The Populist

On Tuesday the Homeland Security Adviser, Frances Townsend, met with the press to release the recent NIE, or National Intelligence Estimate. Ms. Townsend highlighted several points in the report including Al Qaida’s willingness to strike the “homeland”, its attempts to leverage its contacts and relationships with Al Qaida in Iraq (AQI), and the fact that top Al Qaida leadership is currently enjoying safe harbor along the Afghan/Pakistani border. These are facts that have become relatively apparent to anyone paying attention over the past year. Nothing new. The problem is, the report points out other facts that don’t seem congruent with the historical facts of the last 5 or 6 years. It’s at these points where Homeland Security, an agency created by the Bush administration and led by Bush administration appointees, seems to lose its credibility.

Ms. Townsend begins the session by pointing out the classified report that was leaked last week which reads “Al Qaida Better Positioned to Strike the West.” However, she goes on to say “Our greatly increased worldwide counter terrorism efforts since September the 11th have constrained the ability of Al Qaida to attack the U.S. again and have led terrorist groups to view the homeland as a harder target to strike than it was on 9/11.” Are we to believe that “the West” noted in the classified report does not include the United States? Much like President Bush did immediately after the report was leaked, Ms. Townsend sounds as if she’s doing damage control. In Mr. Bush’s case, we’re to believe that Al Qaida is not as strong as it was BEFORE 9/11, just as strong as it was ON 9/11. It appears Ms. Townsend is simply saying, although there’s a classified document stating the contrary, we really have slowed down Al Qaida; at least, that’s the story we’re feeding the public.

As I noted above, Ms. Townsend also talks about Al Qaida in Iraq. “Of most concern is that Al Qaida will try to exploit the conflict in Iraq and leverage the contacts and capabilities of Al Qaida in Iraq, its most visible and capable affiliate and the only one known to have expressed a desire to attack the homeland.” This quote is disquieting for a couple of reasons. First, it implies that “Al Qaida in Iraq” is an organization that existed before the war in Iraq began, a assertion we know to be false. Al Qaida in Iraq, led by the now deceased Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, was formed and pledged its allegiance to Osama Bin Laden in late 2004 – almost two years after the war started. As with the rest of the administration, Ms. Townsend continues to characterize sectarian violence between Shias and Sunnis, growing daily into a full-fledged civil war, as purely Al Qaida terrorists de-stabilizing the democratic process. These fallacies allow the Bush Administration to continue the ridiculous “chicken and egg” argument of why we are in Iraq in the first place.

The Bush Administration, through Ms. Townsend, is touting its “successes” for a number of reasons including “protecting critical infrastructure and strengthening our border security.” Obviously, Ms Townsend defines “border security” as the influx of as many as 50,000 illegal immigrants into the U.S. per week, or the safety inspection of 1 out of every 100 cannisters that come into our ports on a daily basis. They must not have read the Reuters article last week reporting that undercover investigators were able to obtain a license to buy enough radioactive material to build a “dirty bomb”. The license was issued in 28 days from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission after what was described as a “cursory review”. In fact, the Government Accountability Office said “the NRC approved the license after a couple of faxes and phone calls and mailed to the phony company’s headquarters — a dropbox at a United Parcel Service.” This is not exactly what I’d call “protecting critical infrastructure and strengthening our border security.”

The most confusing aspect of the NIE report is echoed by National Intelligence Director, Mike McConnell. Ms. Townsend notes “our worldwide counterterrorism efforts over the past five years helped disrupt a number of plots against the U.S.” Director Mike McConnell referenced a “relatively large number of plots we have been able to thwart since 9/11.” According to reports, however, Mr. McConnell didn’t offer any details. What exactly are these two supposedly high level officials saying? What “relatively large number of plots” are they talking about. Perhaps they’re referring to the recent plot to blow up JFK international airport.  Four men, including a former member of Guyana’s parliament, planned to use explosives to blow up the pipeline underneath the airport.  Interestingly, one of the ringleaders of this plot was actually an FBI informant who pushed the idea of blowing up JFK in the first place.  The plot was foiled well before the planning stages were even complete.  Not to mention the fact that the apparent ineptness of the plan and incompetence of the would-be terrorists caused FBI officials to note that there was no real danger to the public.  FBI spokesman Richard Kolko in Washington said “There is no threat to air safety or the public related to this plot.”  Would-be terrorist attempts like this are no laughing matter, of course, but this is the only example the Bush administration as put forth in over 5 years.

Maybe Ms. Townsend and Mr. McConnell were speaking of the extended 9/11 plot to fly a plane into the U.S. Bank Tower in Los Angeles simultaneously with the attacks in New York and Washington D.C.  The plot fell through, according to Ms. Townsend’s report on February 9th, 2006, because Al Qaida could not find enough operatives.  Strange how when you need a suicide bomber there’s never any around, huh?  The reconstituted plot was to happen in early 2002 when the cell leader was captured.  Ms. Townsend also reported that the cell trained with Richard Reid, the shoe bomber, before he was arrested in December 2001.  In March 2003, Khalid Shaykh Muhammad – accepted as the mastermind behind the September 11th attacks – was captured effectively ending the immediate West Coast threat.

So, what have we learned?  In the last 5 years, the Bush administration has reported thwarting two terrorist plots.  How does this in, any way, constitute “a relatively large number”.  If there have been more attempts at attacking the US “homeland” as Ms. Townsend calls it, why haven’t we been informed.  If they could tell us about these two plots, why can’t they tell us at least some information about others.  In what can only be described, generously, as a completely biased report, administration officials appear to be guilty of “padding their stats”.

When we take the time to read between the lines of this doctored document, the gist of the National Intelligence Estimate is undeniable:  Al Qaida’s leadership has safe haven along the Afghanistan/Pakistan border, the war in Iraq has created prime conditions for the development of a new Al Qaida threat which is getting guidance from Al Qaida leaders in Pakistan, and we continue to fight on the wrong front because we still believe that democracy can be forced on a people who’ve known nothing but totalitarianism for the last 1000 years.  The Bush administration has done an excellent job infiltrating every level of our government from the Supreme Court to the EPA, appointing anti-government hit men (and women) to  masquerade as civil servants.  This report is a perfect example of why we can’t take anything the current powers that be tell us at face value.  Remember, they’ll stop lying when we finally stand up and say “ENOUGH”!