The Next Attack

"The next attack is coming," said Cheney to his men / "And if it doesn't, we can make one happen again." - David Rovics

Well, it's almost October - are we surprised yet?

The greatest surprise would be no surprise, but I don't think we'll be so lucky. For what it's worth, the accuracy of the following is disputed by the Department of Justice - a spokesperson for Ashcroft says his conference call was merely a "pep talk" - but I think it's worthwhile to take a look at this:

Wednesday, September 22, 2004 9:41 AM

Subject: Fwd: Terrorist attack on US Soil is Imminent

At the meeting of the Southern District of the Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council (ATAC) that was held yesterday in Houston, US Attorney Michael Shelby informed the group that a terrorist attack of 09/11/01 proportions was going to be carried out on US soil within the next 6 weeks.

Mr. Shelby stated that on 09/13/04, US Attorney General John Ashcroft, had a conference call with all 93 US Attorneys, an event which is extremely rare. The US Attorneys were informed that without a doubt, an attack was going to be perpetrated in the US within the next 6 weeks, prior to the elections. Mr. Shelby urgently requested that all law enforcement be aware of any situation that may be out of the ordinary and report the activity immediately. Mr. Shelby also requested that we get the word out to patrol officers and detectives to talk to their informants and report anything odd or remotely suspicious. Mr. Shelby ended this warning by saying that unless we get a bit of "luck" and the attack can be detected and prevented, that another attack of 9/11 scale will be carried out.

Please disseminate to all of your law enforcement contacts ASAP.

Incredible, how some people can speak with such assurance about something for which they claim only non-specific knowledge.

My intuition tells me to begin looking for Bushista signs and wonders come mid-October. It needs to be close enough to voting day for Bush to still enjoy a terror bounce. And my informed paranoia tells me to look for an attack in California, perhaps nuclear, biological or chemical, and probably San Francisco. I don't think it was for Ken Lay alone that the Last Action Hero was installed as Governor. And I haven't forgotten Jeb Bush's remark, "It looks like the people of San Francisco are an endangered species.... Did I just say that out loud?"

The election will not be suspended. Why would it? In the weeks immediately following an attack, Bush's approval rating will be at least in the mid-60s. Remember how the Socialist victory in Spain following the Madrid bombing was spun as a "victory for the terrorists"? You can be sure that won't be allowed to happen in the Land of the Free.

And oh, the attack will be called the work of Iran, and airstrikes before election day can be expected.

That's my idea of a likely scenario, for what it's worth. Which I hope isn't much. But I never said I was an optimist.

If they are going to "make one happen again," we should look for some pre-9/11 tells: things like spikes of unusual stock and money activity; large troop and materiel movements; sudden changes to the travel plans of senior officials. And we should have our VCRs cued up with blank tapes, to record the messy living record before it's erased by the shiny official narrative.

Good luck out there, fellow Useless Eaters.