Eric Alterman's
Altercation weblog has an amazing letter today from an anonymous Army Reservist. The gist of the letter was a claim that the Department of Homeland Security Threat level has been politically manipulated both before and after the war.
I'll quote the key grafs below the fold...
Here's what he said:
First, I would like to comment on the Homeland Security Threat Level. I talked to a Psy-Ops Officer a few months ago and he indirectly pointed me in this direction. Basically he summed it up this way. President Bush crying "wolf" about Saddam would not have been believed by the American public if they (we) were feeling secure about our safety. That caused me to think about what happened before the war in regards to the threat level. Remember how many times it was raised and lowered before the war and the reasons for it? Nothing specific was given, just increased "chatter" and "intelligence" reports suggesting a probable attack. Remember when Homeland Security suggested that Americans should purchase tape and plastic to cover the windows of their homes (which would do no good in reality). This was part of the "plan" to go to war. Get the American public wanting to go to war with Saddam. It wasn't just hyped intelligence the administration used.
After the war, I read in an article that a memo was sent by the Administration that the threat level will not be moved higher so as to not cause alarm and create insecurity. It tends to be bad for the economy. ... It makes sense, so why was it so liberally used before the war?
Remarkable stuff, if true, and quite believeable...