Tom Ridge: Homeland Security Faked Terror Alerts For Dubya

Former director of Homeland Security Tom Ridge admits in his new book that he was pressured into faking terror alerts in order to help George W. Bush win reelection.

Dave Weigel, writing for the Washington Independent, notes that in the past, Ridge has denied manipulating security information for political reasons. In 2004, for example, he said, "We don't do politics in the Department of Homeland Security." The Bush administration was forced to admit in the days after the 2004 alert that it was based on intelligence three or four years old. Officials then claimed there was a previously unmentioned "separate stream of intelligence" that justified the warning -- but offered little tangible information to support their new story. ThinkProgress recalls, the AP reported that "even 'some senior Republicans' privately questioned Ridge's timing of a terror alert that came just three days after the Democratic National Convention."

Not really surprising, is it? Most of us were suspicious at the time. Let's see if the GOP leadership of today takes any responsibility. Yeah, hold your breath.