Today Scott McClellan took time out from dodging questions about the Rove-Plame scandal to deny the truth of last year’s major increase in international terrorism. This was my question to him today in the White House briefing room:
The president has said that invading Iraq has made the world safer, but the government’s own terrorism statistics show a dramatic increase in the number of international terrorist attacks since the invasion, and the London bombings have demonstrated that the flypaper theory was just a theory. Can you explain the disconnect between the administration’s rhetoric on this issue and the reality on the ground?
Scott started his answer as follows (before going into an extended speech about September 11, freedom, and democracy):
First of all, the terrorism incidents that you bring up — last week there was a report released by the National Counterterrorism Center, and they explained how they have developed a new methodology to better track terrorist attacks across the world. So your characterization leaves the wrong impression for people who might be watching this briefing, and I would dispute that pretty strongly.
As I explained last week, the administration is engaged in a bit of sleight of hand here. They have released terrorism data for 2004 twice this year, once in April, and once last week. The April data, released only after complaints that it was being suppressed, pertained only to “international” incidents of terrorism, in which perpetrators and victims are of differing nationalities. That data showed that such incidents had more than tripled from the year before. Although the director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), claimed that the increase was due to a change to a more inclusive methodology, at least one other source within the NCTC, according to a news report, disputed that claim. Not only that, in another report, “U.S. intelligence officials” claimed that Secretary of State Rice’s office tried to pressure the Counterterrorism Center to use a stricter methodology in order to reduce the reported number of attacks. When this attempt to lower the numbers failed, the NCTC waited two months and then released a completely new figure that was much higher than the previous one because it includes “domestic” as well as “international” attacks. This time, they really did have the “new methodology” Scott referred to above, a methodology that increased the numbers so much that the administration can put all the blame on the methodology instead of on their policies. Despairing of the possibility of explaining all of this in a follow up question, I instead invoked an independent source of terrorism statistics:
The Rand Corporation also keeps track of statistics on international terrorism, and their data also shows that 2004 had the highest rate of international attacks in 13 years.
Poor Scott had to retreat to the now-discredited flypaper theory :
The difference between 13 years ago and today is that we are on the offensive. We are taking the fight to the enemy. And the President has made it very clear that we are going to prevail, we are going to defeat the enemy. They are now on the defensive, and we’re going to keep them on the defensive. We’re going to continue to seek out those who seek to do us harm and bring them to justice, and try to prevent attacks from happening in the first place. We are fighting them abroad so that we don’t have to fight them here at home…
Tell that to London. And tell that to all the Iraqis who are probably wishing that their country had not been chosen by us to be the world’s battlefield.
I doubt anyone is happy but those making money from it.
Thanks Eric for having a direct and serious question on our behalf. Keep it up. I appreciate it.
Dear btcnews,Probaly like most of Americans I’m sick ,and tried of Mr.Bush ,and his Administration useing the term we are winning the War on terrorism,and I wish that was true,but in reality I believe that there is no such thing,how can you win the War on anything that has been going on for Thousandth of years no doubt,what makes this Administration think that they can defeat terrorism that has been attemped before in the past.I pray to God that he show us a way to defeat or end terrorism,but we need to find another way to bring peace to our troubled world by respecting Human Rights ,and other Nationalities Country.How can you defeat Suicide bomber? anytime someone is willing to end there own life to harm anothers than what can you do?This form of aggression is an unstopable weapon in my opinion.There is only one Power in the Universe that can totally stop terrorism ,and that is God almighty himselve.And I pray that God will end terrorism very soon,but until then the Bush Administration must face the facts ,and stop misleading the American people about winning the War on terrorism,yes you do fight back but with throught out intelligences to defeat terrorism. I thank you for giving me the opportunity to comment,take care and keep doing whats right.
i saw you ask the question yesterday, and well done. for me it was the most interesting and telling part of the press conference.
as usual, faced with the facts, this administration denies and propagandizes.
i hated the answer, but it was telling.
good work.
In May, 2004, I wrote a white paper on global terrorism insurance for the reinsurance industry. One of my many sources was the U.S. State Deptartment’s annual report on global terrorism trends, a report mandated by U.S. code. (The report was discontinued this year, replaced by the new terrorist database.) So I’m hip to the statistics on terrorist incidents, including the increases in attacks since the U.S. invaded Iraq. These statistics, a.k.a. facts, are inconvenient to the Bush storyline that its policies are making the world safer.
Your analysis of how the administration is using a new measurement method to obfuscate the facts is right on.
Just wondering.
Wasn’t it last year that some leaker in the Bush administration revealed that British intelligence was using a Pakistani double agent, who was an Al Qaeda computer expert in Pakistan, to track possible Al Qaeda sleeper cells around the world?
And when this Pakistani double agent’s identity was prematurely disclosed by some Bush loudmouth, British intelligence lost a very valuable intelligence resource which could have proved significant in interdicting any planned terrorist attacks, like the one last week in London?
Therefore, in matters of intelligence leaks, I believe the Bush administration has twice pulled stunts that have increased the chances that any planned Al Qaeda attacks will succeed. Or at least the two times that we are aware of…the Valerie Plame outing as a covert CIA agent and the outing of the Pakistani double agent as a secret British intelligence asset.
Just think if British intelligence had had several more months or even a year to mine that asset. Maybe that asset, through his e-mail messages to possible undercover Al Qaeda operatives, would have helped uncover the four Yorkshire Pakistanis before they got a chance to attack.
I think President Bush owes British citizens an apology.
And, to my knowledge, which is very limited I admit, I don’t think anyone has ever been named as the person responsible for the security breach over the Pakistani double agent. However, I believe it is long past time that we all found out.
The flies obviously aren’t sticking to the flypaper. In any case, Iraq has now become a new training ground for AlQaeda, providing real experience in building bombs, scouting the enemy, tactics and strategy. Thanks to GWB, the world faces a more sophisticated terrorist than ever before.
The road to Hell is paved with Republicans. Fire the ovens…
Eric gets a little crazy hissy sometimes. But this time he seems to have found a bit of cake buried under all the icing….
This is a pattern we have seen with the Bush team since he was Governor. State as fact whatever you want regardless of any and all data that would dispute the validity of your claim, criticize, discredit, and/or personally attack anyone that points out the truth, and make up talking points to defend your position. The mainstream press has allowed Bush and company to operate like this for so long that now they are in total shock when anyone continues to question them directly in a public forum. If they were forced to prove their lies each time they made a false statement the world would be a much better place. Thank you for taking a stand and exposing the truth. Keep it up.
Mr. Roberts:
Hey, what can I say? I’m a passionate, passionate man.