Must Read: WP article questions "newness" of terrorist threat info

[flpoljunkie]

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

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, numerous intelligence and law enforcement officials said yesterday.

More than half a dozen government officials interviewed yesterday, who declined to be identified because classified information is involved, said that most, if not all, of the information about the buildings seized by authorities in a raid in Pakistan last week was about three years old, and possibly older.

"There is nothing right now that we're hearing that is new," said one senior law enforcement official who was briefed on the alert. "Why did we go to this level? . . . I still don't know that."

One piece of information on one building, which intelligence officials would not name, appears to have been updated in a computer file as late as January 2004, according to a senior intelligence official. But officials could not say yesterday whether that piece of data was the result of active surveillance by al Qaedaor came instead from information about the buildings that is publicly available.

more...

[MallRat]

1. This story is getting good play on the internet... how about TV?

Anyone watching CNN, MSNBC, FNC right now?

[ps1074]

4. it will soon hit the mainstream

This from San Francisco Chronicle online:

U.S. officials say the detailed surveillance photos and documents that prompted higher terror warnings dated from as far back as 2000 and 2001, and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Tuesday the government concluded "it was essential" to publicize it and raise the terror alert.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/a/2004/08/03/national0933EDT0529.DTL

Pretty much summons it all. Terror alert for pure political reasons.

[RobertSeattle]

2. And remember this is because of Bush's "Leadership"

I can't believe Ridge "plugged" Bush while announcing a terroristm threat:
http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/press_release/press_release_0471.xml

But we must understand that the kind of information available to us today is the result of the President’s leadership in the war against terror.

Arg!

[MallRat]

5. It takes true leadership from Bush to dig up 3-year old outdated intel.

Wow... that statement by Ridge should come up and bite * in the ass today.

It probably won't.

:argh:

[Catfight]

3. The bigger news is the insistance that Iraq had something to do

with 9/11. I think that is the blind leadership of an extremely stubborn fool who will lead his flock of blind sheep over the cliff.