Thursday, July 08, 2004
Bring on the Loaded Dice
The New Republic is reporting that the Bush administration has been pressuring Pakistan to devote more resources to hunting the Wicked Osama and other leading Al Qaeda figures. They've pushed the Pakistanis like this before, but this time, there's a twist. An official with Pakistani intelligence told the magazine that the administration said it would like to see captures of high-value targets during the last 10 days of July--and preferably the 26th, 27th, or 28th of July, which happen to be the first three days of the Democratic National Convention. (The Progress Report has more.)
So much for not using the war on terror for political purposes. Match that with Secretary of Doom Tom Ridge's latest nonspecific "go about your business normally but prepare to die" terror update today, and there's no swallowing the sick feeling that Bush knows in a fair fight against Kerry/Edwards he's got no chance, so he's got to rig the game--even if it means people get killed.
Recommended Reading: From Middle East analyst Stephen Zunes, an examination of the power of Christian Zionists in shaping America's relations with Israel and policies in the Middle East. They're not merely influential in shaping Bush's Israel policy--their views are Bush's policy.
The New Republic is reporting that the Bush administration has been pressuring Pakistan to devote more resources to hunting the Wicked Osama and other leading Al Qaeda figures. They've pushed the Pakistanis like this before, but this time, there's a twist. An official with Pakistani intelligence told the magazine that the administration said it would like to see captures of high-value targets during the last 10 days of July--and preferably the 26th, 27th, or 28th of July, which happen to be the first three days of the Democratic National Convention. (The Progress Report has more.)
So much for not using the war on terror for political purposes. Match that with Secretary of Doom Tom Ridge's latest nonspecific "go about your business normally but prepare to die" terror update today, and there's no swallowing the sick feeling that Bush knows in a fair fight against Kerry/Edwards he's got no chance, so he's got to rig the game--even if it means people get killed.
Recommended Reading: From Middle East analyst Stephen Zunes, an examination of the power of Christian Zionists in shaping America's relations with Israel and policies in the Middle East. They're not merely influential in shaping Bush's Israel policy--their views are Bush's policy.
