Politically Manipulative and Totally Incompetent
Scoop Reader Opinion From Lane Schwark
August 11, 2004
Under pressure to justify the alerts, U.S. officials confirmed a report by The New York Times that the man, Mohammad
Naeem Noor Khan, was the source of the intelligence that led to the decision.
A Pakistani intelligence source told Reuters on Friday that Khan, who was arrested in Lahore secretly last month, had
been actively cooperating with intelligence agents to help catch al-Qaida operatives when his name appeared in U.S.
newspapers.
MSNBC, 8/7/04 - Pakistan says U.S. blew an undercover operation
The administration's recent exposure of the mole inside al Qaeda -- an incredible fubar accomplishment -- highlights
what happens when everything is run by the political arm. To have sunk to such a nadir of faith in the honesty of the
president's men that each new terror alert is instinctively assumed to be a political manipulation, you know someone has
overdrawn their Machiavellian bank account.
The four horsemen of the political ploy: Ashcroft, Rove, Ridge and Chimpy were so worked up about justifying their
recent terror alert that someone leaked the name of the captured suspect from which they got their information.
As a result, some big fish under investigation dove for deep water, the level of terror chatter dropped off as the
chatterees found out their communication system was compromised and the baker's dozen hastily rounded up in Britain
probably lack enough evidence against them for prosecution and/or extradition to the US. If Osama has a sense of humor,
he's laughing his ass off.
After three and a half years of Bush, everyone who will admit it knows that everything these people do is political
manipulation. Dick Cheney keeps insisting that Kerry and Edwards are the #1 and #4 most liberal Senators despite being
factually challenged on quoting his source, John McCain and Tommy Franks decry the bogosity of the Not-So-Swift
Boatpeople while the Bushies remain silent, 32,000 new jobs shows the economy is moving forward and we're told we're
safer than before 9/11, as long as we remain vigilant as a people in danger must. And the " July Surprise" predicted by The New Republic? Right on schedule. And that's only a week's sampling.
I'm just too tired to run through the full litany of failures that make up George's anti-Midas touch. I'm worn down like
an old tyre by the transparent lies and ceaseless spin doctoring. And every day we discuss the false claims against
Kerry's record or the invalid assertions of Saddam's ties to al Qaeda, it's one more day we don't spend addressing the
serious issues that actually face our nation in this new century.
Oh, I pray that we vote this crop of conniving weaselmen out of office this fall and replace them with an administration
built by a man who has actually served his country rather than his crony-capitalist buddies. I beseech the gods of the
polity to exorcise us of this demon-hoard of the hard right and restore us to sanity.
ENDS