wanna laugh? arianna explains the math behind the 10 foiled terror attacks

[faithnotgreed]

"more numbers that dont add up"
definitely worth reading

how weird is it when terror alerts are used more for punchlines than threats

excerpt:

In his never-ending attempt to link Iraq and 9/11, the president made the claim this week that America had no choice but to remain in Iraq, lest Al Qaeda be able to use it as a terrorist base. Gee, I’ve lost track, what is this now… White House Excuse for War #178?


And pardon me for asking, but didn’t Al Qaeda set up shop in Iraq only after we invaded? Just checking.
I’ve said before that when it comes to understanding how the war in Iraq is going, it’s all about the numbers. After parsing Bush’s big foreign policy address on Thursday, it’s clear the same can be said for the war on terror. So get out your al-Qaeda workbooks and let’s do the math…

Looking to bring back the Fear Factor that worked so well in the 2004 campaign, the president boldly declared that the U.S. and its partners “have disrupted at least ten serious al-Qaida plots since September 11 -- including three al-Qaida plots to attack inside the United States. We have stopped at least five more al-Qaida efforts to case targets in the United States or infiltrate operatives into our country.” Holy Moly -- that sounds impressive… and effective… and scary.

That is, until the details of exactly which “serious” plots the president was referring to came out. Hours after the speech, the White House released a helpful worksheet… and the experts started scratching their heads. Check out this L.A. Times article and see if you can’t hear the law enforcement officials quoted offering up a collective “Huh?”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/bush-on-terror-plots-mor_b_8522.html

[Historic NY]

1. Fuzzy math 101

<snip>
When asked why the White House would include so many alleged, vague, and seemingly half-baked schemes in a triumphant list of thwarted terrorist plots, yet another federal counter-terrorism official said: “Everyone is allowed to count in their own way.”

Especially if they are President of the United States. And have an approval rating of 37%.
<snip>


Yup fuzzy math.....thats it.

[faithnotgreed]

2. brought to you by the same people who count votes

"everyone is allowed to count in their own way"

[applegrove]

3. They needed the number "10" for Bush's speech. They know their

base will not look too deep into it. Or, if they are the part of the base who knowingly lie and blow smoke, they don't care.

Just like with wanting the war and implementing the attack on Iraq - they start out with what they want, and then they work the assumptions back from that.

Has nothing to do with reality.

[tabasco]

4. Did he count catching Billy Smith making prank calls ...

as thwarting a major terror attack?

I can't stand to watch idiot give a speech, but when I read about his stupid cliams, I thought he was simply catapulting the propaganda to the truly gullible.