Bush seeks political gains from foiled plot - Yahoo! News
Bush seeks political gains from foiled plot - Yahoo! News: "Snow said Bush first learned in detail about the plot on Friday, and received two detailed briefings on it on Saturday and Sunday, as well as had two conversations about it with British Prime Minister
Tony Blair.
But a senior White House official said that the British government had not launched its raid until well after Cheney held a highly unusual conference call with reporters to attack the Democrats as weak against terrorism.
An aide to Lieberman, who would have been one of the first Democrats to hear of the plot because he is the top Democrat on the Senate
Homeland Security Committee, said the lawmaker first heard of it late Wednesday.
On Wednesday, Cheney had suggested that Democrats believe 'that somehow we can retreat behind our oceans and not be actively engaged in this conflict and be safe here at home, which clearly we know we won't, we can't, be,' he said.
While some Democrats have opposed some steps in the war on terrorism, and more and more are calling for a withdrawal from Iraq, no major figures in the party have called for a wholesale retreat in the broader conflict.
But Bush's Republicans hoped the raid would yield political gains.
'I'd rather be talking about this than all of the other things that Congress hasn't done well,' one Republican congressional aide told AFP on condition of anonymity because of possible reprisals.
'Weeks before September 11th, this is going to play big,' said another White House official, who also spoke on condition of not being named, adding that some Democratic candidates won't 'look as appealing' under the circumstances."
Tony Blair.
But a senior White House official said that the British government had not launched its raid until well after Cheney held a highly unusual conference call with reporters to attack the Democrats as weak against terrorism.
An aide to Lieberman, who would have been one of the first Democrats to hear of the plot because he is the top Democrat on the Senate
Homeland Security Committee, said the lawmaker first heard of it late Wednesday.
On Wednesday, Cheney had suggested that Democrats believe 'that somehow we can retreat behind our oceans and not be actively engaged in this conflict and be safe here at home, which clearly we know we won't, we can't, be,' he said.
While some Democrats have opposed some steps in the war on terrorism, and more and more are calling for a withdrawal from Iraq, no major figures in the party have called for a wholesale retreat in the broader conflict.
But Bush's Republicans hoped the raid would yield political gains.
'I'd rather be talking about this than all of the other things that Congress hasn't done well,' one Republican congressional aide told AFP on condition of anonymity because of possible reprisals.
'Weeks before September 11th, this is going to play big,' said another White House official, who also spoke on condition of not being named, adding that some Democratic candidates won't 'look as appealing' under the circumstances."
posted by Blackgold at 8:17 AM
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