Bush seeks political gains from foiled plot

[whosinpower]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060810/pl_afp/britainattacksairline_060810185330

snip -

"It is a mistake to believe there is no threat to the United States of America," he said. "We've taken a lot of measures to protect the American people. But obviously we still aren't completely safe."

His remarks came a day after the White House orchestrated an exceptionally aggressive campaign to tar opposition Democrats as weak on terrorism, knowing what Democrats didn't: News of the plot could soon break

snip -

Snow said Bush first learned in detail about the plot on Friday, and received two detailed briefings on it on Saturday and Sunday, as well as had two conversations about it with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

But a senior White House official said that the British government had not launched its raid until well after Cheney held a highly unusual conference call with reporters to attack the Democrats as weak against terrorism.

[frylock]

1. still believe this shit is legit, rubes?

this was a fucking set up.

[whosinpower]

2. yep - but more importantly

Some of the media are getting quicker on the uptake.

[TheWatcher]

54. I never believed it from the get go.

I simply cannot believe that people are willing to swallow that this is legit after a White House Spokesman actually uttered "This is going to play big in the coming weeks."

Maybe we deserve to live in a Theocracy or an Orwellian Nightmare.

Because we are certainly willing to panic on demand it seems.

OH SAVE US!!!!!! SAVE US FROM ABDUL AND THE EVIL CAN OF SHAVING CREAM AND THE DEADLY BOTTLE OF AFTER SHAVE!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

"Come on little sheep! Hide and cower for the Masters! Come on! COME ON! Only Republicans can protect you from Evil Ali Babba and his Aqua Velva Of Death. Come On! Thaaaaaaaaaaaaaat's a good little citizen. Duck And Cover Now. Show me your Duct Tape. Thats a good citizen!" :sarcasm:

This is INSANE.

[Nordic65]

63. Take a deeeeeep breath...

Yes, Bush, down in the gutter would do anything to make a political point to save his sorry ass. Just as any other FUBAR President in history would do.

But, until this alleged plot is determined to be a hoax or just an overreaction, it might be prudent to wait before lashing out. Not that * reaction yesterday was anything other than despicable.

You could be firing blanks. Even worse, that attitude might come back to haunt you in november...

[kurth]

3. Yep, it's the Democrats playing politics again:

"Democrats are now rewriting the past. They are playing politics with this issue. That is irresponsible." - George W. Bush, November 14, 2005

[rodeodance]

7. "Bush's Republicans hoped the raid would yield political gains."

On Wednesday, Cheney had suggested that Democrats believe "that somehow we can retreat behind our oceans and not be actively engaged in this conflict and be safe here at home, which clearly we know we won't, we can't, be," he said.

While some Democrats have opposed some steps in the war on terrorism, and more and more are calling for a withdrawal from Iraq, no major figures in the party have called for a wholesale retreat in the broader conflict.

But Bush's Republicans hoped the raid would yield political gains.

"I'd rather be talking about this than all of the other things that Congress hasn't done well," one Republican congressional aide told AFP on condition of anonymity because of possible reprisals.

"Weeks before September 11th, this is going to play big," said another White House official, who also spoke on condition of not being named, adding that some Democratic candidates won't "look as appealing" under the circumstances.

[klook]

12. Good time to roll out a new product.

I don't believe every foiled terra plot is a Rovian ruse, but obviously this one is a Rethug wet dream.

Have any of them said yet that Lieberman's loss emboldened the terra-ists to try this? I'm just waiting for that one.

[Kolesar]

23. Andrew Card's quote about promoting the war after Labor Day comes to mind

[54anickel]

4. Terror Raids brought forward due US Intel

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2448842

...The US info apparently made it seem that the threat was immediate and that the terror attacks had been brought forward.

So, the bastards knew all along, hey? :eyes:

[sinkingfeeling]

5. Man, ain't that a surprise!

[rodeodance]

31. no, but GRAND to see it in print as a HEADLINE

[rodeodance]

6. 5 stars rate this up folks on yahoo

RECOMMEND THIS STORY

Recommend It:

Average (9 votes)
5 stars

[sabra]

8. this article really says it all...

[rodeodance]

10. and grand headline--best I have seen in a long time

[rodeodance]

9. Average (21 votes) 4.4 stars

RECOMMEND THIS STORY

Your Recommendation:

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4.4 stars

[Ringo84]

11. So what?

So Duh-bya foiled this one plot. So what? That doesn't mean that his policies absolutely work. It just means that he's managed to actually do something right for a change.

This changes nothing. It proves nothing about Iraq, about wiretaps, about the PATRIOT Act, or any of Duh-bya's other disastrous policies.

And his claims about Democrats "playing politics" is the pot calling the skillet black. He ran on his "I'll protect you from terror" platform in 2004. Now that the American people are beginning to see how incompetent he is, it's biting him in the ass.

What does he think Cheney's doing when he calls Democrats "weak on terror"? We're still untested on how "weak" we'd be on terror; why don't we elect Democrats to office this fall and the fall of 2008 and see how "weak" they'd be? Otherwise, it's all a bunch of theoretical political bullshit.
Ringo

[DemGa]

15. Duh-bya foiled this plot?

Something's amiss here.

[Ringo84]

26. demga

I honestly don't know. This is the first I've heard of this news item.

Whatever the story, however, I'm sure the RWers will be crowing about how "successful" Duh-bya has been and how "weak" we supposedly are on terror.
Ringo

[anotherdrew]

27. bush had nothing to do with it, british security did all the work

bush should just shut the fuck up and go crawl into a hole someplace.

[The Backlash Cometh]

13. Er...Georgie, wasn't it the british who alerted us to the danger?

You're a little man riding on some big red coats.

[KansDem]

17. Yeah, it appears the British held off until Cheney could badmouth Dems...

...then the Brits foiled the plot while His Royal Flatulence cheerleads from this side of the pond.

Cheerleads...?


Yay!!! I spoiled a terrorist plot! Yay for me!!!

[frylock]

18. check this.,.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2448873#2448899

[rodeodance]

22. Has any Dem said anything (besides Joe L.)???

[Demit]

14. Bush Beats Strawman Over Head Once Again:

"It is a mistake to believe there is no threat to the United States of America." So who are all the people saying that? Just once I'd like to hear a reporter ask him that question.

[K8-EEE]

16. But...But...I thought we were fighting them THERE....

So we wouldn't have to fight them HERE. I guess that's not working out.

[zonkers]

19. With all the money the DHS is misspending, everytime Bush opens

his mouth to tell us how good he's doing... just makes me sick.

[rodeodance]

32. the money supply does seem unending.

[mhatrw]

20. CODE RED! CODE RED! CODE RED!

I think many of the major discussions going on around here are completely missing the point.

Sure, there may be something to this "foiled terrorist plot." Just because they are constantly pissing on our feet and telling us it's raining doesn't mean that it can't actually rain.

But that's not the real issue here. The issue is not whether or not this plot is as full of crap as the MIAMI SEVEN. The issue is that the Bush administration has once again teamed with our breathless chicken little corporate media to hype a "TERRA TERRA TERRA" story to kingdom come for strictly political reasons.

Scotland Yard may or may not have caught a bunch of dangerous would-be terrorists, and the timing of this may or may not have been orchestrated to the day. But there is one thing we know for sure, and that is that BushCo yelling "CODE RED! CODE RED! CODE RED!" about this already foiled plot was and is a calculated PR gambit. And our corporate media is, once again, more than happy to play Charlie Brown to BushCo's "TERRA ALERT" Lucy football.

[rodeodance]

21. The goal is to link Dems as weak on terror (as we know): !!

On Wednesday, Cheney had suggested that Democrats believe "that somehow we can retreat behind our oceans and not be actively engaged in this conflict and be safe here at home, which clearly we know we won't, we can't, be," he said.

While some Democrats have opposed some steps in the war on terrorism, and more and more are calling for a withdrawal from Iraq, no major figures in the party have called for a wholesale retreat in the broader conflict.

[truthisfreedom]

24. uhh, yeah, that will win the rethugs more votes. screwing with our carry-

on luggage... everyone's favorite! boy do i love the administration now! woohoo!

[Contrary1]

25. So then...

Us Americans were in imminent danger for 5 days, before they
got around to telling us about it? Yeah, I can believe that.

If Lieberman had won, we wouldn't have heard anything at all.

True or false...does it even matter anymore?

[rodeodance]

28. 4 stars

RECOMMEND THIS STORY

Your Recommendation:

Average (103 votes)
4 stars

[dave123williams]

29. Oh, is he crying wolf AGAIN?

[lala_rawraw]

30. the exploitation of it is not the same thing as "it"

the WH clearly abused their position on this and exploited it for political points and in my opinion, leaked classified, life threatening information to the press that may have tipped off the plotters. this was a disaster and that is the story. the plot in London is real, the WH behavior is criminal. two separate issues.

[rodeodance]

33. Democratic candidates won't "look as appealing" (because of foiled plot)

But Bush's Republicans hoped the raid would yield political gains.

"I'd rather be talking about this than all of the other things that Congress hasn't done well," one Republican congressional aide told AFP on condition of anonymity because of possible reprisals.

"Weeks before September 11th, this is going to play big," said another White House official, who also spoke on condition of not being named, adding that some Democratic candidates won't "look as appealing" under the circumstances.

[NVMojo]

34. AFP: Bush seeks political gains from foiled plot

CRAWFORD, United States (AFP) - US
President George W. Bush seized on a foiled London airline bomb plot to hammer unnamed critics he accused of having all but forgotten the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Weighed down by the unpopular war in Iraq, Bush and his aides have tried to shift the national political debate from that conflict to the broader and more popular global war on terrorism ahead of November 7 congressional elections.

The London conspiracy is "a stark reminder that this nation is at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom, to hurt our nation," the president said on a day trip to Wisconsin.

"It is a mistake to believe there is no threat to the United States of America," he said. "We've taken a lot of measures to protect the American people. But obviously we still aren't completely safe."

His remarks came a day after the White House orchestrated an exceptionally aggressive campaign to tar opposition Democrats as weak on terrorism, knowing what Democrats didn't: News of the plot could soon break.

more...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060810/pl_afp/britainattacksairline_060810185330

[Skittles]

35. bush is creating terrorists by the millions

he has a lot of gall and I hope the people can see through his utter bullshit

[genieroze]

36. Whadda surprise.

[C_U_L8R]

37. is there any rational reason

why US airports need to be protected by the National Guard...
and all this other precautionary red flag hullabaloo
when these "bad guys" who got caught googling some scary stuff
are in London... apparently in custody?????

Are we expecting an invasion of heathen hordes..
or is all this "noise" for show and political gain???

[ryanmuegge]

48. It does kind of make sense

I'm sure part of it is to rachet up the "panic" factor, but no one really knows how many other plots they have going down simultaneously.

Not to really defend the evil one and his acolytes.

[C_U_L8R]

50. I don't know

I just have my doubts what a bunch of machinegun toting guardsmen in a terminal
in say... Toledo... would have to do with any actual or percieved threat.

[Phredicles]

38. You want gains? Tell us where Osama is.

Dumbass.

[noahmijo]

39. That's the Republican thing to do. Take credit for SOMEONE ELSE'S work

So what Bush policy exactly caught these terrorists (bullshit story I still think) considering this plot was thwarted in London and not in the US??



Any takers?

[Dover]

40. The Networks are milking it too. Especially ABC.

And then when something really does happen, will their news teams follow up leads?
Nah. They'll just continue to replay the crime.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

62. Pat Buchanon was calling the foiled attempt a "victory" for Dumbyass

...on MSNBC.

Why do I have such a difficult time viewing it that way? :eyes:

[jab105]

41. No one has forgotten 9/11 you idiot...they've just realized that Iraq

has ABSO-FUCKING-LUTELY NOTHING to do with 9/11...

My local radio right wing talking heads were going on and on about this...oh, its just so amazing how tough on terrorism now seems to ONLY mean still supports the war in Iraq!

[mitchum]

42. Be afwaid. Be very afwaid.

I despise that lowlife motherfucker

[laugle]

43. The democrats should turn the tables on him regarding

that bullshit about us being safer and that he broke up Al-Queda and that he doesn't care much about Bin-laden, etc. Also, that the Iraq war is about the "WAR ON TERROR."

This is an opportunity for dems to reinforce the fact that Iraq has NOTHING to do with the "war on terror," and we certainly are NOT SAFER!!

We all know this, yet dems seem to be afraid to say it.......why......I don't get it!!

[NVMojo]

45. I just love the headline ...so damn honest, for once

[journalist3072]

44. Bush loves to use the "straw man" method of arguing

I don't think anyone will ever forget the horrors of 9/11. They are permanently ingrained in memories.

Just because we don't support an illegal war based on lies, doesn't mean we have forgotten 9/11, Bushie.

[NVMojo]

46. oops, dupe!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2448873

[gratuitous]

47. Bush did as much to foil the London "plot" as I did

We used to call them "glory hounds," people anxious for the credit due someone else.

[occuserpens]

49. Red alert

http://inplainview.monitor.us.tt/comm.InterUS06.htm

[6000eliot]

51. This headline tells you everything you need to know about

this "terror plot."

[occuserpens]

60. What about liquid explosives?

2006-08-11 What about liquid explosives?

[Marthe48]

52. My rule of thumb

if it comes from the White House, or is endorsed as true by the White House, it is horse manure.

[TheWatcher]

56. Everyone should follow that rule.

Because it is absolutely true.

[saigon68]

59. ITS ACTUALLY HORSE SHIT

The word manure dignifies this swill too much.

[Mountainman]

53. The problem is that we are not a damn bit safer than we were on 9/11

and if people fall for this line of bull shit from Bush they are more stupid than I think. People should see that there are more terrorists because of the war and we are less safe. We can't shoot all those who hate us. Violence begets violence.

[truthisfreedom]

55. fine words coming from a president who neither foiled 9-11 nor this plot.

what a schmuck.

[Amonester]

57. So that proves without a doubt that ** is weak on terra.

Deliberately weak: **, Chenious & Rumsfailed only want to create more terrorists because they always hope to get a steady flow of opportunities to score political gains from terra. That's what the headline shows!

If the Repukes were really strong on terra, they would NOT want to GAIN from it. Because BEING REALLY STRONG would mean LESS opporunities to GAIN from it!

Obviously: They want MORE terra, not LESS!!

Write to Clark, Feingold, Dean, Kerry, Murtha, Conyers, Edwards, and Lamont about that one en masse!

[hedgetrimmer]

58. V for Vendetta N/T

[Supersedeas]

61. Al-Caca is on the run; Al-Caca is here be afraid; Al-Caca is on the run;

Al-Caca is here-be afraid...