still looking for the same couple of guys that they been looking for, for the last three years and that they just want everyone to stay vigilant.

This is just the kick off for their new Terror 2004 Summer Tour.

This whole thing is a PR campaign.

[birdbrain]

7. "Extremely Credible," huh? Right.....

Show us the evidence and let us decide for ourselves how credible it is.

[efhmc]

10. You know, I don't think anyone is buying this. Aren't we suppose to be

safer now (capture of Saddam)? But, in the back of many folks' minds is "but, what if it is true?" and this is how we get manipulated. Welcome to DU.

[ithacan]

9. how convenient! Right on schedule

I wonder if someone could do a chart that tracks the rise and fall of Bush's standings in the polls and the "terror" alert level. My bet is that there would be a really strong positive correlation to bad polls and alerts.

These guys have proved they will do anything, they will lie, cheat, resort to thuggery, to stay in power. Things are gonna get real scary as Bush continues to plummet.

[opihimoimoi]

12. Yup, why in the world would Osama attack America knowing it would help

Bush...?

But then, who knows?

[rastignac5]

23. because bin Laden loves Dubya

he's afraid Kerry might actually catch him.

[enough]

11. See Q's thread in GD - Bush* WH admits terror alerts were bogus - 5-21-200

A couple of stories in which officials admit that the terror alerts and scary news stories are put out for political reasons.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x1668270

[Webster Green]

13. Department of Homeland Security............

"Yes Mr. Ridge.....OK boss, we're on it....."

[July]

14. What in freaking hell is the point of the national alert level?

Seriously, who knows and who cares what it is? It doesn't mean anything at all, apparently.

For that matter, what in freaking hell is the point of Ridge's "information," which, according to him is just like what he's already been seeing? Yet it's "new intelligence." What, exactly, is being revealed?

[maddezmom]

16. just taking up air time on TV so no one talks about Iraq and torture

it's getting to be so obvious even my repub in-laws are catching on.

[0007]

17. Here we go again folks....

[AlinPA]

18. I didn't think the administration would start using "terra" seriously

until about September. With things looking poorly for Bush* now, I suppose they have to get a head start on the fear factor. Wouldn't want to change yer "commander-in-chief" with all thet terra out there.

[maddezmom]

19. AP changes headline: Ridge: Terror Threat Tied to Major Events

guess it a little more shocking... :eyes:

[Timefortruth]

20. Ridge even agrees there is nothing new,

"but not unlike what we've seen for the past several years."

[llmart]

21. How predictable!

We all knew this was coming what with *'s poll numbers in the toilet. I don't think most people are even paying attention to it any more. Those terror alert levels are a joke anyway.

Be afraid, be very afraid (spoken with an Elmer Fudd accent).

Can we get these buffoons out of office soon enough for us to get our country back?

[progressivebydesign]

24. This part doesn't make sense...

This morning, I read that our government is telling us that the attack is tied to MAJOR events.. they name the WWII Memorial event. Okay, perhaps I'm ignorant, but if you asked people on the street in America, would THEY know when and where that was going to take place? Or even that it existed? So.. why am I to believe that the terrorists are considering that for a target when most of us are completely unaware about the event's existence? I asked a few people, and they have no idea what the event is... or where.. or that it exists at all. So that one really smacks of typical White House bullshit. They just want to show off how WELL they are doing THIS TIME with this supposed threat... trying to offset the damage of doing nothing to stop 9/11, when they actually have the same level of info (supposedly) this time. It's a show.. They mentioned the political conventions to justify the total clampdown of protesters that threaten to make the Emperor look bad. Why don't we trust them anymore?

[jokerman93]

25. Let me get this straight

For the past several weeks there has been a continuous stream of "chatter" about a coming terror attack in the US. Very alarming talk in fact!

But, um... no specifics like where, when, who, or how...

Uh-huh. Just continuous content-free chatter. WTF is that supposed to mean exactly?

They think we're idiots. They must think we're idiots. How can there be CONTINUOUS chatter about nothing?

[LivingInTheBubble]

27. "How can there be CONTINUOUS chatter about nothing?"

Fox news?

[jokerman93]

28. You have silenced me with the truth n/t

[liarliartieonfire]

29. Bush is Deceitful. Bush is a Liar.

That's the ONLY thing Americans know for certain, anymore.

[dArKeR]

30. Mixed Signals - MSGOP

Timing questioned
Earlier, some representatives of law enforcement and firefighters unions, most of them supporters of Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts for president, suggested that the timing of the threat report was suspicious because of polls showing a sagging approval rating for President Bush.

White House press secretary Scott McClellan denied a political aspect.

“The president believes it’s very important to share information appropriately,” McClellan said. “We do that in a number of ways when it comes to looking at the threats we face here in the homeland.”

But the Bush administration itself sent conflicting signals on the seriousness with which it viewed the threat.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5061256/
Al-Qaida wants to ‘hit the United States hard’

'Mixed Signals' is the title on MSGOPs main page.

[myrna minx]

31. And how many vacations will bu$h take between

now and the conventions? :eyes:

[Jeff in Cincinnati]

34. Wolf! WOLF!!!

Been there, done that. Didn't believe him the last time. He says there's a terrorist threat but he's not raising the national alert -- so why are you wasting my effin' time talking about this non-issue, Tommy Boy?