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Politicized terror alert based on old information

Just one day after issuing a major terror warning that was supposedly prompted by new information, the New York Times [more] and Washington Post [more]report that the decision, in fact, was based on old information from before 9/11. Specifically, the Bush administration acknowledged "they had not yet found concrete evidence that a terrorist plot or preparatory surveillance operations were still under way." While the LA Times does point out that "it appears the information was updated as late as 2004" one senior official told the New York Times, "You could say that the bulk of this information is old." The key issue is not whether the threat is real -- no one argues that al Qaeda still wants to do great harm to us, and credible intelligence must be acted upon to protect America. But politicizing intelligence and threat reports undermines the government's credibility and blurs the line between protecting the homeland and promoting fear for political gain. [more]

According to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, cities spend $70 million per week every time the nation's terror alert level is raised. [more]

NJ Muslims squirm under renewed terror threat scrutiny [more]
NYC Reopens the Statue of Liberty to Public (not a joke yall) link Via Buzzflash.com [more]

Allies Spurn U.S.-Style Color-Coded Terror Alerts
The latest "code Orange" has drawn mild scorn from U.S. allies in the war on terror, who say Washington's high-profile alerts cause undue panic and could make people less safe by undermining trust in intelligence. Most of Washington's major allies have avoided color-coded alerts like those Washington introduced in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, saying the public can do little with warnings unless it is told specifically how to respond. Officials and experts in other countries have been careful not to comment on the nature of intelligence that prompted this week's clampdowns in Washington and New York, after Homeland Security Chief Tom Ridge declared "code Orange" in those cities. [more]