Bending the Third Rail
Because We Should, We Can, We Do
Monday, January 22, 2007
Right ... On .... Time
I'm positively shocked at the timing of this ABC News release:
WASHINGTON, Jan. 22, 2007 — Mimicking the hijackers who executed the Sept. 11 attacks, insurgents reportedly tied to al Qaeda in Iraq considered using student visas to slip terrorists into the United States to orchestrate a new attack on American soil.

Lt. Gen. Michael D. Maples, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, recently testified that documents captured by coalition forces during a raid of a safe house believed to house Iraqi members of al Qaeda six months ago "revealed [AQI] was planning terrorist operations in the U.S."
Guess I'd better head over to the Home Deeepooohhhh and get me some duct tape ....

I promise you that when the details of this story come out we'll find that the real story is quite different than the headlines. First off, this "intelligence" is not new. The timing of the release of this "classified" info is completely in the hands of the Pentagon. Next, we'll find out that it was something like a club of 8 years olds who had written up their plans with crayons. But of course, by the time we find out the real story, it will be later in the news cycle and will be posted on page C15 of the newspaper.

Oy ....

Update: Here's the timing to which I'm referring:
Friday, Jan. 19, 2007: Previewing Tuesday night's State of the Union address, George W. Bush tells USA Today: "My point is going to be, what happens in Iraq matters to your security here at home."

Monday, Jan. 22, 2007: Sources tell ABC News that, in an "incident that has been dealt with at the highest levels of government," coalition forces discovered documents six months ago that suggest "insurgents reportedly tied to al-Qaida in Iraq considered using student visas to slip terrorists into the United States to orchestrate a new attack on American soil."
Afterall, you've gotta get all your props in place for the big speech.