2008-07-13 Overstating Our Fears

2008-07-13 Washington Post Glenn L. Carle \War on Terror\al Qaeda\CIA\Bush-Cheney administration http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/11/AR2008071102710.html Overstating Our Fears &ldquo;The threat from Islamic terrorism is no larger now than it was before Sept. 11, 2001.&rdquo;  The threat from Islamic terrorism is no larger now than it was before Sept. 11, 2001. Islamic societies the world over are in turmoil and will continue for years to produce small numbers of dedicated killers, whom we must stop. U.S. and allied intelligence do a good job at that; these efforts, however, will never succeed in neutralizing every terrorist, everywhere.

Why are these views so starkly at odds with what the Bush administration has said since the beginning of the "Global War on Terror"? This administration has heard what it has wished to hear, pressured the intelligence community to verify preconceptions, undermined or sidetracked opposing voices, and both instituted and been victim of procedures that guaranteed that the slightest terrorist threat reporting would receive disproportionate weight -- thereby comforting the administration's preconceptions and policy inclinations. Commentary:   
 * 2008-07-13 George Washington's blog