Friday, October 08, 2004
Anything to scare the heartland
The Bush administration wishes we had something to fear besides fear itself.
The second they find something remotely fishy, they trump it up into a bogeyman. Of course, later it turns out that "there were no weapons". Today's phoney threat is a disk with information about US schools found on an Iraqi man. A terror threat? Well, rather than dig two centimeters for the innocent explanation, the Bushies put out the alert to the media, probably to pump up their bizarre warning of threats to schools a few days ago (based on nothing, it would seem, other than the fact a school in Russia was attacked a month ago by Chechens).
Turns out there is an innocent explanation, according to the FBI:
You think maybe this guy was trying to plan to protect schools, not attack them? Jeebus, that seems pretty likely in Iraq, where schools are about a bazillion times more likely to be attack than here.
On a related note, I wonder if, or when, the holder of these disks will be released from custody. No mention in the article, and we have a bad track record of holding innocent Iraqis as if they were terrorists. All in the name of democracy and brotherhood, you understand.
When will people realize the Bush admin is just peddling fear? That's not "resolute" or "stronger", or "brave", or any of the other words they want you to associate with Bush. It's a cowardly way to lead, and one that has more in common with dictators than democrats.
The second they find something remotely fishy, they trump it up into a bogeyman. Of course, later it turns out that "there were no weapons". Today's phoney threat is a disk with information about US schools found on an Iraqi man. A terror threat? Well, rather than dig two centimeters for the innocent explanation, the Bushies put out the alert to the media, probably to pump up their bizarre warning of threats to schools a few days ago (based on nothing, it would seem, other than the fact a school in Russia was attacked a month ago by Chechens).
Turns out there is an innocent explanation, according to the FBI:
A Homeland Security official said the disks also included a Department of Education guide on how to plan for a crisis in schools. There is no indication anyone was on the ground casing the schools, a senior government official said.
The Homeland Security official said the material was associated with a specific individual in Iraq, and it could not be established that this man had any ties to terrorism. He did have a connection to civic groups doing planning for schools in Iraq, the official said.
You think maybe this guy was trying to plan to protect schools, not attack them? Jeebus, that seems pretty likely in Iraq, where schools are about a bazillion times more likely to be attack than here.
On a related note, I wonder if, or when, the holder of these disks will be released from custody. No mention in the article, and we have a bad track record of holding innocent Iraqis as if they were terrorists. All in the name of democracy and brotherhood, you understand.
When will people realize the Bush admin is just peddling fear? That's not "resolute" or "stronger", or "brave", or any of the other words they want you to associate with Bush. It's a cowardly way to lead, and one that has more in common with dictators than democrats.
