Timing Is Everything
What amazes me about this story is not that the U.S. was pushing the U.K. to step up the timing of the arrests of the bottled-water bombers, but that the U.S. government was not, apparently, trying to push the U.K. to make the arrests the day before the U.S. primaries were held, especially in Connecticut. That would be so much more in line with past Bush administration practice–timing terror scares with elections, practically a new GOP tradition.
Or is that what the disagreement over timing was about, and the Brits held back just enough? Maybe the U.S. was pushing for the day before the election but didn’t want to come right out and say it? Have we heard the totality of this story?
Update: another thought–maybe the timing was not too late. Perhaps the administration, stinging from the Lieberman defeat, wanted something to goose their popularity. Still, it would have been much more in line with their past behavior to engineer the story to break before the election.
Actually, I think this was in line with their past behavior.
It seems to me that they gave the Democratic Convention for days of publicity, then promply cut it off with a terrorist allert.
I remember that distinctly because less than a month or so earlier Tom Ridge then Homeland Security secretary distinctly said that terrorist alerts were not time with and had nothing to do with politics or political events like election.
He was, in short, Colin Powelled, if not Paul O’Nealed by the administration.
I truly believed at the time that Ridge had some personal integrity, dignity and honor that he prided himself about.
By November Ridge had so compromised himself in this regard that he came of as a plastic use-and-abuse sex toy doll complete with missing limbs, deranged eyes, pulled out hair and every orphace soiled beyond recognition.
Shortly after the election he faided into the distance, and we got Chertoff. I imagine Ridge taking a month long shower trying cleanse himself from being the administrations plastic sex-toy doll of abuse. I imagine him following this up with a year long retreat to some buddhist monestery where he plants trees, flowers and shrubs and does daily penance services in a question to gain back his immortal soul.
Having won the election the administration flung him to the curb like a can of urine on a road trip and ripe and ready for some fresh blood to pervert.
I can also imagine Ridge a year later drawing quiet satisfaction for his decision to exit the Bush administration a year later when Katrina came calling and it was someone elses problem.
Actually, I think this was in line with their past behavior.
It seems to me that they gave the Democratic Convention four days of publicity, then promply cut it off with a terrorist allert. Seems like they give the devil its due, but then cut it off shortly there after. Same here. Lamont gets his day or two of publicity then they blot out the news by dropping some nuclear bomb. No surprise there.
I remember that distinctly because less than a month or so earlier Tom Ridge then Homeland Security secretary distinctly said that terrorist alerts were not time with and had nothing to do with politics or political events like election.
He was, in short, Colin Powelled, if not Paul O’Nealed by the administration.
I truly believed at the time that Ridge had some personal integrity, dignity and honor that he prided himself about.
By November Ridge had so compromised himself in this regard that he came of as a plastic use-and-abuse sex toy doll complete with missing limbs, deranged eyes, pulled out hair and every orphace soiled beyond recognition.
Shortly after the election he faided into the distance, and we got Chertoff. I imagine Ridge taking a month long shower trying cleanse himself from being the administrations plastic sex-toy doll of abuse. I imagine him following this up with a year long retreat to some buddhist monestery where he plants trees, flowers and shrubs and does daily penance services in a question to gain back his immortal soul.
Having won the election the administration flung him to the curb like a can of urine on a road trip and ripe and ready for some fresh blood to pervert.
I can also imagine Ridge a year later drawing quiet satisfaction for his decision to exit the Bush administration a year later when Katrina came calling and it was someone elses problem.