# Timing of the New Terror Warnings **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 27, 2004, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timing-of-the-new-terror-warnings/247313 "2004-05-27T10:31:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timing-of-the-new-terror-warnings/247313/21 "2004-05-27T20:04:57Z")
Coincidentally, the Bush-Cheney campaign yesterday unveiled a [new attack ad](http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/politics/8766527.htm) that tries to paint John Kerry as “playing politics with national security”. Coincidence? Or _chutzpah?_ ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timing-of-the-new-terror-warnings/247313/22 "2004-05-27T20:06:23Z")
> [@Moody Bastard](#): > > Greater public vigilance, John, check. The amusing irony is that “greater public vigilance” is starting to translate into “more people paying attention to the self-serving bullshit being spewed by this administration.” ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timing-of-the-new-terror-warnings/247313/23 "2004-05-28T00:19:09Z")
Stand down people. Put the duct tape away. Apparently this is just John Ashcroft shooting his mouth off: > [@](#): > > When Attorney General John Ashcroft announced the latest terror warning, the rest of the government – including the Department of Homeland Security – heard the details on television. > … > The information was not shared with state and local police forces, or even with the FBI’s field offices. It wasn’t supposed to be this way after 9/11, said one administration official, who noted “the whole warning process was usurped by the Attorney General.” [Gov’t Turf Battle Over Terror?](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/05/25/terror/main619569.shtml) Remember the nuclear tipped frogmen? Or the “dirty bomb”? John’s gone off his meds and appointed himself America’s Crusader in Chief _again_. Why the hell do we tolerate this sort of crap from people who are supposed to be our leaders? ---
**Author:** ![Zagadka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zagadka/32/7272_2.png) [@Zagadka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zagadka)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timing-of-the-new-terror-warnings/247313/24 "2004-05-28T00:32:13Z")
> [@cmason32](#): > > Does anyone think that the new terror warnings are politcally motivated? The Bush Administration? Use something inappropriate as political motivation? UNHEARD OF. O\_o I can see Bush now… “So, um, we have credible intelligence - I mean, not the credible intelligence from Iraq, or the credible intelligence that has been saying the same thing every month for the past 3 years, but really credible intelligence, I even had the British look at it, and they said it was credible - anyway, we have credible intelligence that some time between now and the election, there may or may not be a terrorist attack possibly by Al Qaeda located maybe in this hemisphere targetting some people. So just know, that, like, we are on the lookout, and we know about these plots, and feel safe. We’re onto you, Osama. Good night, America, God bless.” Then **Shodan** utters a quick prayer to bless the President, curls up with his American flag blanket, and falls asleep, and thus ends another day in Freedomland. ---
**Author:** ![iamme99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/57b2e6/32.png) [@iamme99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamme99)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timing-of-the-new-terror-warnings/247313/25 "2004-05-28T01:30:01Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > As a country, we have been lied to incessantly by our presidents and politicians at least since Truman, with some serious ramping up starting with Nixon. Once politicians discovered ‘spin’ and how to manipulate the public through the media, it was (and continues to be) a gravy train for them. > > I have no doubt that Ashcroft’s little spiel is at least in part politically driven and directed by the White House. I have no belief in coincidence when it comes to the relentless pursuit of power. A cowering public is easily manipulated; fear makes people docile. > > It’s become nearly impossible to distinguish the lies from sincerity. It seems the mentality these days is that if one tells a lie with enough sincerity, and repeats it often enough, it will become a truth. Or at least a plausible enough lie to be acceptable to the majority of voters. Good points. But we need to keep in mind that only those who ALLOW themselves to be manipulated can be. As has been said across a number of threads here over time, we get the leaders we deserve. Educate yourself by getting your information form a wide variety of sources and and you’ll have a good chance to stay ahead of the manipulators. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timing-of-the-new-terror-warnings/247313/26 "2004-05-28T02:47:45Z")
> [@](#): > > No matter what happens, the people that think that GWB eats freshly harvested infant hearts for breakfast will find something to complain about. Hold the infant hearts for now. What I complain about is the general incompetence and unbelievable arrogance of this administration. ---
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timing-of-the-new-terror-warnings/247313/27 "2004-05-28T02:57:29Z")
I would expect a spike in talks close to the election, especially one as important as this. Remember, 9/11 happened on the day of the NYC Democratic primary. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timing-of-the-new-terror-warnings/247313/28 "2004-05-28T03:33:56Z")
> [@](#): > > Remember, 9/11 happened on the day of the NYC Democratic primary. That’s different, it was a coincidence. No way was Al Qaeda interested in the NYC mayoral election, and if anything it meant there were fewer people in the Towers when the planes hit. ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timing-of-the-new-terror-warnings/247313/29 "2004-05-28T03:53:49Z")
Al quida have done their job. A state of fear in the USA is being perpetuated by the media and government. This is the real terror - this is 365 days a year terror. Al quida et al simply needs to feed to pigeons with chatter. If things return to the good old days (pre S11) when the CIA and FBI did their job and caught the baddies without much attention from the media, then al quida would have something to worry about. Of course the warnings are politically motivated. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timing-of-the-new-terror-warnings/247313/30 "2004-05-28T04:11:59Z")
> [@antechinus](#): > > This is the real terror - this is 365 days a year terror. Anybody here actually terrified? At this point, changes in the alert system are at most a nuisance. There’s NEVER any specific intelligence, nobody can do anything, and nothing has ever come of these warnings- so I think most people are just resigned to hearing about this every so often. > [@](#): > > Al quida et al simply needs to feed to pigeons with chatter. Yes, nobody will notice if they don’t actually attack or anything. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timing-of-the-new-terror-warnings/247313/31 "2004-05-28T11:58:51Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Anybody here actually terrified? At this point, changes in the alert system are at most a nuisance. There’s NEVER any specific intelligence, nobody can do anything, and nothing has ever come of these warnings- so I think most people are just resigned to hearing about this every so often. OK Terror is a very strong word - just that you hear so much of it lately that its meaning is somewhat diluted. I certainly get the impression though that it is more an nuisance - with almost every news program having an item on terrorists out to get the USA. Do you think there is an elevated level of fear in the US? > [@](#): > > Yes, nobody will notice if they don’t actually attack or anything. :rolleyes: No, I don’t disagree that it would be wrong to say it is false that somebody will not notice if they don’t attack nothing (or something for that matter). :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![cmason32](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@cmason32](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmason32)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timing-of-the-new-terror-warnings/247313/32 "2004-05-28T18:09:49Z")
Here’s an interesting aspect to this story: [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61742-2004May27.html](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61742-2004May27.html) > [@](#): > > Some allies of the Department of Homeland Security within the Bush administration and members of Congress criticized Attorney General John D. Ashcroft yesterday for issuing terrorist threat warnings at a news conference on Wednesday, contending he failed to coordinate the information with the White House and with Homeland Security, which has the job of releasing threat warnings. > > With FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III by his side, Ashcroft said at a news conference two days ago that “credible intelligence, from multiple sources, indicates that al Qaeda plans to attempt an attack on the United States in the next few months. . . . This disturbing intelligence indicates al Qaeda’s specific intention is to hit the U.S. hard.” He added that the information has been “corroborated on a variety of levels.” > > Under the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and Bush administration rules, only the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can publicly issue threat warnings, and they must be approved in a complex interagency process involving the White House. Administration officials sympathetic to Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said he was not informed Ashcroft was going to characterize the threat in that way – an assertion that Justice officials deny. Makes you wonder if Ashcroft merely went out on his own. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timing-of-the-new-terror-warnings/247313/33 "2004-05-28T20:40:30Z")
> [@](#): > > OK Terror is a very strong word - just that you hear so much of it lately that its meaning is somewhat diluted. That’s exactly the point. All the warnings and the news coverage have served mostly to make what used to be terror into background noise. > [@](#): > > I certainly get the impression though that it is more an nuisance - with almost every news program having an item on terrorists out to get the USA. Of course the news features terrorists. How could it not? You fingered the news media for ‘perpetuating a state of fear,’ but I’m not sure what they’re doing other than just covering the news in that respect. > [@](#): > > Do you think there is an elevated level of fear in the US? Depends on what you mean elevated from. Higher than a few months ago? No. Higher than before September 11th? Of course. I would say in general, there’s been a downward slope in people’s nervousness about terrorism over the last 32 months. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timing-of-the-new-terror-warnings/247313/34 "2004-05-29T14:51:04Z")
> [@iamme99](#): > > Good points. But we need to keep in mind that only those who ALLOW themselves to be manipulated can be. As has been said across a number of threads here over time, we get the leaders we deserve. Educate yourself by getting your information form a wide variety of sources and and you’ll have a good chance to stay ahead of the manipulators. In an ideal world, we would all read widely, weigh the options and be thoughtful and prudent in our decisions. There is a large contingent of droolers out there with voting cards, however, who get all their opinions from Rush or Al, and read no further than the advertising on the side of Unser’s car. Educating ourselves is not enough, when there are multitudes who just don’t give a damn. I’m beginning to think it will take nothing short of some sort of revolution in this country to get us back on track. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timing-of-the-new-terror-warnings/247313.md?page=1)