What do you think of this recent generic warning? I can't think of any reason for this warning. It seems like it just gets the whole country and the stock market riled up. unncecessarily. What can the average person do about this? I wonder if it is just to keep the home pot boiling till they make some progress in the war in Afghanistan; if it is just to make it look like this time Ashcroft is on the ball.
glynch: Imagine the public backlash if something had it and the media learned Ashcroft knew of credible threats ahead of time. I don't think it's helpful so much as a way of covering himself. Can't really blame the guy.
Haven, I see your point about covering himself, after they ignored some warnings before 911. I also talked to a security guard at a building I entered earlier today. He was of the opinion that altogether the 100's of thousands of security guards might see something if they are on high alert. He was taking it seriously. I can't help also thinking two other things. After this happens numerous times it will be like the boy who called wolf. Also, if there was an incredibly danerous attack like an ebola virus attack etc. that they would be speculating about it less in the open and doing more in private. I could see this type of vague cya warnings about a very dangerous specific act leading to such chaos as people being trampled trying to escape a highrise or something.
I agree glynch, this generic warning has no point. If he knows something specific, he needs to cought it out. The conferences are getting harder, and harder to watch.
A friend of mine told me that some Muslims are very particular about SIGNS and Anniversaries. Well according to my friend, theres an alignment tomorrow with the Sun and Moon that only happens once a year and to the muslims its the time when allah is looking down on them. Thats why they said its probable that tomorrow is the day when the next attck will happen. Take it for what it's worth but I'm staying away from Malls and Bridges tomorrow.
I see the warning as nothing but acting responsibly. We are the eyes and ears now and even if we can't prevent another catastrophe we may be able to provide valuable information that traces back to terrorist cells and prevents further damage. He is also covering himself as we don't need to be COMPLETELY surprised again. Remember the reports that we had been forewarned by Israeli agents prior to 9/11? The "Boy Who Cried Wolf" Syndrome is certainly a real probability. We must be vigilant.
You're freaking me out, man. I'm staying away from the subways tomorrow. Does the government know about this "alignment?" I don't think Ashcroft would bother to warn all of us unless the threat was moderately serious. To me, he'll never be the "guy who cried wolf." Granted, he is probably hiding some vital knowledge from the general public (ok, more than probably). However, this non-disclosure of info makes what he does say in a press conference more important in my eyes. Yes, I know the fallacy of hanging onto every word a government offical utters. Control of information can lead to public manipulation. But I'm somewhat trusting of the U.S. government during this crisis (and their information and intentions). I don't subscribe to the "ignorance is bliss" theory, so every little tidbit Ashcroft drops is important to me (but not in that obsessed CNN junkie way). I take this high alert seriously, and I think everyone should, too. Having said that, though, the high alert won't deter me from going to Game 5 of the World Series on Thursday (if there is a game). We should all carry on normally, but be a little more cognizant of our surroundings.
LMAO! Are we talking about the same government that keeps track of every use of your social security number? The government knows you better than you know yourself. Its safe to assume the government knows!
It is past the point of "crying wolf" for me. When I saw some plane was stopped in DC on its way to Dallas, I didn’t even stop flipping the channels long enough to hear the explanation. I knew it was some sort of mix up. Sure enough a couple hours later on the news, I saw it was a false alarm. 1 month ago I would have been glued to cnn awaiting to see what was going on.
It's a damned if you do and damned if you don't kind of thing. As far as I know these "alerts" went out frequently to law enforcement when there was a perceived threat but since 9-11 they've made the alerts public instead of just to law enforcement. The alerts were always there I think, we just didn't know about them.
My friend heard this from her boyfriend who is a Law Enforcement official. Tomorrow is also the FIRST FULL MOON on Halloween in nearly 50 Years. Coincidence? I'm not taking chances.
My fear is that this "warning", really fuels the conspiracy nuts' idea that the government is doing it (in some fashion to scares us into submissionor something) These nuts can now say," See they told us something would happen, then they did it." I'm specifically refering to some very popular Cable acess Nut here in austin
That dude is crazy. Alex Jones I believe his name is. I haven't had the chance to listen or watch him since it happened, but I can only imagine the stupid ramblings coming from his mug. I remember him talking about the fact that they were using the old airport as a holding tank on New Years 2000 saying that the city was doing this as a government conspiracy to have new internment camps.
There is another possibility as to what prompted this. Apparently whenever Al Qaeda is about to conduct a major operation, they send a letter to the FBI, CIA, etc telling them that they are about to do something. These letters are apparently very vague, but always verifiable in authenticity in some way, and they're supposedly meant as a taunt. We got one for the Cole, the embassy bombings, the WTC, supposedly the anthrax, etc. Apparently, they often send one in and nothing happens (which I've heard is one reason we missed the WTC), but they also apparently send one in for real attacks... Maybe they got another letter? Or maybe they just registered a flurry of communications. Or maybe they have someone placed in Al Qaeda. Who knows? I for the life of me can't see the reason they'd want to issue these nonspecific warnings when everyone's already on heightened awareness. The only reason I can think of is covering a*s.
I wouldn't think Muslim terrorists would care about Halloween in memorializing anniversaries. The holiday is very western and wouldn't hold any significance for them... and it harldy holds any for us.
It's not about the Halloween holiday itself but the alignment of the sun, moon, and earth which happens to be on Halloween this year. This occurence happens once a year. Allah is supposed to be looking down on Earth that day.
They may not want to give specifics because it may blow the cover of our investigation. Suppose this is coming from an inside source. Blowing the cover could be fatal to our informant. Keep your eyes and ears open.
