Rice: U.S. bracing for attacks before election

[lebkuchen]

The United States is bracing for possible terrorist attacks before the November presidential election, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice said Sunday.

<cut>

Jose Maria Aznar, outgoing prime minister of Spain and a strong U.S. ally in the war in Iraq, says he has warned President Bush that he believes terrorists will try to affect the U.S. election as they did in Spain.

On March 11, terrorists blew up a rail line in Madrid, killing 191 and injuring 1,800 others.

“I told George Bush, and (British Prime Minister) Tony Blair and other political leaders to be extremely careful before elections ... and to be very vigilant,” Aznar told Fox.

Aznar’s Popular Party was favored to win the election until the four commuter trains were attacked. “It is obvious that these attacks were looking for a political effect,” he said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4772054/

I suggest that Bush do the U.S. at least one useful service during his presidency: resign, before we're attacked again stateside.

[maddezmom]

1. most of us here at DU are prepared for attacks before Nov.

the question is: who will instigate the attacks? :(

[lebkuchen]

7. The irony: he'll lose the election and leave the WH

w/his legacy (another attack) preceding him.

[Timefortruth]

44. He thinks an attack will save him.

Really. Remember a few weeks ago when Rush and inSannity floated the idea of postponing the elections on the same day? That was no coincidence they read from the same talking points. Also, back in October in Cigar Aficionado Tommy Franks (I think) said that if there were another attack it might be necessary to declare marshal law.

Naw, this is just a way for them to be certain that they will remain in power.

Remember, they hate us for our freedom, but they aren't the terrorist abroad.

[nodehopper]

53. Not with Diebold machines in place, he won't.

[Failure]

56. Check this out...

I've been inside O'Dell's mansion in Upper Arlington. I played piano at a fundraiser (not political). He had pictures of him and shrubby on the piano..*shudders*

He said, "There's the man" pointing to the pictures on the piano, surrounded by rich white guys..."Gettin' the job done!", laughing and smacking one of his friends on the back. He's like a billionaire frat guy.

[spooked]

12. OSAMA!!

NOW we know why we haven't "captured" him yet!!

[bluedog]

2. is she praying for one?

seems this is the only thing that this administration can run on.how bush handles the aftermath of death and distruction..they want one so he can cancel the elections.

[lebkuchen]

8. What are the chances voters can force Bush to do a Johnson?

and I don't mean on his dog.

[cornfedyank]

21. i say slim

i think hard heads will stay heard. remember he can not think of a mistake, much less admit one.
i think an attack here will get the flags flying again.
i would not be surprised if the veep drops over just to try for the sympathy vote.

[lebkuchen]

37. Would Cheney pull a "Carnahan" and donate his body to The Cause?

I think most voters find The Dick too ghoulish to be palatable. They did the first time around. That image hasn't improved, that's for certain.

With Mel, he had a heart, for starters.

[Just Me]

9. I believe it's called "foreshadowing",...

,...and the freon neocons are giving advance notice of the inevitable.

[still_one]

3. looking for an excuse to cancel the election

[maddezmom]

6. Tommy Franks speaks about Martial Law/Military Form of Gov't

~snip~
“It means the potential of a weapon of mass destruction and a terrorist, massive, casualty-producing event somewhere in the Western world – it may be in the United States of America – that causes our population to question our own Constitution and to begin to militarize our country in order to avoid a repeat of another mass, casualty-producing event. Which in fact, then begins to unravel the fabric of our Constitution. Two steps, very, very important.”

Franks didn’t speculate about how soon such an event might take place.

Already, critics of the U.S. Patriot Act, rushed through Congress in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, have argued that the law aims to curtail civil liberties and sets a dangerous precedent.

But Franks’ scenario goes much further. He is the first high-ranking official to openly speculate that the Constitution could be scrapped in favor of a military form of government.
~snip~


http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/11/20/185048.shtml

sorry for the link...it was the quickest one I could find.

[Just Me]

16. Franks speculation is frightening,...

,...and it has stuck to me throughout this whole mess. Is the Bush regime so power-hungry that it would LIHOP or MIHOP in order to create a military form of governance? Geez,...I guess we'll find out sometime between now and November.

[reprobate]

23. They did it once. What's to keep them from a second attack?

[ultramega]

31. No, In this case Newsmax is appropriate.

It's perfectly telling of where their intentions lie.

I just hope that all the whistle blowers will come out of the woodwork NOW instead of later, if the U.S. starts setting this up.

As hard as it is to swallow, they really need to keep harping on it, because bin Laden is not going to attack and give geedubya a political advantage. These people are criminals and they hate our constitution. So I am glad it is becoming obvious. I wrote Brit Hume a letter a while back and told him that when we get rid of the neo-cons, that he and all those who supported them will go down in history like Leni Riefenschtal (sp?).

[nodehopper]

54. I sort of agree with you

But I wouldn't be so hasty to assume that Osama's followers wouldn't attack again. I think we know from the example of Spain that it would hardly be to Dubya's advantage and as much as I believe in LIHOP, there are certainly forces in the world that hate America. We create more and more of them every day.

[sophie996]

50. there are a bunch of citations for this

at: http://www.popdex.com/c/2390479

all the stories appear to come from the same '03 interview in "cigar aficionado" mag: http://www.newsfrombabylon.com/article.php?sid=3470

here's a pretty good column on the topic: http://www.sptimes.com/2003/12/07/Columns/From_Tommy_Franks__a_.shtml

[Media_Lies_Daily]

4. I bet the NeoCons know exactly WHEN to expect a "terrorist attack"...

...all part of their plan to declare martial law and cancel the elections.

[billbuckhead]

5. We need ad campaign that says don't let terrorists make USA vote for Bush

Or stop an election.

[booksenkatz]

10. If Aznar had won his election post-attack...

would that have given the Bush Cabal permission not to be vigilant during America's election season? Vigilance should be the standard, regardless of politics, for God's sake.

So, yes, I do hope that this administration will be vigilant, but for one reason: to protect the American people, PERIOD. Too bad there were no F-16s on September 11th, as there are/were on every other day of the year, before and since. Just "one of those things," I guess.

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

19. That picture on your post is frickin' hilarious; I almost fell out of my

computer chair!

Condo-sleeza's trying to freak people out; here come the desperate tactics to get Shrub's poll numbers up.

[calimary]

25. Yes, she's trying to freak people out.

Using a Doomsday scenario. It's just the latest twist on her "...will turn into a mushroom cloud" threat.

Doesn't she realize that'd kick the stuffings out of the republi-CON argument that - we're safer because, lookee, we haven't had another terrorist attack on our shores since 9-11. See how well we've done? How much safer we are? bush is protecting us just fine, isn't he?

[Onlooker]

11. The terrorists don't want Kerry

Bush is preferable to the terrorists because he is working almost anarchistically on the world stage. He's not building alliances, he's building enemies. He's weakening our tenuous relationships with Middle Eastern countries and even with Europe. The power vacuum he has helped create is being filled by budding young terrorists. If Kerry is elected, he will work closely with regional governments and the UN to maintain stability. While, with countries like Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Israel, stability isn't fair to all people, Kerry would rather have the leaders of those countries wielding power than Al Qaeda. Kerry is much more of an enemy to terrorism than Bush ever could be.

[xultar]

13. MIHOP...So that is the October surprise!!! n/t

[Barrett808]

14. As I have feared for a long time -- my prediction: SF

After Jeb Bush's chilling comment about the people of SF being an endangered species.

We should start our own "terrorism futures market" here at DU. What kind of odds will you give me for my October Surprise wager?

[Terran]

15. No we shouldn't

That's a sick idea.

[alittlelark]

24. SF is my thought as well

too bad I live 20 miles away. Kill 2 birds with one stone in SF. Get rid of the most liberal area in the country, and have an 'attack' on the west coast.

[Timefortruth]

45. With the added bonus that they can claim that the immorality in SF

caused God's wrath. This argument seems a tad inconsistent with the "God is on our side argument," but who's watching anyway.

[eek]

29. jebbie's SF comment? Details,please.

musta missed that one.

[BattyDem]

38. Jeb Bush's comments

Read this - Jeb Bush jokes people of San Francisco may be endangered

[soup]

39. jeb's 'jokes'

endangered species, devious plan and juicy details

Jeb Bush jokes people of San Francisco may be endangered

11-12) 21:22 PST TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) --

Gov. Jeb Bush joked during a Florida Cabinet meeting Wednesday that the people of San Francisco may be endangered and, "That's probably good news for the country."

The subject was environmental land and at the time Bush was looking at a map showing locations with a lot of different wildlife.

"It looks like the people of San Francisco are an endangered species, which may not be a bad thing. That's probably good news for the country."

People in the room broke into laughter

"Did I just say that out loud?" the governor asked.
>snip<

Bush told reporters he was just joking and added another quip: "Don't call Willie Brown."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi%3Ff=/news/archive/2003/11/12/state0022EST0199.DTL

-----

Gov. Jeb Bush said Friday he was only kidding about having "devious plans" to torpedo a constitutional amendment capping class sizes in public schools.
http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/news/local/4216399.htm

-----

Jeb Bush Angers Gay Rights Groups

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Jeb Bush told a delegation of lawmakers that he had ``some juicy details'' about the sexual orientation of a missing Miami girl's caretakers.

During a meeting Wednesday, Bush implied that the two women, who had just been charged with fraud stemming from the investigation into Rilya Wilson's disappearance, were lesbians.

``As (Pamela Graham) was being arrested, she told her co-workers, 'Tell my wife I've been arrested.' The wife is the grandmother, and the aunt is the husband,'' Bush explained, using his fingers to indicate quotation marks to emphasize the word ``grandmother.''

``Bet you don't get that in Pensacola,'' Bush told his guests, a group of lawmakers from Florida's Panhandle.
http://www.rainbowguide.com/news/100302-3.html

[DoYouEverWonder]

17. Then Condi said

that if they knew the exact time, place and date of the next attack, they might be able to do something about it. Otherwise, there is little they can do to prevent it.

[Ediacara]

18. Well Christ..... Aznar was booted because he failed to do his job!

His job was to protect the Spanish people. He failed!

If al-Qaida had attacked six weeks before the election instead of a few days, Aznar STILL would have lost because he FAILED to do his job.

For Aznar (and Republicans) to imply that al-Qauda wants liberal parties to be in power is inane. The Democrats did more than the Republicans EVER did thwarting al-Qaida attacks, and if anything, would want another Bush term because Bush's heavy handed foriegn policy does nothing but create more al-Qaida recruits.

IF there are more attacks on US interests before the election, it isn't al-Qaida playing politics, it's just al-Qaida doing what al-Qaida does best. HOWEVER, the American people will VERY RIGHTEOUSLY kick Bush out because he has (once again) FAILED to do his job.

[MsBanker99]

35. Anzar was not eligible for reelection

Anzar didn't "lose". He was not eligible for reelection. He wasn't on the ballot.

[July]

49. Aznar's party lost. He was leaving govt., but was still leading the

party and the govt. at the time of the election. They don't vote for individuals in Spain, except indirectly, since they know who's leading the party when they vote for it.

Edited to add: They don't vote for individuals in the national elections. For local elections it does occur, I believe.

[Iceburg]

41. If another attack happened ...

I wouldn't wait for another election.

[cliss]

20. Condiment Rice is just trying

to turn the events in their favor, if it should happen. It's just like if Aznar would speak publicly before the attacks, "I think they might attack us, so be sure to vote for me".

She's just trying to use a potential disaster in their favor.

[renegade000]

26. exactly...its despicable

[Whoa_Nelly]

22. What does 'Sleeza know that is not being told?

She knew about all the warnings, events, people prior to Sept. 11. So, what is she really saying? Are there people currently in a position to attack us on our soil again? Was the storming of the warehouse in Oakland based on inside information that somewhere there are rocket launchers stored and ready for use against Americans? Is this 'Sleeza's way of saying she knows something and wants to warn people without actually jeopardizing her current, and possibly future, political position?
:wtf:
For me, her statements raise all sorts of red flags and more questions.

[July]

48. And what does Aznar know?

My guess: nothing. He's selling the line that saves face for his party. Everything I've read, seen (on Spanish television), and heard from friends in Spain suggests that it was a close election, despite what you read, and that Aznar's party shot themselves in the foot by manipulating information after the March 11 attack.

And how does this "watch out for an attack" make sense? Condi and Aznar are assuming that people will say to themselves, "Gee, we've been attacked again, better not change the government now," when a lot of us will be saying, "So much for making us safer."

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

27. Bush is just positioning himself...

from President to Boy King to our beloved Pimp-In-Chief.

As long as we keep earning and turning over his share, he will protect us. If we hold back or cross him, we are on our own.

[Bluebear]

28. RICE-A-FONI

The Crawford, Texas treat.

All of a sudden she is Miss Cleo and 'predicting' attacks. Booga booga booga, keep everyone scared!

[robbedvoter]

30. Bracing? Sooo - no vacation this summer then?

Or the bracing is for us only?

[Jack Rabbit]

32. If it is a threat

If it is a threat, let's hope they are taking it more seriously than they did before September 11.

[dawn]

33. Gee, what a surprise.

So is she praying for one, helping to engineer one, or just trying to cover her ass because of her inaction prior to 9/11?

Sorry, but these neocon freaks are just unbelievable. I honestly think these people *want* more terrorist attacks, so people will be afraid and vote for Shrubbie. It's so twisted.

I don't think people would look too kindly on Shrub if there was another attack. People would be like, WTF were we doing in Iraq, then?

[Mikimouse]

34. No, No, No, Damnit figure it out...

If there is an attack, thye RW radio and TV freaks will launch a campaign about how the terrorists managed to unseat the government in Spain, and we can't let that happen here; we have to show the world that we are commited to our leadership and re-elct them. Show those cowardly Spaniards what it really is to have balls! The BS has already started, all you have to do is listen to the crap on RW radio and you can see the way being paved for this.

[soup]

40. Oh, how I wish you hadn't said that.

Makes perfect - and terrifying - sense.

[Mikimouse]

42. They can easily turn this into a win/win situation...

if they are allowed to get ahead of the curve, so to speak. The solution is to not let them use this tactic, heading them off before they have a chance to use it. I think (read-hope) that our leadership sees through all of this crap and that they have all of their strategies in place for any eventuality.

[Just Me]

43. Precisely,..."they" made our world worse, "they" are failures,...

,...in protecting us. They have incited and escalated violence,...as all gang members do,...and they have demolished everything that the world built towards peace. They have proven their aggressive and violent tendencies against any and all non-violent possibilities. They are power-mongers and they are willing to be lawless to pursue their endeavors. They are bringing both this country and the world down,...in order to know their obsession with power rather than freedom or equality or democracy.

[Timefortruth]

46. Exactly, there was a sub for Rush a while ago who said

OPEC is raising oil prices because they hate Chimp and don't want him reelected. This was supposed to motivate the wing nuts to increase their support for Chimp since those bad "brown people" are working against him. The listeners are too stupid to realize that a president who gets along with the rest of the world is good for America. And if OPEC hates Chimp now, how are they going to feel if the world has to suffer another 4 years of him? It was stunning how obvious the conclusion should be (assuming his premise was correct) but it flies right over their heads.

[Mikimouse]

47. Roger Hitchcock, I believe was the sub...

unfortunately, my profession tacitly requires me to listen to the horse hockey that is RW radio, so that I can assess for myself the direction of society. As I said, they are certainly paving the way.
If we are attcked, they will use the tack I described, if we are not attacked, then * is a hero for scaring the terrorists into not attacking us.

[Piperay]

36. I would think an attack would be bad

for them, would show that not only have they lost total control in Iraq but can't even protect their own country. I would think the last thing they would want would be another attack here. Of course I am thinking rationally and they are insane idiots, so who knows. :shrug:

[sspiderjohn]

51. What does she mean by "bracing"? nt

nt

[daleo]

52. What is he really warning Bush?

"Don't bother with a LIHOP, it might backfire." Ah, to be a fly on the wall.

[savistocate]

55. Short of a fly--

there are those rare insiders who turn out to be sane in seeing (against the odds for Repubs) this is not the US or world they want.

As in the recent ones--Clarkes title says it so well.
Against All Enemies __next line 'foreign and d o m e s t i c'.
Surprising there hasn't been major notice of that, that I've come across.