War on Terror
BUSH MISLEADS ON OSAMA BIN LADEN
At last night's debate President Bush claimed that, contrary to Sen.
John Kerry's assertion, he never said he was "not that concerned" about
Osama Bin Laden. Bush chastised Kerry saying, "Gosh, I don't think I
ever said I'm not worried about Osama bin Laden. That's kind of one of
those exaggerations."[1] Bush was completely wrong.
At March 13, 2002 press conference, Bush said "So I don't know where he
[Osama Bin Laden] is. You know, I just don't spend that much time on
him...I truly am not that concerned about him."[2] Watch the video of
Bush's remarks: http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3453460&l=62685
Sources:
1. "Transcript of Debate Between Bush and Kerry, With Domestic Policy
the Topic," New York Times, 10/13/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3453460&l=62686.
2. "President Bush Holds Press Conference," The White House, 3/13/02,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3453460&l=62687.
RIDGE AND RICE POLITICIZE SECURITY
Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge told reporters, "we don't do
politics in the Department of Homeland Security."[1] But a new analysis
by the Associated Press reveals that the travel schedule of Ridge and
other top DHS officials are influenced by political considerations.
According to the report, in the past seven months nearly three-fifths
of Ridge's travel has been to "the 17 states considered the most hotly
contested in the presidential election."[2] In the same time period, 22
senior officials "did nearly half their public events in those 17
states."[3] Sue Mencer, who heads the Office of Domestic Preparedness for
DHS, recently traveled to Ohio - a key battleground state - "to deliver a
grant that had been awarded weeks earlier."[4]
National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice has also "traveled across
the country making speeches in key battleground states, including Oregon,
Washington, North Carolina and Ohio."[5] In the next few days "she also
plans speeches in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Florida."[6] White House
Press Secretary Scott McClellan denied the appearances were politically
motivated.[7]
Sources:
1. "Remarks by Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge," Department of
Homeland Security, 8/03/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3453460&l=64340.
2. "Homeland Security officials heading to the political battleground
states," Associated Press, 10/20/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3453460&l=64341.
3. Ibid, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3453460&l=64341.
4. Ibid, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3453460&l=64341.
5. "Rice Hitting the Road to Speak," Washington Post, 10/20/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3453460&l=64342.
6. Ibid, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3453460&l=64342.
7. "Press Gaggle by Scott McClellan," The White House, 10/20/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3453460&l=64343.
Bush's Vacation before 9/11
President Bush is taking the entire month of August
off. Bush said today he thinks it is important for a president to spend
time away from Washington. Or at least that's what Dick Cheney told him.
Jay Leno
Now we're cracking down?
From Reuters:
"The United States on Friday ordered a freeze on assets of the militant
group led by Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, which has claimed
responsibility for a series of bombings, kidnappings and beheadings in
Iraq."
I know they say, 'slow to anger', but ...
“This war has become a recruitment film for Al Qaeda.
If anything, the Bush people have emboldened our enemy. I had an FBI
guy tell me – that we interviewed – he said, “This war has become a
recruitment film for Al Qaeda.” There were just a few hundred Al Qaeda
before September 11th. Now that we’re in this war, there are thousands
of Al Qaeda. And we are less safe in this world. And Bush has made us
less safe. And so, I think that’s really the truth about what’s going
on. --Michael Moore on Bill Maher's show Oct.8,2004
Halliburton and Iran
Iran: Indeed, Halliburton
has said it does about $30 million to $40 million in oilfield service
business in Iran annually through a subsidiary, Halliburton Products
and Services Ltd. The company says that the subsidiary fully complies
with US sanctions laws, but the matter currently is under investigation
by a federal grand jury in Houston.
From Factcheck.org
Bush's Cybersecurity Chief Resigns
Friday, October 01, 2004
WASHINGTON — The government's cybersecurity chief has abruptly resigned after one year with the Department of Homeland Security (search),
confiding to industry colleagues his frustration over what he considers
a lack of attention paid to computer security issues within the agency.
Amit Yoran (search), a former software executive from Symantec Corp., informed the White House about his plans to quit as director of the National Cyber Security Division (search) and
made his resignation effective at the end of Thursday, effectively
giving a single's day notice of his intentions to leave.
Yoran said Friday he "felt the timing was right to pursue other
opportunities." It was unclear immediately who might succeed him even
temporarily. Yoran's deputy is Donald "Andy" Purdy, a former senior
adviser to the White House on cybersecurity issues.
Yoran has privately described frustrations in recent months to
colleagues in the technology industry, according to lobbyists who
recounted these conversations on condition they not be identified
because the talks were personal.
As cybersecurity chief, Yoran and his division — with an $80 million
budget and 60 employees — were responsible for carrying out dozens of
recommendations in the Bush administration's "National Strategy to
Secure Cyberspace," a set of proposals to better protect computer
networks.
Yoran's position as a director — at least three steps beneath
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge — has irritated the technology
industry and even some lawmakers. They have pressed unsuccessfully in
recent months to elevate Yoran's role to that of an assistant
secretary, which could mean broader authority and more money for
cybersecurity issues.
"Amit's decision to step down is unfortunate and certainly will set
back efforts until more leadership is demonstrated by the Department of
Homeland Security to solve this problem," said Paul Kurtz, a former
cybersecurity official on the White House National Security Council and
now head of the Washington-based Cyber Security Industry Alliance, a
trade group.
Under Yoran, Homeland Security established an ambitious new cyber
alert system, which sends urgent e-mails to subscribers about major
virus outbreaks and other Internet attacks as they occur, along with
detailed instructions to help computer users protect themselves.
It also mapped the government's universe of connected electronic
devices, the first step toward scanning them systematically for
weaknesses that could be exploited by hackers or foreign governments.
And it began routinely identifying U.S. computers and networks that
were victims of break-ins.
Yoran effectively replaced a position once held by Richard Clarke (search),
a special adviser to President Bush, and Howard Schmidt, who succeeded
Clarke but left government during the formation of the Department of
Homeland Security to work as chief security officer at eBay Inc.
Yoran cofounded Riptech Inc. of Alexandria, Va., in March 1998,
which monitored government and corporate computers around the world
with an elaborate sensor network to protect against attacks. He sold
the firm in July 2002 to Symantec for $145 million and stayed on as
vice president for managed security services.