Bratton: Beware the October terror attack
Barely two weeks left to go before this nation decides who should replace the worst president in U.S. history, and L.A.’s top police officer throws an ideological bomb into the room:
Al Quaeda may be planning a terrorist attack to somehow influence the U.S. elections, LAPD Chief William Bratton and co-author R.P. Eddy warned today in an op-ed in the New York Daily News …
This is a critical election for AlQaeda. The U.S.-led invasions of two Muslim countries during the Bush years and scandals such as Abu Ghraib have been aboon for Bin Laden’s demagoguery. He and other Islamists continually (and dishonestly) cite these wars as evidence of a U.S. war on Islam. That has helped create a steady stream of suicide bombers eager to destroy U.S. targets on their way to paradise.
Bin Laden is likely to believe that a President John McCain – who has jokingly sung of bombing Iran and who championed the troop surge in Iraq – is more likely to engender Muslim anger and resentment than would his opponent. Indeed, international polls, including those in Muslim countries, show striking support for Barack Obama.
Sorry, but what are the angles on this? Bratton’s been all over the world lately, including Scotland Yard but claims he’s not pushing to run another department.
So what exactly does Bratton hope to gain by broadcasting this theory into an overly-charged political environment instead of simply informing the feds, readying the LAPD and generally waiting in vigilant – if slightly paranoid – silence like the rest of us?
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Lunacy abounds this election.
What happened to not saying anything until there was a credible threat?
Someones grandstanding and using out a worn out stand that no one pays attention to anymore.
Sad state of affairs isn’t it.
Simple. If there is no terror attack, nobody notices Bratton’s wrong. But, if there is an attack, suddenly he seems like a genius. That’ll get him his next job.
Count on me coming back here 11/5 and pointing things out if there’s no attack.
Well there was this story today, and McCain’s odd spin on the whole thing. And while it’s probably bogus, I’m sure Bratton is thinking it’s better to be "prepared". Cops like to remind folks how nervous they should be.
I’m disappointed with Bratton on this. This kind of absurd speculation really seems to be below his intellectual level.
I’m betting he’s just setting himself up as a candidate for running the DHS when Obama’s in office. It’s a cheap way to make himself visible as an expert in terrorism. The more public he becomes on this topic the better his chances.
Clown.
[...] was it – oh, yesterday, when I wondered why the hell LAPD Chief William Bratton would yell “terrorism!” into a theater already mobbed with stressed-out, trigger-happy [...]
[...] But the fact that LAPD Chief William Bratton poured gas on the hellacious political wildfire by predicting a terrorist attack? [...]