Chertoff says: "The sky is falling, the sky is falling"

Chicago Tribune staff reporter E.A. Torriero wrote:

"...U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in Chicago Tuesday that the nation faces a heightened chance of an attack this summer.

"'I believe we are entering a period this summer of increased risk,' Chertoff told the Chicago Tribune's editorial board in an unusually blunt and frank assessment of America's terror threat level.

"'Summertime seems to be appealing to them,' he said of al-Qaeda. 'We do worry that they are rebuilding their activities.'

"Still, Chertoff said there are not enough indications of an imminent plot to raise the current threat levels nationwide. And he indicated that his remarks were based on "a gut feeling" formed by past seasonal patterns of terrorist attacks, recent al-Qaeda statements, and intelligence he did not disclose."

"There is an assessment 'not of a specific threat, but of increased vulnerability,' he added.

"There have been reports already that suggest intelligence warnings at a similar level to the summer before Sept. 11, 2001 and that al-Qaeda may be mobilizing.

"In recent days, ABC news reported that a secret law enforcement report prepared for homeland security warns that al-Qaeda is preparing a 'spectacular' summer attack. On Tuesday, ABC News also reported that 'new intelligence suggests a small al-Qaeda cell is on its way to the United States, or may already be here.'"

Chertoff's "unusually blunt and frank assessment of America's terror threat level" comes at a very convenient time for the Bush administration. As more and more serious questions are being raised even among long-shuffling GOP loyalists, what's more effective than raising the fear level among the people. As Congress gets closer to another debate over Iraq, Chertoff dutifully provides scary grist for the ever-shrinking pro-war contingent.

One difference between Chicken Little and "Chicken Mike" is that Little really believed the sky was falling. But the real question isn't whether or not Al-Qaeda is still a threat, but why bring up these fears right now, "Just weeks [after], Arkansas Republican chairman Dennis Milligan,... said in an on-the-record interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: 'At the end of the day, I believe fully the president is doing the right thing, and I think all we need is some attacks on American soil like we had on [Sept. 11, 2001], and the naysayers will come around very quickly to appreciate not only the commitment for President Bush, but the sacrifice that has been made by men and women to protect this country.”

Since we already have substantial evidence that this administration has corrupted the Justice Department and its own medical/scientific advisers, how far a stretch is it to believe that Homeland Security is under the thumb of the White House "Axis of Evil" (Cheney, Rove and Bush).

Although, as I.F. Stone pointed out, "all governments lie." I don't think any other U.S. administration has as steadfastly acted to advance its own political interests at the expense of the U.S. people. From spreading lies about its opponents to lying to justify invading Iraq just in time to make Bush a "war president" during the 2004 campaign and to insist on continuing the occupation in order to get control of Iraqi oil for its Anglo-American oil company friends, nothing seems beyond these people.

Dishing out a new Al-Qaeda scare to feed the administration's needs is hardly out of step for a Bush-appointed cabinet secretary.