May 14 2006
Why Not Help Al Qaeda Plan Attacks
Some people are so enamored with publicity they would do anything to get their mugs in front of a camera or their words in international news. Are they so obsessed with the attention they would not think twice (which means ‘not think at all’) about giving hints and ideas to America’s enemies? Well look at these ex-CIA employees out hawking their books and ponder the obvious question: why are they broadcasting these warnings instead of whispering them quietly to their buds on the inside:
The US and its Arab allies must expect an increase in attacks on their oil infrastructure in the next phase of the war by al-Qaeda targeting the US economy, the former Central Intelligence Agency official who was responsible for hunting down Osama bin Laden warns today.
Writing for the Jamestown Foundation, a Washington security think-tank, Michael Scheuer says Mr bin Laden’s intention to bankrupt the US economy by driving up world oil prices is very likely to lead to attacks inside the US by al-Qaeda, its allies or unrelated groups.
Houston’s gas refineries, oil import facilities and ship canal and pipeline systems, and the trans-Alaska pipeline are potential targets.
Al-Qaeda’s failed attack on Saudi Arabia’s Abqaiq facility on February 24, which led to a $2 a barrel jump in world oil prices, should also be seen as the beginning of a new and more systematic phase of targeting of the kingdom’s oil infrastructure. Two days after the attack, an al-Qaeda-affiliated cleric issued a religious justification for attacking oil processing installations.
The US and its Arab allies must expect an increase in attacks on their oil infrastructure in the next phase of the war by al-Qaeda targeting the US economy, the former Central Intelligence Agency official who was responsible for hunting down Osama bin Laden warns today.
OK, outside the fact this is one of the most obvious things on the planet to identify as a high risk target, what are these people presenting to the world? We know it. Are they hinting it the time is ripe now, while our defenses are shoddy? And are reporters such naive people that this is considered ‘news’?
Jimmy Rogers is an interesting business commentator. A graduate of Columbia. And, he’s written two books. INVESTMENT BIKER. (1990) And, ADVENTURE CAPITALIST. (2002). Basically, he took his Wall Street skills with him, as he made “two separate” adventures, traveling the globe. For the first book, 2 years in time. And, he purposely set out to visit different counties. And, to see how they were really doing.
In ADVENTURE CAPITALIST he went to some offbeat places. Most African countries. Down one coast and up the other. The Mideast. And, some of the stinky-stans. What got my attention was the details he gave to Ex-Pats. Living like potentates in some God forsaken place. Loving it there, where they would never make it here! And, it removes the mystery from a lot of the professional diplomats who leave the USA, still wearing our label. But if you met them, many wouldn’t make your list as friends. You’d be made uncomfortable.
E-pats. And, Ambassador Munchausen. How the CIA is home to some strange families. (And, how Efraim Halevy, in MAN IN THE SHADOWS) talks about the Israeli Mossad. That he heads for a number of years. What struck me in Halevy’s book was what he said about how one became a member of the Mossad. No positions were ever advertised. Hiring was strictly word-of-mouth. And, the “shop” contained “families.” To better keep secrets, I suppose?
Al-Qaida’s on the ropes. Up at Belmont, there’s copy and paste stuff from Wretchard. And, it says that it’s arriving, not by thunder, but by gradual acceptance, that the muslims, themselves, are becoming aware that the violence didn’t work as well as they had hoped. And, while it will take years, there’s a movement into the diplomatic sphere, from what we’ve been slugging out. (In other words our President’s vision has a way of taking hold. Given enough time.)
Will it be a strange world? Where those that sup at the international tables are rather scruffy when they fly back to the States? The whole apparatus is very, very weird. With exposures to us as only the tip of the iceberg.
But how did some of this stuff evolve? And, what’s end game?
And, why is it even important to think that those that run to the limelight are really big players? Just because they’re on TV? Cindy Sheehan’s on TV. At Little Green Footballs, and other places, she’s called Momma Moonbat.
Besides, how can we call it “news” when Katie Couric is promoted; and soon coming to C-BS. While Christianne Amanpour’s lost her contract?
As to “bubbles” and economies, the one I’m watching is China. Because it’s centralized. And, expanded to the limits.
While I’ve read Winston Churchill’s pieces, written in December 1929; where he talked at length of America’s resilience. He was here! (He lost money, too.) But he said what caught his attention was that we had the LAWS in place to clean up the mess. He wrote that you couldn’t contain human greed. So that “busts” were part of the system all governments had to consider. But where a parliament would fall, WE DID NOT.
You talk about what the TV does. I think the TV’s lost audience. That it’s like Vaudeville now. Thanks for the memories. But the hook came and slaughtered all the performers. While, prior to TV, during the 1940’s, the filmed black and white image had profound impact.
I was just a little girl. But I can remember my dad (who never went to movies), taking me to Broadway. Because he wanted to see the news reels. And, I remember those news reels, too. TV, today, does not have this impact! Back then the images didn’t disappear, either. They’d be replayed. What does TV replay today?
One of the things I read about WW1; again before the TV age. Is that the slaughter was awful. But in Europe there was such denial. And, so little news from the front, that it took about a decade to hit. And, then you got ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT.(Late 1920’s). And, Europe turned away from war. The strongest Pacifist movement was formed. Famous names. Bertrand Russell. Albert Einstein. While hitler used the 1930’s to turn germany into a war machine. Not unnoticed. Winston Churchill noticed. And, wrote. And, got tossed from government.
Why is it that democracies as a whole, and Winston Churchill in particular (if you’re to believe the comment attributed to Clementine), “always like to give the train in the station time to leave, first.” Before finally arriving for the trip.
Maybe, it just takes longer to reach so many different people within a democracy; where fears aren’t the motivating factor?
Former spooks are writing this “sky is falling” stuff because it sells books and always has.
Reporters are covering it as news because they’re under the impression that, as long as Bush is in the White House, the U.S. is an occupied country at best and an enemy country at worst.
The moonbats eat this stuff up because they think the 2000 and 2004 elections were stolen, and because they’re moonbats.
Efraim Halevy is Israeli. He headed the Mossad. And, his book is a strategic gem. Since he talks about how problems are solved by spooks; for instance when King Hussein of Jordan needed Israeli help to be heard in Washington.
Anyway, some people “pea sort” with moonbeams. Others, who love to read, and a voracious readers, know that some books are way better than others.
True, the Richard Clarke’s books bomb. But who buys them? Wasn’t there a wonderful photo of Mama Moonbat, sitting at a table without any customers? She thought she was at a book signing.
Meanwhile, the BUSINESS books by Jimmy Rogers are the BEST! Because he visited every single country he talks about. And, his trip took him to places around the globe. Where he is very insightful about each country’s business practices. And, you’d be surprised what you’d learn. NOTHING TO DO WITH MOONBATS AT ALL.