Has Tom Ridge ever been held to account for

[jaysunb]

all the phony alerts he used to issue to deflect public attention from the criminality of the Bush regime ?

He tells Tweety he won't run for the Senate and I can't help but wonder if he's just trying to keep a low profile in the face on on going revelations about the last eight years.

[polichick]

1. I've never heard anyone even ask him about it.

[mckara]

2. I Think You're Right, Ridge Hasn't Faced the Music Yet

That would become a HUGE issue if Ridge ever chose to run again!

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

3. his plastic sheeting and duct tape hoax would definitely come up

[HopeHoops]

4. Terror alert "Mauve" always made me run for cover.

Wait, that was the guy from Miami Vice.

[hvn_nbr_2]

5. Has any Publican ever been held to account for anything? nt

[robdogbucky]

6. Admitted it, yes, held accountable?

Mea Culpa

After leaving his position at Homeland Security, Tom Ridge acknowledged that the post 9/11 terror alerts were often based on "flimsy evidence" and that he had been pressured by the CIA to raise the threat level:

The Bush administration periodically put the USA on high alert for terrorist attacks even though then-Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge argued there was only flimsy evidence to justify raising the threat level… Ridge .he often disagreed with administration officials who wanted to elevate the threat level to orange, or "high" risk of terrorist attack, but was overruled.

"More often than not we were the least inclined to raise it…Sometimes we disagreed with the intelligence assessment. Sometimes we thought even if the intelligence was good, you don't necessarily put the country on (alert). ... There were times when some people were really aggressive about raising it, and we said, 'For that?' " (USA Today , 10 May 2005)

A review of the three high profile code orange terror alerts confirms in all three cases that the intelligence had been fabricated.

1. February 7, 2003, Two days after Colin Powell's Feb 5 presentation to the UN Security Council, in the month prior to the invasion of Iraq,

2. December 21, Christmas 2003

July 29th 2004, on the same day as John Kerry's acceptance speech at the Democratic Convention. The code orange alert served to galvanize US public opinion in favor of Bush's "war on terrorism" in the months leading up to the November 2004 elections.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO505D.html


Posted 5/10/2005 11:21 PM

Ridge reveals clashes on alerts

By Mimi Hall, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration periodically put the USA on high alert for terrorist attacks even though then-Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge argued there was only flimsy evidence to justify raising the threat level, Ridge now says.
Ridge, who resigned Feb. 1, said Tuesday that he often disagreed with administration officials who wanted to elevate the threat level to orange, or "high" risk of terrorist attack, but was overruled.

His comments at a Washington forum describe spirited debates over terrorist intelligence and provide rare insight into the inner workings of the nation's homeland security apparatus.

Ridge said he wanted to "debunk the myth" that his agency was responsible for repeatedly raising the alert under a color-coded system he unveiled in 2002.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-05-10-ridge-alerts_x.htm?POE=NEWISVA


http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8814.htm

http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/october2005/101005faketerror.htm

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2004-08-03-terror-edit_x.htm



robdogbucky

[jaysunb]

9. Welcome to DU

Thanks for a very good and informative post.
I'd forgotten about some of his "explanations."

I'd like to see him try to defend in a campaign.....

[Chemical Bill]

7. Kick

:kick: for accountability.

[sofa king]

8. No. He blamed someone else on his way out the door.

"More often than not we were the least inclined to raise it… Sometimes we disagreed with the intelligence assessment. Sometimes we thought even if the intelligence was good, you don't necessarily put the country on (alert).... There were times when some people were really aggressive about raising it, and we said, 'For that?'" (USA Today , 10 May 2005)

edit: I see that robdogbucky has already found the quote and much more. It's also worthy of note that the following day, May 11, 2005, the Capitol was evacuated because a single-engine plane violated restricted airspace in DC. That pretty much proves that Ridge wasn't the sole source behind it, as if anyone believes that.

Ridge may have been the first high-level Bushist to throw that particular wrench into the works, but obviously, it didn't stick. It wasn't until October of that year, when Keith Olbermann identified thirteen fake terror warnings coming on the heels of Bush Administration embarassments, that the madness ended... or at least slowed it down. Olbermann delivered his coup de grace in 2008.