Color-Coded Con Job?

http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/08/20/color-coded-con-job/#more-15472


Color-Coded Con Job?
Posted by Michael Scherer Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 5:16 pm


On August 1, 2004, just days after the Democratic National Convention nominated presidential candidate John Kerry on a national security platform, the Bush Administration raised its terror threat level to "Code Orange," or high, for certain cities with major financial institutions. In a press conference to announce the change, which stepped on the Kerry storyline coming out of the convention, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge described the source of the intelligence that led to the color change:



It sounded like politics, but Ridge swore politics had nothing to do with the serious task of protecting the nation. Two days later, he beat back such suggestions forcefully: "We don't do politics in the Department of Homeland Security," he said, offering a quote so-snappy that TIME magazine republished it that week in the front of the magazine.

Now, we have word from the publisher of Ridge's forthcoming memoir, The Test of Our Times, that politics was in fact very much in play in the color-coded discussions with the Department of Homeland Security before the election. According to Paul Bedard, of Washington Whispers, Ridge admits in the book that he "was pushed to raise the security alert on the eve of President Bush's re-election, something he saw as politically motivated and worth resigning over."

To understand the import of this admission, we must remember the politically charged mood of national insecurity that dominated in 2004. For months, there had been significant buzz about a possible Al Qaeda attack, which never materialized. The issue became a regular topic of debate and discussion within the media, spreading a message of continuing insecurity that clearly aided President Bush's campaign themes.

A week after the alerts were raised in August, for instance, the discussion of another attack dominated the Sunday talk shows. As CNN noted at the time, "The decision to raise the alert level to orange, or elevated, for specific buildings in New York City; Newark, New Jersey; and Washington, D.C., has been criticized because it was based at least partly on information three or four years old."

snip//

On November 10, just eight days after President Bush had secured victory for his second term, the Department of Homeland Security downgraded the "orange" alert for the financial services sector back to "yellow," or elevated. The threat had apparently passed.

MORE: Marc Ambinder catches up with Fran Townsend, the Bush Administration official who oversaw the terror threat discussions in 2004. She says Ridge is "absolutely wrong" about political pressure.

when the terror alerts suddenly stopped after the Nov '04 election and John Ashcroft stepped down and said that crime and terror had been defeated.

My, but the Korporate Media is slow.

didn't hoodwink everyone. But now, with Ridge's book, the rest of these lazy pikers have to admit it.

but KO is not part of the Korporate Media. thank goodness.