Calling the shot

Today's Washington Post, citing administration sources, says that Al Qaeda will commit a big terrorist outrage in the United States this summer. The real story appears in this paragraph:

That information dovetails with other intelligence "chatter" suggesting that al Qaeda operatives are pleased with the change in government resulting from the March 11 terrorist bombings in Spain and may want to affect elections in the United States and other countries.

"They saw that an attack of that nature can have economic and political consequences and have some impact on the electoral process," said one federal official with access to counterterrorism intelligence.

This bogus claim plays into the right-wing party line on the Madrid attacks. The propagandists have long tried to convince all the FOX-watching dolts out there that the Spanish electorate capitulated to terror. That's the song they keep on singing, and never mind the facts:

1. The Spanish socialist party, which won the election, has a tough-on-terror history; indeed, they once were considered too tough.

2. The Socialists may well have won the election even if the Madrid blasts had never happened, because 90% of the Spanish populace hated the Iraq war.

3. The people turned against Aznar's party because he was caught in a lie: He insisted that strong evidence pointed to ETA, when no such evidence existed.

The Republicans want America to think that Al Qaeda will attack America to insure a Kerry victory. Obviously, nothing could be further from the truth. Osama Bin Laden knows damn well that Bush will win in a landslide if a massive terrorist event occurs close to the election. Kerry has a chance (a slim one in my view, but a chance) only if nothing goes boom.

The situation is unnerving. Not only are administration officials forecasting the dreaded event, they are even preparing the ground for the pro-Bush propaganda onslaught that will surely follow.

Suspicious. Very suspicious.