Jimmy Higgins

Raising the alert level after missing two previous attacks
To be honest, this is the first time I've felt there is a reason to think an attack could happen. Time will tell. The last three attacks (Bali, Moracco, Saudi Arabia) have been 100% safe for Continental Americans. Of course this could be more CYA than an actual alert, but my ears a bit higher now. Hopefully all will go well.

Grumpy

I think they were shamed into raising the alert level. We were hearing this morning that the FBI worried about Al Qaeda attacks "in the US or overseas" (only in two places? whew), and then we started asking, Why still Code Yellow?

So Tom Ridge goes, You want Orange? I got your Orange right here!

(Meanwhile, people are being killed and fed to their families in inter-tribal fighting in eastern D.R. Congo. Now *that's* terror.)

Hubble head

So who wants to bet that nothing happens THIS time around?

I'd guess we might see another attempt at suicide bombing in the Phillipines but I strongly doubt here.

Vegas Odds:
US 100 to 1
Phillipines 1 to 1
Saudi Arabia 50 to 1
Iraq 10 to 1
Israel 2 to 1
Europe 10 to 1
UK 5 to 1

Amaranth

Call me crazy, but the whole color system seems like a simplistic scam. It's a quick, efficient, easy way to convince the lowest common denominator of the public that the government is protecting us. It will never go to red, because that would cause panic, and it will likely not ever drop below yellow while Bush remains in office, as that would mean the government isn't looking out for us anymore.

*shrug* I worked with the FAA's Civil Aviation Security division before and after 9/11. The color system never meant jack to us.

Amaranth

paul30

I think all this Alert Status stuff is simply designed to keep people from looking at the actual problems inside the US, and dealing with the root causes of terrorism outside the US. These causes come almost entirely from US policiy--designed to help large corporations by supporting repressive governments, disallowing democracy in those countries, enriching the few by the labor of the many.

The Dept. of Homeland Security is actually a Dept. of Homeland Insecurity. It is the Always Cry Wolf Dept.

Think of how many times they have had "credible" evidence there WOULD BE a terrorist attack: at the Winter Olympics, on the Golden Gate Bridge, during the NBA playoffs, during the war on Iraq, go buy duct-tape and plastic sheets, etc., etc., etc.

Not being dummies, the American people have mostly and wisely begun to ignore this.

In a climate of fear--which is what Bush wants--any outcome will serve his purposes. If there is a terrorist attack, he will say, "Ha! I told you so! Give up your freedoms." If there is no terrorist attacks--as there have yet been none in the US since 9/11 and anthrax--he will say, "We are only being prudent and looking out for your safety by making everyone paranoid and fostering a nation of snitches."

:banghead:

Koiyotnik

I hate it when it goes up to code orange. All of the poor transport trucks are backed up for 7+ hours, waiting to cross the border at the Ambassador Bridge. When going in to work today, they were backed up well onto the 401, which is at least 8 kilometres from the bridge.

Plus, it doesn't help that one isolated case of Mad Cow disease up in Northern Alberta is halting goods coming out of Toronto and Montreal.

Jimmy Higgins

Yeah, I'm pretty much resigned that once again the Admin has failed in predicting an attack. 3 have occurred since 9/11 and this was an attempt to save face. If nothing happens come Indy 500, nothing should.


I'm just wondering why no one is bitching about how poorly the Admin is predicting these attacks, of which there have been three, none, I think, during the "Orange" alert warning.

Jimmy Higgins

Better than the whole PEI potato scare. For "The land of the brave" we seem awfully squimish.

Hubble head

All things considered, Washington thinks Memorial Day Weekend is a great weekend to remind all those people getting together to do something fun that we are at war and they should be afraid.

But the terrorists have never chosen holidays or particularly massive crowds before so why now? WTC was a big target but not a big crowd, if you look at what it could have been. In the early stages some thought the toll would be over 20,000 -which it would have been if they chose to attack later in the afternoon.

Chatter, I think, is the partial recording of electronic conversations by our intelligence. Partial because the T's use freq-hopping with encryption (I wonder who gave those spy toys to them) and we can only get bits and pieces.

I've thought a lot about this and ultimately, IMHO, it makes very little sense to warn the public at all.

Jimmy Higgins

Yeah, honestly, if they knew enough about the attack, I'd rather them spare us the details and stop the bloody attack!

Though, it wouldn't be bad to know when we were at a greater risk, but starting and keeping the level at Yellow is a joke. We haven't been attacked in over 18 months. Why with the Yellow? That system is a joke.