Maine Owl

This blog and it's predecessor always have been very skeptical of terror alerts. So we've really appreciated Keith Olbermann's recent piece following their history and associations with politics--deftly assembled in response to the provocative comments evidently to be in the forthcoming Tom Ridge book. This really is a terrific 16-1/2 minute segment:


The Nexus of Terror and Politics -- 2009 Edition

Related media, clip from "Hijacking Catastrophe" (2004):



Judge the veracity of Ridge at the time for yourself. PBS News Hour, on 2/7/03, a Friday in early February and just two days after Colin Powell mocked up anthrax at the U.N.:

JOHN ASHCROFT: Recent reporting indicates an increased likelihood that al-Qaida may attempt to attack Americans in the United States and/or abroad, in or around the end of the Hajj, a Muslim religious period ending mid- February 2003. Recent intelligence reports suggest that al-Qaida leaders have emphasized planning for attacks on apartment buildings, hotels and other soft or lightly secured targets in the United States.

TOM RIDGE: As a result of the increase in the threat level, as a result of going from yellow to orange, "elevated" to "high," specific protective measures will be taken by all federal agencies both to reduce vulnerabilities and many of them actually will, we believe, serve as a deterrent. Increased security personnel at points of entry may in fact limit points of entry and exit; enhanced identification checks, restrictions to travel around federal facilities and airports, among the many augmented security measures that will be implemented.

Now, as the attorney general mentioned, for individual Americans, we ask you... we ask you to remain aware and remain alert. One of the thoughts that I would just simply share with you: It's probably not a bad idea to sit down and just arrange some kind of a contact plan, that if an event occurred, you want to make sure you can... the family wants to get in touch with one another.

PBS correspondent Eric Lichtblau then tells Ray Suarez, "No, not really," when asked, "Were the government officials involved in this briefing very specific about what people should be on the lookout for? What kind of attack do they want us to be worried about?"

A couple of days later, American families run for the closet to tape themselves in.

Other related items:

• Terror plot drumbeat in Canada
• Panic button, panic button
• National Security Rice-a-Roni