[Mb-civic] Terror Alerts - Substance or Politics? By Howard Dean

[Michael Butler]

    Go to Original 

    Terror Alerts - Substance or Politics?
    By Howard Dean 
    YubaNet.com

     Wednesday 11 August 2004

     Over the past week there has been a lot of controversy about whether
President Bush is using the timing of terror alerts to bolster his
re-election campaign. Terrorism is a very serious issue and I do not believe
that the terror alerts are based solely on politics. However, I do have some
concerns that the timing of this announcement seems to be based on an
election strategy.


    Let's look at the facts:
    €      Bush strategist Karl Rove told members of the Republican National
Committee during a January 2002 speech that Republicans "can go to the
country" on national security issues and invited his party to politicize the
war in an election year. And according to The Associated Press, a White
House strategy for the 2002 elections - formulated by top presidential
advisors - advised Republican candidates to campaign with messages
highlighting the war on terrorism.
    €      The Al Qaeda operative whose capture led to the release of
information was captured on July 13, twenty days before President Bush's
press conference. The bulk of the information received was over three years
old, some was eight months old. Even if the computer discs were found a few
days after the capture of the terrorist, that means that the administration
either chose the timing of the release, presumably for political reasons, or
they lacked the resources to process the information in a timely manner.
    €      The day after Ridge was accused of considering politics for the
timing of the announcement, he suddenly claimed that it took them a long
time to process and translate the information.
    €      The administration has denied that the Department of Homeland
Security gets involved in politics. In fact, last year the Department of
Homeland Security was reportedly used for political purposes when it
attempted to track down the whereabouts of Texas lawmakers who left the
state to foil a Republican attempt to gerrymander Texas congressional
districts.
    €      And, the Department of Homeland Security played the political
card again at the press conference on August 1. Ridge spent time informing
Americans that the President was a great leader in the fight against terror.
Ridge said, "We must understand that the kind of information available to us
today is the result of the President's leadership in the war against
terror."
    €      This is not the first or second time this administration has
misled the public. For example, Weapons of Mass Destruction still have not
been found in Iraq - even though President Bush convinced the American
public and Congress that this was one of the primary reasons to support
sending approximately 135,000 troops to Iraq.
    €      I am not the only person to believe that the timing of this
announcement was somewhat based on politics. News organizations like the
Associated Press, The Washington Post and The New York Times interviewed
national security experts and political strategists, including a "top GOP
operative" and "some senior Republicans" who have also questioned the timing
of this announcement.

    Terror is one of the most serious short term problems America faces and
along with the soaring deficits and the continuing degradation of our
environment, it is one of our most serious long term problems. All of us
want the President to succeed in fighting this incredible threat. I am one
American who would like to see more substance and less politics in this
fight, so I can look forward to a future filled with hope, not fear.

     Howard Dean, former governor of Vermont, is the founder of Democracy
for America, a grassroots organization that supports socially progressive
and fiscally responsible political candidates. Email Howard Dean

 

  -------

   Jump to TO Features for Thursday August 12, 2004   


 © Copyright 2004 by TruthOut.org