london plot roundup

john tirman offers "Six Lessons from the London Airline Bombing Plot":

• First, what stopped this plot was law enforcement. Law enforcement.
  
• Second, the conspiracy — if it resembles the London bombings of last summer — will likely be home-grown, another of the growing jihad "fashion" in Europe that comprises the new street gangs of this world. It is not a religious movement, it is not fundamentalism.
  
• Third, if al Qaeda was involved (allegedly from Pakistan), we can thank the failure of the war in Afghanistan and the cozying up to Musharraf to destroy them.
  
• Fourth, there was no involvement by any American-based “cells,” according the FBI Director Robert Mueller.
  
• Fifth, the plot again reveals how ill-equipped the U.S. Government has been in anticipating plausible attack scenarios and taking steps to prevent them. Liquid bombs were so hard to figure out?
  
• Sixth, and most important, we must end our involvement in Iraq and sharply refocus our presence in the region.

these are all important points, but the most important seem to be: this is NOT war, NOT global islamic fascism, and NOT a good knee-jerk response. these points need to be repeated at least as often as the words "cut and run" are issued from the lips of ken mehlman.

is it completely inconceivable that a candidate for national office will emerge in the next two years with the courage and tenacity to confront america with the fact that the global war on terror is in fact nothing of the sort, that it's largely an intelligence and law enforcement matter? rightwingers howled at john kerry for making this case two years ago; perhaps now that the winds of war in iraq have shifted a bit this truth will no longer seem so outlandish?

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glenn greenwald dispels utterly the notion that the british success somehow "proves" that this president simply must break the laws for our protection:

Bush supporters have been attempting to exploit the U.K. terrorist plot to bolster support for an array of extremist and lawless Bush policies -- from warrantless eavesdropping to torture -- even though there is not a shred of evidence that any of those policies played any role whatsoever, either in the U.S. or England, in impeding this plot.

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"fear and smear": william grieder for the nation on how terror is all bush has going for him:

So, once again in the run-up to a national election, we are visited with alarming news. A monstrous plot, red alert, high drama playing on all channels and extreme measures taken to tighten security.

The White House men wear grave faces, but they cannot hide their delight. It's another chance for Bush to protect us from those aliens with funny names, another opportunity to accuse Democrats of aiding and abetting the enemy.

This has worked twice before. It could work again this fall unless gullible Americans snap out of it. Wake up, folks, and recognize how stupid and wimpish you look.