pinions of buddy don: them terrist alurts

twuz bizness as usual yesterdy in man hattan far as i could tell. streets were crowded. bus wuz full. dint seem lack nobidy wuz too scairt of the latest terrist alurts. corse, twuz harder to git into sartin bildins, but that dint stop too minny folks frum goin to wurk.

thang is, taint news that mos of the places is targets. today we cum to find out that the informayshun bout them alurts aint even new stuff. the new york times front page article, Reports That Led to Terror Alerts Were Years Old, Officials Say, claims:

Much of the information that led the authorities to raise the terror alert at several large financial institutions in the New York City and Washington areas was three or four years old, intelligence and law enforcement officials said on Monday. They reported that they had not yet found concrete evidence that a terrorist plot or preparatory surveillance operations were still under way.

yer washington post puts it thisaway in a front page articull name of Pre-9/11 Acts Led to Alerts, Officials Not Sure Al Qaeda Continued To Spy on Buildings:

Most of the al Qaeda surveillance of five financial institutions that led to a new terrorism alert Sunday was conducted before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and authorities are not sure whether the casing of the buildings has continued, numerous intelligence and law enforcement officials said yesterday.

More than half a dozen government officials interviewed yesterday, who declined to be identified because classified information is involved, said that most, if not all, of the information about the buildings seized by authorities in a raid in Pakistan last week was about three years old, and possibly older.

reuters gut into the ack with a story they named Material Behind New U.S. Alert is Years Old: Reports

Much of the information obtained by al Qaeda that led the United States to raise terror alerts in Washington and New York was at least three years old, and U.S. officials are unsure if the group's surveillance continues, according to published reports on Tuesday.

yer inquirin minds mite could have em a questchun or two:

• why aint we hurd bout this befor now?
• why are we a'hearin about it on a sundy afternoon years later?
• duz it hep al qaeda to know bout how we reack to infermayshun thats so ole?
• wood al qaeda ever pertend to have one target sos they could throw us offn the scent of the real target?
• i mean, once we git on the trail of them evildoers that dun attackt us, aint nobidy that could git us offn the track to whar we wood use up billyuns of dollars n our credibilty n troops n all to go after sumbidy else befor we even gut them al qaeda folk, could they?
• witch ifn ye thank much bout that last questchun, ye mite could wunder, why did we invade iraq?
• since the infermayshun wuz years ole n dint give no time of no attack n, far as folks could tell, wuznt still bein pursued, how did it git to be so importunt to announce it on a sundy afternoon n git everbidy all up in a tizzy?

whar to look fer ansers? how bout the text of ridges comments whenever he wuz splainin the latest threat:

But we must understand that the kind of information available to us today is the result of the president's leadership in the war against terror, the reports that have led to this alert are the result of offensive intelligence and military operations overseas, as well as strong partnerships with our allies around the world, such as Pakistan.

i thank this here hillbilly is startin to unnerstand.

i reckun i'll cogitate on thatn while i go over to man hattan to wurk. we gut plenty wurk to do on a counta thay is a big ole event that makes all em bankers wonta git outta town. we all a'gittin em laptop cumputers n loaner blackberries n such sos they kin git away befor that danger gits too intents. we gut till jes bout the end of the munth, when they figger the invashun is a'gonna git goin.

they gut em good reasons to be scairt: them publicans is cummin to man hattan!