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August 11, 2006
Something doesn't add up
Checking out the following:
<7-Aug: America's foreknowledge CBS - U.S. Gov't Knew Of Plot 'For Days'
Snow also said that Mr. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair held a lengthy teleconference on the matter on Sunday and spoke again Wednesday, on the phone.
Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Michael Jackson said his agency had known for several days of the unfolding plot but waited for a signal from the British to announce it.
7-Aug: Blair's foreknowledge. The Mirror - EXCLUSIVE: WHERE'S BLAIR? PM KNEW OF THREAT
Senior Government sources said Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, director general of MI5, briefed the PM and Home Secretary John Reid on Monday, giving them details of the scale of the threat and possible death toll from an attack.
9-Aug: Blair's holiday departure. The Australian - Blair to work on tan and Lebanon solution
TONY Blair left belatedly for his Caribbean holiday on Tuesday, voicing hope over a UN resolution on Lebanon but preparing to spend much of his time in the sun on the telephone.
9-Aug: Prescott's new job. Daily Express - Prescott really is in hot seat
JOHN Prescott has finally got himself a new job – as the Government’s "heatwave tsar".
The £134,000-a-year Deputy Prime Minister has taken on the task of ensuring preparations are in place in the event temperatures climb back up to last month’s record levels.
10-Aug: Airport chaos following the foiling of the latest terror plot. BBC - 'Airlines terror plot' disrupted
So the U.S. Government knew several days before things blew up, as - presumably - did Blair, although all the emphasis has been on the Monday briefing. Unless there was a massive breakthrough in intelligence, the PM must have been aware that the raids were going to go off on the Thursday. In spite of this, he still flew out to Barbados on the Tuesday, leaving his supposed stand-in to take up a make-work roll while Dr John Reid effectively becomes the front man.
The only conclusion to be drawn is that our government is either dishonest, incompetant or supremely over-confident of its abilities.
For those of a tin-foil wearing disposition Sploid - Terra! Terra! Terra! (link via MattB)
Posted by Clive on August 11, 2006 12:03 PM in the category Labour