The nexus of politics and terror

February 21, 2008
The nexus of politics and terror

Transcript: OLBERMANN: Our third story on the COUNTDOWN: The nexus of politics and terror, again. After several days in which he had kept his hysteria in check and the conservative bastions like Kato Institute and "The Washington Times" insisted he had credibility on this issue of Chicken Little. President Bush lost it anew this afternoon on his flight home from Liberia. It's the so-called Protect America Act which is not yet been renewed by the House because the president first refused a temporary extension of it and then, refused the permanent extension that does not include immunity for the telecom companies who helped him break the law. "If we do not give liability protection to those who are helping us, they won't help us," he said today. "And if they don't help us, there will be no program. And if there's no program, America is more vulnerable." Mr. Bush then presented two comparatively new "red herrings". "These companies are going to be subject to multi-billion dollar lawsuits by trial lawyers, plaintiffs' attorneys and it's going to drive them away from helping us—unless they get liability protection—prospective and retroactive." So, it's official, this is not just about laws they broke in the past, it's about laws they will break in the future. Plus: The suits against the telecoms where mostly by outfits like ACLU, with lawyers volunteering their time. So, you can drop that money-making crap, too.

Pakistan is now the central front in America's war on terror

February 8, 2008
Pakistan is now the central front in America's war on terror

WASHINGTON — A new generation of "very battle-hardened" young Islamic militants is destabilizing nuclear-armed Pakistan, and the country's U.S.-backed military is nowhere near ready to conduct major operations against it, senior American intelligence officials said Friday.

The militants have expanded their violent campaign from Pakistan's ungoverned tribal areas to "Pakistan proper" and they killed more people last year than they did in all the years from 2001 to 2006 combined, said the officials, speaking in testimony to Congress and in interviews.

UK drops 'war on terror'

July 22, 2007
UK drops 'war on terror'

What had just been narrowly averted, he said, was not a new jihadist act of war but instead a criminal act. As if to underscore the point, Brown instructed his ministers that the phrase "war on terror" was no longer to be used and, indeed, that officials were no longer even to employ the word "Muslim" in connection with the terrorism crisis.

In remarks to reporters, Brown's new home secretary, Jacqui Smith, articulated the basic message. "Let us be clear," she said, "terrorists are criminals, whose victims come from all walks of life, communities and religions."

Bush 2004 - War On Terror:"I don’t think you can win it."

A blast from the past
Sept. 2, 2004
Bush 2004 - War On Terror:"I don’t think you can win it."

Lauer: You said to me a second ago, one of the things you'll lay out in your vision for the next four years is how to go about winning the war on terror. That phrase strikes me a little bit. Do you really think we can win this war on terror in the next four years?

President Bush: I have never said we can win it in four years.

Lauer: So I'm just saying can we win it? Do you see that?

President Bush: I don't think you can win it. But I think you can create conditions so that those who use terror as a tool are less acceptable in parts of the world — let's put it that way.

Military and diplomatic analysts attack Bush lies

April 8, 2007
Military and diplomatic analysts attack Bush lies

WASHINGTON - It's become President Bush's mantra, his main explanation for why he won't withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq anytime soon.

In speech after speech, in statement after statement, Bush insists that "this is a war in which, if we were to leave before the job is done, the enemy would follow us here."

The line, which Bush repeated Wednesday in a speech to troops at California's Fort Irwin, suggests a chilling picture of warfare on America's streets.

But is it true?

Military and diplomatic analysts say it isn't. They accuse Bush of exaggerating the threat that enemy forces in Iraq pose to the U.S. mainland.

"The president is using a primitive, inarticulate argument that leaves him open to criticism and caricature," said James Jay Carafano, a homeland security and counterterrorism expert for the Heritage Foundation, a conservative policy organization. "It's a poor choice of words that doesn't convey the essence of the problem - that walking away from a problem doesn't solve anything."