Two “sting” operations raise disturbing questions about US terror alert
By Bill Van Auken
11 August 2004
<snip>
Faced with mounting skepticism over the latest alert, the administration was clearly eager to provide the media with fresh confirmation of an imminent threat. However, the argument that the administration exposed Khan’s identity to bolster its case for a terror alert is unconvincing. How did exposing Khan make the supposed threat any more credible?
The alternative explanation is that elements within the US security apparatus made a decision to blow up the Pakistani sting operation. The exposure was not a chance slip by a single official, but a deliberate policy that included a concerted media blitz by the administration to tout the “treasure trove” in Khan’s computer.
The question is, what was the motive for terminating the Khan operation? Two answers suggest themselves: either the sting was getting too close to Al Qaeda operatives that at least some in Washington did not want to see captured, or it was threatening to disrupt another operation that they wanted to see completed.
<snip>
The current sabotage of a multi-national operation against Al Qaeda raises similar questions: Have elements within the US administration been warned about another attack, and are they prepared to allow it to take place in order to terrorize the American people into reelecting Bush—or provide a pretext for canceling the November election?
.................................
http://wsws.org/articles/2004/aug2004/stng-a11.shtml