Ashcroft, live at today's press conf: "The Changing Face of Al Quaeda"

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

11:10 Pacific time, the press conference is live right now.

Ashcroft is saying that Al Quaeda is actively seeking recruits who can pass themselves off as "Eurpoean"...as in "if they don't look Middle Eastern, they don't look like a suspect."

Great..."Al Quaeda: The Other White Meat."

He also said that he is seeking an "unprecedented" level of cooperation and information exchange between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.

Hello, Patriot Act Phase II.

[Bluebear]

1. Booga booga! Must not allow protests at RNC convention!

For "security" purposes!

[blm]

2. The changing faces are now blacks and women?

.

[nostamj]

3. the FEARMONGERING liar!

al qaeda has NEVER attacked 'significant' events or on dates that are 'significant' to their targets.

that was utterly BULLSHIT fearmonging.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x1668465

[Wind Dancer]

4. They continue to bring up Spain!

I am so disgusted, my poor mother will be terrified by this.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. You may make fun of this

but this is something that terrorism experts have warned about
since '02, mid '02.

Now the question is, why did they choose to mention it today?

Problem for the chicken littles is....

If this is another PR Stunt, adds to their lack of credibilty

If this is NOT a PR stunt (way too many specifics at the top, suported by the work of terrorims experts), they have screamed wolf
too many times that people are just making fun of this. This has a
different feel than the usual stunts, and it has to do wiht ALL the
details they actually shared which has apeared in intelligence analysis places and even in books... (this was predicted in the Age of Sacred Terror, for example, published scarely six months after 9.11 and authored by Clinton Era Terror experts)

[RainDog]

9. thank you for this post

for those who are commenting, the pictures of terrorists which were shown on tv included a caucasian male.

I am wary of anything the Bush administration says, and it particularly galls me that they are trying to equate a vote for Kerry as "giving in to terrorists" --especially when Bush has done Osama's bidding, whether intentional or not, in his actions since 9-11 and made such HUGE mistakes it will take years to fix them, and even more years if he's re-elected.

however, the threat of terrorism is real. this is something which some people on this forum seem to dismiss and imo, you lose credibility by refusing to acknowledge that there are people who want to attack Americans and wage war via terror attacks.

the idea that there is no one who wants to do this, and that everything which has happened has been orchestrated entirely by the Bush junta is ludicrous and gives far too much credit to a group which has shown its propensity to fuck up because it is so ideologically driven that it denies reality.

some responses on this forum make me think there some on the left are a mirror of that right wing pov.

[RBHam]

12. think about it

"however, the threat of terrorism is real. this is something which some people on this forum seem to dismiss and imo, you lose credibility by refusing to acknowledge that there are people who want to attack Americans and wage war via terror attacks."

And those people abound in Bush's cabinet, the CIA, the Joint Chiefs and right wing think tanks.

[RainDog]

15. "operation northwoods" is one issue

and the real threat of terrorist attacks are another. Was the Cole bombing the job of the Bush junta? Was the first WTC attack the Bush junta? Were the African Embassy bombings the Bush junta?

As I've said, I do not doubt that the Bush junta is capable of horrible things to stay in power...they've already demonstrated this.

However, the threat of a terror attack by sources outside of this country is not fake.

When I heard the talk of attacks again, my immediate thought was that this is yet again a cynical ploy because of all the negative publicity from the Abu Ghraib torture issue...and, yes, the current Ashcroft moment has bumped the prison down the media frenzy food chain.

(and, as I noted on your thread, I know that the Bush league ups the ante when there is a holiday in this country.)

..and, yes, Bush's poll numbers look terrible.

HOWEVER, this does not mean that terrorism is not a threat to this nation.

it does mean that those currently in power are cynical bastards who are preying on Americans' fear and for this reason alone have shown themselves to be the most craven and irresponsible of leaders.

[blm]

16. No doubt about it. I just don't trust the Bushies version of any story.

THEY are responsible for the distrust.

When Clinton and Albright warned about terrorism and Kerry wrote a book about it, I took them at their word.

Bush, on the other hand, seems to ENABLE the terrorists at every step.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

14. Not making fun of it, just disgusted with the "messengers"...

The threat is real. 9-11 was real. A sequel could be real. But after the lies, manipulation, spin, cover-ups and finger-pointing of the Bush administration I've gotten to the point where I don't know what to believe. It may have a "different feel than the usual stunts," as you point out, but do we just keep trusting stunt after stunt after stunt until one of them isn't a stunt?

[barbaraann]

6. THAT'S why they arrested the Portland lawyer!

To plant a mental picture that terrorists could be ordinary looking caucasians.

The pictures have been all over the news for weeks. Now our brains have subtly been programmed to have a connection between terrorism and ordinary white guys, not just Middle Easterners.

[KoKo]

7. We are supposed to be looking over our shoulders at Malls, the Beach,

restaurants wherever, all Summer looking for anything suspicious. My oh My our 911 lines are going to be overloaded this Summer. Will our local Police Stations be able to hold all the "detainees" brought in for questioning?

Where I live there are alot of "suspicious looking folks" everytime I hit my local "Convenience Store/Gas Station," and everywhere else.

What are we supposed to be looking for? What is suspicious, Who is suspicious looking?

My neighbor wakes me up dragging his garbage out at 2:00 in the morning.
I don't like my neighbor and decide there's something suspicious going on...so I call the police. Can you imagine the stuff that's going to go on in some folks minds with this kind of a nebulous warning to be "watchful?" Sheesh!

Can we all imagine the abuses this is going to cause. Asscroft should go with Rumsfeld. And we can't wait much longer. :-(

[ithacan]

8. let me guess, they're recruiting at local democratic party organizations..

and so the Democratic Party will be outlawed as a terraist organization...

[eyesroll]

10. Hm....did he refer people to the DU Gallery for examples?

Or is that next week?

[Nlighten1]

11. In other words...

All those "European" looking Democrats and people on those left-wing websites...

[Gin]

13. Asscroft said.."this was to "remind" the People"..that the threat is still

there...the FBI was added glitz.

The police force in NY was not informed of a hightened threat. Remember the poll numbers...it's all about the numbers...

I do think something will happen again in the US..but this is an attempt to frighten us into reporting one another. That is what he wanted with the TIPS program.