Tom Ridge: Terror Threat level's use was political

[240 is Back]

He made some pretty startling revelations about  how Bush would raise the terror level when politically convenient.  it wasn't about security - it was about politics.  He's accusing Colleagues of hyping terror to get prez re-elected and keep their jobs.

Seems Olbermann's "Nexus of terror and politics" video was right after all.

[Soul Crusher]

He made some pretty startling revelations about  how Bush would raise the terror level when politically convenient.  it wasn't about security - it was about politics.  He's accusing Colleagues of hyping terror to get prez re-elected and keep their jobs.

Seems Olbermann's "Nexus of terror and politics" video was right after all.

This is absolutely disgusting and Ridge is despicable for not resigning and warning people if this is true. 

[headhuntersix]

LINK!!!!!

[240 is Back]

LINK!!!!!

it was just breaking on msnbc.  TA will have it up shortly, I'm sure.

They have video of him scolding skeptics who questioned his use of the alert directly before the  2004 election, which was very close.

[headhuntersix]

...the memoir is intended to rouse Americans from their complacency about security issues, Ridge says....what?

Osama bin Laden had released a videotape with one more ominous sounding but unspecific threat against the United States. Neither Mr. Ridge nor any of the department’s security experts thought the message warranted any change in the nation’s alert status.

“…at this point there was nothing to indicate a specific threat and no reason to cause undue public alarm,” he writes.

But that view met resistance in a tense conference call with members of the intelligence community and several other Cabinet officers including Attorney General John Ashcroft and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

“A vigorous, some might say dramatic, discussion ensured. Ashcroft strongly urged an increase in the threat level and was supported by Rumsfeld.”

Noting the correlation found between increases in the threat level and the president’s approval rating, Mr. Ridge writes, “I wondered, ‘Is this about security or politics?’”


Thats the quote....whatever.

[headhuntersix]

Well thats great...Barry is sinking, the war in Iraq is heating up again...good job Barry...we have Afghanistan and cap and trade and we have the leftwing douchebags at MSNBC whining about this shit. If Ridge felt so strongly he should have resigned, if he had more proof, he should have resigned...if he had any balls or if this is truly how he felt, he should have resigned. Nice fucking try.....

[240 is Back]

Well thats great...Barry is sinking, the war in Iraq is heating up again...good job Barry...we have Afghanistan and cap and trade and we have the leftwing douchebags at MSNBC whining about this shit. If Ridge felt so strongly he should have resigned, if he had more proof, he should have resigned...if he had any balls or if this is truly how he felt, he should have resigned. Nice fucking try.....

So you would rather talk about Obama and afghanistan than Ridge and Bush.  Understandable.

But this is important.  It will means the population will be less likely to swallow bullshit fearmongering tactics used to manipulate elections.  Even if Obama were to try it.  it's very possible kerry lost in 2004 because a few more people were scared.  Election was razor close.  Most people here would be pissed of Obama created fear and panic right before the election to win over a Palin without foreign policy experience, right?

The definition of terrorism:
the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, esp. for political purposes.

Sounds like Bush used a threat to intimidate for the purpose of winning an election.

[Soul Crusher]

Ridge had a patriotic duty to resign if this is true.   

[240 is Back]

Ridge had a patriotic duty to resign if this is true.  

Do you suppose there's a chance he's making this up, as a way to completely discredit himself and disqualify himself from all public office?

He's done politically, after admitting this.  Won't win country commissioner job.

[The True Adonis]

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2009/08/ridge_accuses_b.html


Ridge accuses Bush White House of political use of terror alert system

Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor August 20, 2009 04:21 PM

In his new book, the first Homeland Security chief, Tom Ridge, accuses top aides to President George W. Bush of pressing him to raise the terror alert level to influence the 2004 presidential election.

Ridge, a former Republican governor of Pennsylvania, says that he refused the entreaty just before the election from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Attorney General John Ashcroft, according to a summary of the book from publisher Thomas Dunne Books.

"After that episode, I knew I had to follow through with my plans to leave the federal government for the private sector," Ridge, who resigned soon after the election where Bush defeated Democrat John F. Kerry, writes in "The Test of Our Times: America Under Siege ... And How We Can Be Safe Again."

Ridge's book will only fuel Bush critics, who have long said that his White House used terror threats to distract the public from the unpopular Iraq war.

"In this probing and surefooted memoir, Ridge takes us through the challenges he and his new department faced, including Anthrax scares and reports (both real and false alarms) of new Al-Qaeda operations sprouting up in the United States," says the publisher's summary of the book, scheduled to be out on Sept. 1.

"Ridge writes with refreshing candor on both the successes and missteps of the DHS.  He details the obstacles faced in his new post -- often within the administration itself -- as well as the failures of Congress to provide for critical homeland security needs, and the irresponsible use of terrorism by both parties to curry favors with voters," the summary continues.

It says that Ridge also reveals in the book how the department was "pressured to connect homeland security to the international “war on terror;” and how he had "pushed for a plan (defeated because of turf wars) to integrate DHS and FEMA disaster management in New Orleans and other areas before Hurricane Katrina."

Asked about the allegation about the election, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs noted today that current Homeland Security Janet Napolitano launched a study whether to scrap the color-coded system, which critics say is ineffective and confusing.

"Decisions regarding the terror threat should be made based on the rise and fall of that threat, not based on anything else," Gibbs told reporters.

[Hugo Chavez]

He made some pretty startling revelations about  how Bush would raise the terror level when politically convenient.  it wasn't about security - it was about politics.  He's accusing Colleagues of hyping terror to get prez re-elected and keep their jobs.

Seems Olbermann's "Nexus of terror and politics" video was right after all.

boom...  we need to see if we can find those threads posted here.  I'm sure several people thought it was bullshit.  Looks like Olbermann was spot on in this case.

This is also a criminal accusation unless I'm mistaken.  There's been more and more of those nudging to the surface....  Well, there's that land purchase he made in South America, looks like it might come in handy afterall

[Hugo Chavez]

Well thats great...Barry is sinking, the war in Iraq is heating up again...good job Barry...we have Afghanistan and cap and trade and we have the leftwing douchebags at MSNBC whining about this shit. If Ridge felt so strongly he should have resigned, if he had more proof, he should have resigned...if he had any balls or if this is truly how he felt, he should have resigned. Nice fucking try.....

I wish like hell you were kidding.  unbelievable post...

[headhuntersix]

Gimme a fucking break......whi cares. The only people who care are all u idiot libs. TA u can enlarge the print all u want. Barry and the libs are fucking done. Bush is gone...we have bigger problems then Tom Ridge and his gut feelings. I printed the book quote...again who cares.

[headhuntersix]

Hugo we can go round and round all day. Ridge needs something to seel this book...so he prints a marginal quote that will allow some people to draw conclusions.

Need I remind u....

In addition, the alert has been raised to High on a select or partial basis three times: August 1 – November 10, 2004, for specific financial institutions in northern New Jersey, New York, and Washington, D.C., citing intelligence pointing to the possibility of a car or truck bomb attack, naming specific buildings as possible targets.[20][21]
July 7, 2005 – August 12, 2005, for mass transit systems only. The DHS secretary announced the level after the 7 July 2005 London bombings despite the absence of "specific, credible information suggesting imminent attack" in the United States.[22]

August 10, 2006 – present, for all domestic airline flights and all international flights to or from the United States, with the exception of flights from the United Kingdom to the United States. Flights from the United Kingdom to the United States had been under a severe alert, but were downgraded to a high alert on August 14, 2006.[19]


All reasons the threat level was raised. If Ridge believed it he should have quit.

[headhuntersix]

Top officials from the George W. Bush White House are disputing claims in former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge’s coming book that they pressured him to adjust the terror threat level for political gain.


“We went over backwards repeatedly and with great discipline to make sure politics did not influence any national security and homeland security decisions,” former White House chief of staff Andy Card told POLITICO. “The clear instructions were to make sure politics never influenced anything.”


“I’m a little mystified,” former homeland security adviser Fran Townsend added in an interview. “Never in my experience did I see any political influence exerted on the cabinet secretary.”


According to promotional materials for Ridge’s coming book, “The Test of Our Times: America Under Siege…And How We Can Be Safe Again,” the ex-homeland security secretary and governor of Pennsylvania accuses the Bush White House of pushing him to “raise the national security alert just before the 2004 Election.”


A description for the book on the publisher’s website also says Ridge “was pressured to connect homeland security to the international ‘war on terror’” and that he “pushed for a plan (defeated because of turf wars) to integrate DHS and FEMA disaster management in New Orleans and other areas before Hurricane Katrina.”


Townsend said Thursday that the accusations do not match her recollection of events and that any suggestion that the White House’s political team tried to alter the threat level is untrue.


“Under no circumstance was Tom Ridge or anyone else directed to change the threat level,” Townsend said. “It didn’t work that way, and it certainly didn’t work that way in 2004. It was always an apolitical process.”


Ridge did not respond to numerous requests for comment from POLITICO and a number of former top political and national security officials within the Bush administration declined to respond to Ridge, referring POLITICO to Card and Townsend.


“At no point when I was working with him did he express concerns about the raising or the lowering of the threat alert level,” Townsend said. “Never in my experience did I see any political influence exerted on the cabinet secretary.”


Townsend and Card also said that the process used to change the terror threat level made almost any claim of political influence impossible. Both said any change originated with DHS and was then referred to the National Security Council. The NSC then made a recommendation to the president which was then either agreed to or rejected.

Pages

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26313.html#ixzz0OmZk8iQo

[headhuntersix]

Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan, whose own tell all book was disputed by several top members of the Bush team, suggested in an email to POLITICO that Ridge’s claim may have some validity, though he predicted that if the former cabinet


secretary cannot completely back his claim his former colleagues will push back hard.


“It is one thing if he is saying he simply felt it was politically motivated. It is quite another if he has specific information showing it was politically motivated,” McClellan wrote.


“There is no question exploiting the war on terror was viewed by the political strategists as integral to branding the president as a strong and decisive leader who will keep America safe,” he continued. ”If Secretary Ridge is making the serious allegation that the terror alert was driven primarily by political concerns late in the campaign, he is going to be expected to back it up with specific information. If he can, it is a serious matter. If he cannot, then I suspect critics will pounce.”



Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26313_Page2.html#ixzz0OmaTNmTA

[Hugo Chavez]

now that's my style of multipost meltdown

[240 is Back]

Gimme a fucking break......who cares.

If Obama faked a terror scare, 3 days before the 2012 election to win the election, would it bother you at all?

[garebear]

Surely somebody somewhere has got to need some waterboarding.

[headhuntersix]

now that's my style of multipost meltdown

No I'm putting the quotes from his book out there as opposed to Olberdouchbags spin.

[Hugo Chavez]

No I'm putting the quotes from his book out there as opposed to Olberdouchbags spin.

How is it spin?  A lot of other sources also coving the story in the same way.  Not sure how the quotes you dug up show that.

[headhuntersix]

OLberman has zero credibility and never ever had any proof, he felt Bush was evil, ergo...Bush was lying. The statements atributed to Rideg and the quotes from the book are two different things. Ridge did not say...I want to get elected, raise the level....Ridge felt that lowering or raising the level corresponded to Bush's popularity. Thats pretty much it until the book comes out.

[240 is Back]

OLberman has zero credibility and never ever had any proof, he felt Bush was evil, ergo...Bush was lying. The statements atributed to Rideg and the quotes from the book are two different things. Ridge did not say...I want to get elected, raise the level....Ridge felt that lowering or raising the level corresponded to Bush's popularity. Thats pretty much it until the book comes out.

Olbermann pointed out 18 individual incidents where the white house would release some scary terror alert raise or other breaking news announcement, 24 to 48 hours after they took a hit politically, in order to alter the news cycle.

Yes, he never had any proof, just a situation that looked really bad.  Now, we're starting to see proof.  Rummy came out and called this BS today - what else is he gonna say?  Will be interesting to see how this plays out.  I highly doubt Ridge would own himself by just making this up.

It looked like a duck and walked like a duck... and now the duck itself is admitting he's a duck.

[headhuntersix]

We are not starting to see proof...u might see proof based on busllshit and Bush derangment syndrome. Ridge said he felt that there was atie between Bush popularity and the threat level. Thats what he said. Olberdouche is jumping to his douchbag liberal conclusions because he can't get past Bush and his savior Barry is tanking. 240 as usual u have no idea what ur talking about. Besides MSNBC..the people who brought us white gun toting hate...with black gun toters.....nobody is talking about this until the book comes out.

[headhuntersix]

Then there's this....

The most sensational assertion was the pre-election debate in 2004 about the threat level, first reported by U.S. News & World Report. Mr. Ridge writes that the bin Laden tape alone did not justify a change in the nation’s security posture but describes “a vigorous, some might say dramatic, discussion” on Oct. 30 to do so.
“There was absolutely no support for that position within our department. None,” he writes. “I wondered, ‘Is this about security or politics?’ Post-election analysis demonstrated a significant increase in the president’s approval rating in the days after the raising of the threat level.”

Mr. Ridge provides no evidence that politics motivated the discussion. Until now, he has denied politics played a role in threat levels. Asked by Eric Lichtblau of The New York Times if politics ever influenced decisions on threat warnings, he volunteered to take a lie-detector test. “Wire me up,” Mr. Ridge said, according to Mr. Lichtblau’s book, “Bush’s Law.” “Not a chance. Politics played no part.”