Bomb Plot: We were right, they were wrong (but they'll lie anyway) [View All]

[JHB]

As more details about the foiled airline bombing plot, here's a few points to keep at hand while the Bushco spin machine tries to claim credit for it (and smear Dems in general and liberals in particular).

The first and most prominent point: in direct contradiction to the Republican's sneering stance in past elections, this plot was uncovered by intelligence gathering and police work, not by military action. Apparently Scotland Yard was surveiling some of the suspects for a year or so (and not at random, either), until evidence of the current plot demanded intervention.

That leads to the second point: The the plot was NOT discovered by random electronic surveillance. It appears that in the final phase of the operation the US did help gather "electronic intelligence" on the suspects (i.e., their phone calls and financial transactions) -- and no doubt Bush apologists will wave that point around in further bids to eliminate constitutional oversight -- but did so as part of an ongoing investigation against specific suspects, not by wide-net trolling for keywords or "suspicious phrases" or whatnot. This is the sort of collection our courts allow, so there's no "need" to circumvent them.

This collection and use of surveillance here was precisely the sort that Bush opponents have been advocating, and they worked.