Who leaked the info to the NYT regarding the newest TERRA! alert?

[AlCzervik]

Did they just dig and get it on their own or was it leaked to them from a govt source? Has the CIA begun to tire of Bushco?

[aquart]

1. What info? Link?

[Feanorcurufinwe]

29. Link

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/03/politics/03intel.html?hp

[BlueEyedSon]

2. Sorry to be dense, but what info? link please!

[AlCzervik]

10. sorry for no linkage

i didnt think it was available yet.

[BattyDem]

3. I think all the intelligence agencies ...

are fed up and they are really pissed off at being made the scapegoat for 9/11.

[annxburns]

4. Don't know but this is going to be huge ...

.. washington post, NY times and NY post are all carrying it. Cable news and that whore Judy Woodruff are going to end up with egg all over their faces.

[RodneyCK2]

5. Here is the link to the story...

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/03/politics/03intel.html?hp

This should really give them a final punch in the balls. I hope when Kerry is President that he rids the country of that dreaded Terror alert thing or revamps it.

[Bush was AWOL]

12. I read that story and I think we are being overly optimistic

about this report being the final punch in the balls. The article said that Al-Qaeda often plans things out 3 or 4 years in advance.

[BattyDem]

14. True ... but why release the info now?

If the info is 3-4 years old and no new info has been discovered, then the only reason they called this "terra alert" is to get Kerry's name out of the press.

[Bush was AWOL]

15. I hope you're right, but I'm sure they'll claim

that this information is in direct correlation to recent intelligence they have been recieving.

[BattyDem]

18. I'm sure they'll make that claim, and there was a time ...

not so long ago, when the sheeple would have bought it. But we live in a different world now. Things have changed since F9/11! :evilgrin:

[RodneyCK2]

16. Exactly... I think the timing

is key. There is already skepticism in the press so if this story does not become buried by the slanted media, it should raise some brows.

[Stephanie]

30. They had NO call to turn NYC upside down over this.

They have no urgent information. They are just trying to ramp it up before the convention.

The information, which officials said was indicative of preparations for a possible truck- or car-bomb attack, left significant gaps. It did not clearly describe the suspected plot, indicate when an attack was to take place nor did it describe the identities of people involved.

<snip>

Senior counterterrorism and intelligence officials based in Europe said the information targeting the five buildings was developed by Qaeda operatives before Sept. 11, 2001. But a senior European counterterrorism official cautioned that "some recent information'' indicated that the buildings might remain on a list of Qaeda targets.

"Al Qaeda routinely comes up with ways to hit targets for years at a time, so it may not mean much that these buildings were first targeted more than three years ago,'' the official said.

[King Coal]

17. Thanks Rod

"Al Qaeda routinely comes up with ways to hit ways to hit targets for years at a time, so it may not mean much that these buildings were first targeted more than three years ago,'' the official said.



Huh?

[enigmatic]

6. Leaked...

I'm betting the CIA leaked the info to the NYT...

[AlCzervik]

11. Thats what i think happened

i think they must be pissed and maybe this was the final straw. Remember what happened when they turned on Nixon.

[Dover]

7. The intelligence source that the alert was based on is 3-4 yrs. old

My concern is that now that they're caught in a lie they'll feel obliged to make good on their promise of an attack.

[mzmolly]

8. Dean NAILED IT AGAIN!

:wow:

[Bluebear]

9. "Everytime Bush is in trouble out comes Tom Ridge."

Amen Dr. Dean!

[wellstone dem]

20. Thank you Dr. Dean. NT

[NightOwwl]

13. You mean they lied to us?

NYTimes:
"Senior counterterrorism and intelligence officials based in Europe said the information targeting the five buildings was developed by Qaeda operatives before Sept. 11, 2001."

But, but, but...they said they had specificity. Specifically specific specifics. :shrug:

[scottxyz]

19. They said they had "specificity" - and they said they got the info Friday

Apparently, Tom Ridge was just "crying wolf" to distract from Kerry's successful convention.

[soggy]

21. soooo....

The WTC wouldn't happen to be included in those financial center buildings, would it???

sayonara, credability

[BattyDem]

22. LOL! I never thought of that ...

they may very well be warning us of an attack that already happened!

[librechik]

23. that's our Bushie! Day late and a dollar short

finally, a specific terror alert that they will pay attention to!

[Katarina]

24. I wonder!

<snip>A number of other buildings were mentioned in the seized computer files, but only in vague references, so officials decided not to issue alerts about them, an intelligence official said. They included the Bank of America building in San Francisco; the Nasdaq and American Stock Exchange buildings in New York, as well as two other sites in that city; and an undisclosed building in Washington and another in New Jersey.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35466-2004Aug2.html

[scottxyz]

26. DING! DING! DING!

"Breaking... The Bush Administration has learned that Al Qaeda intends to attack The World Trade Center..."

- And they decide to release the news AFTER letting Al Qaeda do it...

- They actually have hold off announcing this "threat" until one day after Kerry's triumphant acceptance speech...

What if the "intel" they're using actually refers to when Al Qaeda was here casing the WTC? There is nothing more mind-blowing than the idea that they could be JUST NOW releasing this info... the day after Kerry's acceptance speech. If this is how dirty they're willing to fight - LIHOP and then Wag-The-Dog - then they will stop at NOTHING to steal the next election.

In this case, the whole "election" is a side-show, and Plan A is LIHOP-2, and Plan B is BlackBoxVoting.


Jon Stewart nailed the Wag-The-Dog on the head tonight. While he was reading about how great the Dem Convention was, someone interrupted him with "Late Breaking News" that the Bush Administration had just learned that Al Qaeda was about to attack in NYC...

[Jacobin]

28. LMAO!!!!!!!!!

Thank you for putting this in perfect perspective.


:bounce:

[gauguin57]

25. Dean will be our secret weapon -- our lightning rod!

He can come out and make open insinuations about the Bush Administration (things we already know in our hearts are true, but no one on the other side will admit).

Then Kerry doesn't have to do the dirty work, and can go on campaigning, and the message still gets out there.

[scottxyz]

27. Dean is very articulate - and probably the most web-enabled

He makes a great "surrogate".

[meow2u3]

32. Dean--the anti-Rove

[jmags]

31. Here is another key to this story

From the WP:

"Most of the al Qaeda surveillance of five financial institutions that led to a new terrorism alert Sunday was conducted before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and authorities are not sure whether the casing of the buildings has continued since then, numerous intelligence and law enforcement officials said yesterday."

"More than half a dozen government officials interviewed yesterday..."

This is significant because A.) The two most credible newspapers* in the country actually took time to investigate the 'Terra Alert' claims and B.) Numerous intelligence officials readily responded.

As we all know, they have burning their bridges in the CIA. If the media decides to actually do some reporting, and not take the absurdities of this administration at face value, then Dem chances in November just got a whole lot better.

*On edit: When I say credible, I mean that only in the sense that other media follows their lead, not that the Times or Post really deserve to be called the "two most credible" in the country.

[autorank]

33. Excellent post...

I'm surprised that these Bushco stunts are coming undone so quickly. You are right. It's not that the Post or Times reporters are getting off of their fat, over paid asses; it's the CIA doing what they've done for years, directing the news. In this case, it's in the public interest. I hope that this is 'huge.' It's about time for the big smack down on domestic issues (laced with the release of some videos of the Iraq sodomy fest). If the CIA is doing this, look for those appalling videos to be released the Monday of the Republican Convention...that might draw a little media away from and negatively toward Bush.