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Wednesday, August 17, 2005Alternative history, September 11, 2000:Inside Politics, special edition Judy Woodruff: "Hello, and welcome to a special edition of Inside Politics. I'm Judy Woodruff. At the top of the news today is President Clinton's mysterious Rose Garden statement this afternoon. Let's listen to an excerpt:" President Clinton: "My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to say that we have won an important victory in protecting our nation from terror. A special FBI-Defense Department operation, Able Danger, has identified sixty people visiting this country who had plans to fly airplanes into major landmarks, killing thousands. Among them was a man, Mohammed Atta, who was taking flying lessons in Arizona for the express purpose of hijacking an airliner and crashing it into the World Trade Center. We can only thank God, and the hard-w0n efforts of our law-enforcement community, for the loss of life presented." JW: "That's quite a statement, isn't it, Candy Crowley?" Candy Crowley: "Yes, it is Judy. And it's a statement that has many wondering how desperate President Clinton is to salvage Vice-President Al Gore's election prospects. Bush aides are crowing over what they characterize as an embarrassing attempt to shore up this administration's lack of credibility on national security. But not everyone's making light. For that story, we go to Jonathan Carl." Jonathan Carl: "Thank you Candy. Yes, while Bush campaign aides are viewing today's arrests as an act of political desperation, civil liberties and Arab-American groups are reacting with outrage to what they say is the worst abuse since the Japanese internment camps established during World War II. Several lawsuits have already been filed, most notably by the ACLU, and two minor legal foundations have dropped their support for Vice-President Gore in response to concerns voiced by the Society of Syrian-Americans." JW: "So, there you have it. Today's announcement, whatever its intended political effect, has so far proved disastrous for the Democrats. Its consequences for national security are less certain, but the public is skeptical, as seen in this e-mail joke that began circulating shortly after the announcement: 'Did you hear they arrested terrorist Mohammed Atta? Yeah, he was making aspirin in the Sudan.' Stay tuned to Inside Politics for more on today's top story..." 
posted by gbarto at 2:13 PM |
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