by marykmusic » Thu Mar 02, 2006 8:49 pm
There is no excuse.<br><br>I grew up in a household that was always aware of how bureoucracy works in emergencies; my stepdad was with the Red Cross. He tried to get on-site BEFORE a hurricane hit. But the organization isn't what it used to be, either.<br><br>Bush is being shown to the American public for being full of crap... I got the story right on my computer MSNBC home page.<br><br>But Wait-- There's More! Now you also get-- Port Security Paranoia! Brought to you by Bushco!<br><br><!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em> Warning Siren Went Unheeded on Port Deal <br> By Martin Schram <br> Scripps Howard News Service <br><br> Tuesday 28 February 2006 <br><br> We are focusing today on one sentence in a two-page US document officially known as number AFGP-2002-603856. It is a 2002 letter in which al Qaeda says that it has infiltrated United Arab Emirates security and other agencies. <br><br> It was a warning siren document that should have raised urgent concerns at the highest level of the US government. President Bush and his entire team initially dozed through the alarm and apparently expected we all would, too. They rushed to approve a bid by Dubai Ports World (a United Arab Emirates company) to buy a British firm that runs six major US ports without publicly addressing the obvious questions the document raises. <br><br> The document, a letter from the al Qaeda terrorist organization to the United Arab Emirates government, mainly warns UAE officials to stop arresting al Qaeda's "Mujahideen sympathizers." The second paragraph begins with a potentially chilling boast: "You are well aware that we have infiltrated your security, censorship, and monetary agencies along with other agencies that should not be mentioned." <br><br> This document was not exactly a tip top government secret. US officials could find and read it (in its original Arabic or English translation) in the files of various government counter-terrorism agencies. But you can find and read it too. Just check out the Web site of the Combating Terrorism Center at the US Military Academy at West Point and peruse the list of unclassified documents. It is the one that says at the top, "In the Name of Allah the Most Compassionate and Merciful," followed by a warning title, "Get the Idolaters out of Arab Island (Gulf Countries)." <br><br> Al Qaeda's boast that it had "infiltrated" the security and other agencies of the United Arab Emirates, raises all sorts of basic security questions: How can the United States be assured that al Qaeda has not infiltrated DP World or any UAE agency that oversees DP World? How many DP World officials enter ports DP World runs in other countries? Who would be in charge of security clearances for UAE personnel permitted to enter US ports? If al Qaeda operatives have infiltrated DP World or the UAE, could they launch a terrorist attack from inside a US port?</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> <br><br>Unless you've already read more than enough, the rest is <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/030206B.shtml" target="top">here.</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br><br>Bush is going down...<br><br>So is Cheney. News on TV ranks Cheney at 18% approval rating, a new record low. (No, I didn't watch it... y'all know how I feel about television! But I DO check out the occasional video on my computer.)<br><br>Are we really looking at the end of an era? Someone has bet us a one-pound organic dark chocolate bar that Hastert will be President before the next election... --MaryK <p></p><i></i>