- The Bush regime is now working out procedures for postponing
the coming November general election. This is totally unprecedented --
even in 1864, in the midst of the Civil War, the Lincoln vs. McClellan
presidential contest took place according to the schedule established by
the Constitution and relevant statutes. This represents further planning
for a cold coup designed to perpetuate the power of the current gaggle
of discredited neocon ideologues and their Wall Street backers.
-
- In a shamelessly partisan move, Homeland Secretary Ridge
today announced that al Qaeda has advanced its preparation for a terror
attack in the US designed to disrupt the Democratic process. One wonders
how Ridge is able to know so much about the specific intent of the terror
attack he says is coming, in particular the part about the intent to disrupt
the election. Ridge said during his press conference that we are now in
a "post-Madrid" atmosphere. He also confirmed that planning for
postponing the general election is now in full swing.
Ridge's press conference marked a crude new low in the shameless terror
demagogy of the Bush regime. Even Democratic politicians and CNN talking
heads were able to surmise that this outing was largely aimed at deflating
the five-point approval bounce which Kerry had acquired by naming Edwards.
It is clear that the Bush campaign will rely on a relentless pounding of
the electorate with terror warnings, alerts, and alarms over the next four
months -- in the first place as psychological warfare to strengthen the
regime. At a deeper level, the option of an actual ABC/WMD terror attack
at least one order of magnitude greater than 9-11 must be reckoned with,
possibly as an October Surprise, or perhaps sooner.
Finally, the Congress is looking into the June 9 incident in which a small
plane lacking a transponder caused the panicked stampeding of the entire
US Congress, including Senators, Congressmen, and staff. This was a transparent
ploy to terrorize the Congress, where both parties have lately been giving
Bush some embarrassing moments over Abu Ghraid, the national debt, the
budget, and related issues.
- Feds Eye Postponement Of November Elections
- Associated Press
- July 1 2004
-
- WASHINGTON -- The government
needs to establish guidelines for canceling or rescheduling elections if
terrorists strike the United States again, says the chairman of a new federal
voting commission.
Such guidelines do not currently exist, said DeForest B. Soaries, head
of the voting panel.
- Soaries was appointed to the federal Election Assistance
Commission last year by President Bush.
Soaries said he wrote to National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge in April to raise the concerns.
"I am still awaiting their response," he said. "Thus far
we have not begun any meaningful discussion." Spokesmen for Rice and
Ridge did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Soaries noted that Sept. 11, 2001, fell on Election Day in New York City
-- and he said officials there had no rules to follow in making the decision
to cancel the election and hold it later.
Event! s in Spain, where a terrorist attack shortly before the March election
possibly influenced its outcome, show the need for a process to deal with
terrorists threatening or interrupting the Nov. 2 presidential election
in America, he said.
"Look at the possibilities. If the federal government were to cancel
an election or suspend an election, it has tremendous political implications.
If the federal government chose not to suspend an election it has political
implications," said Soaries, a Republican and former secretary of
state of New Jersey.
"Who makes the call, under what circumstances is the call made, what
are the constitutional implications?" he said. "I think we have
to err on the side of transparency to protect the voting rights of the
country."
Soaries said his bipartisan, four-member commission might make a recommendation
to Congress about setting up guidelies.
"I'm hopeful that there are some proposals already being floated.
If there are,! we're not aware of them. If there are not, we will probably
try to put one on the table," he said.
Soaries also said he's met with a former New York state elections director
to discuss how officials there handled the Sept. 11 attacks from the perspective
of election administration. He said the commission is getting information
from New York documenting the process used there.
"The states control elections, but on the national scale where every
state has its own election laws and its own election chief, who's in charge?"
he said.
Soaries also said he wants to know what federal officials are doing to
increase security on Election Day. He said security officials must take
care not to allow heightened security measures to intimidate minority voters,
but that local and state election officials he's talked to have not been
told what measures to expect.
"There's got to be communication," he said, "between law
enforcement and election officials in preparat! ion for November."
- Ridge Warns of Election Terror Plot
-
- Associated Press
- By Katherine Pfleger Shrader
- Associated Press Writer
- July 8 2004
-
- WASHINGTON - The United States
is tightening security in the face of a steady stream of intelligence indicating
al-Qaida may seek to mount an attack aimed at disrupting elections, the
White House and Homeland Security officials said Thursday.
-
- Ridge Warns of Election Terror Plot (AP Video)
-
- The Department of Homeland Security is addressing the
threat and has efforts under way to "ramp up security," White
House press secretary Scott McClellan said.
-
- Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said the Bush administration
based its decision to bolster security on "credible" reports
about al-Qaida's plans, coupled with the pre-election terror attack in
Spain earlier this year and recent arrests in England, Jordan and Italy.
-
- "This is sobering information about those who wish
to do us harm," Ridge said. "But every day we strengthen the
security of our nation."
-
- U.S. officials do not have specific knowledge about where,
when or how such an attack would take place, but the CIA (news - web sites),
FBI (news - web sites) and other agencies "are actively working to
gain that knowledge," Ridge said.
-
- Notwithstanding the heightened air of vigilance, the
government is not raising its color-coded terror alert status, he said.
-
- A continuing stream of intelligence, including nuggets
of information gleaned from sources including militant-linked Web sites,
indicates an attack is being planned, said a senior intelligence official,
speaking on condition of anonymity. Plans for such an attack are believed
to be near completion, the official said, echoing what officials said earlier
in the summer before the Memorial Day weekend.
- When asked if the threat is considered higher at the
political conventions this summer or as the nation gets closer to the presidential
election in early November, the official said concerns are high from this
point in time forward.
-
- In addition to ramping up security at the conventions
in Boston and New York, authorities have begun working through the process
of how to secure the thousands of polling sites that will be used around
the country this fall, said another senior intelligence official, also
speaking on condition of anonymity.
-
- "We have briefed the campaigns, both campaigns -
the Kerry-Edwards campaign as well as the Bush-Cheney campaign - about
the security measures that are being put in place for those conventions
in New York and Boston," said White House press secretary Scott McClellan.
-
- Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist told reporters that
Americans should not expect a major announcement on homeland security any
time soon, indicating that the nation's threat level could remain at its
"elevated" level.
-
- "There's, obviously, no reason for panic, or paralysis,"
Frist said after a briefing for senators on intelligence matters. "The
country is at some increased risk between now and the time of the presidential
election. It's important for people to be aware of that."
-
- "What is clear is that law enforcement has generally
been notified. ... There are enhanced activities on behalf of law enforcement
around the country to engage in deterrence and prevention," he said.
-
- In April, a working group made up of representatives
from agencies that touch on law enforcement, homeland security and intelligence
was established to deal with a series of events through the election that
may be attractive targets for terrorists, including the presidential nominating
conventions.
-
- Senior administration officials and counterterrorism
experts view the coming months as a time to increase vigilance out of concern
that Islamic militants may try to replicate the political success they
had in Spain with coordinated pre-election train bombings.
-
- Nearly 200 died in the March attack, and the prime minister's
ruling Popular Party lost to a rival who promised a pullout of Spanish
troops from Iraq.
-
- Elaborate plans are already in the works to protect the
Republican and Democratic party conventions in New York and Boston, which
have been classified as National Security Special Events.
-
- With the designation - a concept that evolved from the
1996 Summer Olympics (news - web sites) in Atlanta - comes federal funds,
increased preparations and heightened security.
-
- http://globalresearch.ca/articles/TAR407B.html
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