It's the "new normal" start of the fall campaign season -- the heightened terror alert:
Government officials have been quietly stepping up counterterror efforts out of a growing concern that al Qaeda or similar organizations might try to capitalize on the spate of extremely high-profile events in the coming months, sources tell ABC News.
Security experts point to next month's Olympics as evidence that high-profile events attract threats of terrorism, like the one issued this past weekend by a Chinese Muslim minority group that warned of its intent to attack the Games.
Anti-terror officials in the U.S. cite this summer and fall's lineup of two major political parties' conventions, November's general election and months of transition into a new presidential administration as cause for heightened awareness and action.
This is what the Department of Homeland Security is quietly declaring a Period of Heightened Alert, or POHA, a time frame when terrorists may have more incentive to attack.
All snark aside, the government is right on this one -- certainly the Olympics have been a target for terrorism (in 1972 and again in 1996 -- remember Atlanta?) and so have the first year of new presidents, in 1993 and again in 2001. What's annoying is the way that the Bush administration politicized terror alerts leading up to the 2004 election. That makes it harder for people to take new terror alerts seriously -- even if there might be something to it.
Since 9/11 there has been no terrorist attacks on US soil. Thank you George W Bush. Remember this and remember it well; history will repeat itself and Al Qaeda will strike at us again shortly after the election to test our new president; hey it could even be a country like Iran that does something. If we listen to the wording of the liberals and say it's like a 3 bush term; the terrorist attack might actually be prevented. Or, at best McCain will have a solid response to whatever happens. Obama will put us back on September 10th stance and repeat the mistakes of Jimmy Carter. Never forget we are at war and we need a commander in chief.— thelastRepublicaninPhilly- thelastRepublicaninPhilly: Did you forget about the anthrax attacks? I know Republicans want to forget them but I know reality has a liberal bias.— Calvin Jones & the 13th Apostle
- "Since 9/11 there has been no terrorist attacks on US soil." -- GOPs love to claim this. And yet they also like to claim that there is eco-terrorism being committed by groups like ALF and ELF. You can't have it both ways.— Politburo
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- "Since 9/11 there has been no terrorist attacks on US soil." Apparently the first thing you forget as a republican is that correlation is not causality.— Bender
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Let the Republicans feel scared. They surrendered to terrorism a long time ago.- Democrats since 2000: whine whine whine whine whine whine whine whine whine whine whine whine whine whine. You had a chance to make a change in '04 and you trotted out John Kerry.— doorspj24
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- "Let the Republicans feel scared. They surrendered to terrorism a long time ago."....Why doesnt the marginalized minoritiy realize, it wasnt the surge that improved conditions in Iraq, it was the reduction in negatively biased news stories from the likes of the NYT....All ya need is love, Hope, and Change!— E Plebnista
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"Apparently the first thing you forget as a republican is that correlation is not causality." Oh, and I'm sure we haven't been attacked here because Al Qaeda and the other jihadists just haven't been in the mood for 7 years. The left's denial is staggering.— jmc
Will Bunch, a senior writer at the Philadelphia Daily News, blogs about his obsessions, including national and local politics and world affairs, the media, pop music, the Philadelphia Phillies, soccer and other sports, not necessarily in that order.
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