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This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

This column is adapted from the Best of the Web, which is issued daily at OpinionJournal.com. (C)2004 Dow Jones Company Inc.


PLAYING POLITICS WITH TERROR


From the New York Times, Aug. 2: News of the terror threat on Sunday also stirred renewed suggestions from some Democrats that the White House was manipulating terror alerts for Mr. Bush’s political gain. They said the alert had been issued just as Mr. Kerry emerged from a convention that was described by Republicans and Democrats as a success. “I am concerned that every time something happens that’s not good for President Bush, he plays this trump card, which is terrorism,” Howard Dean, a former rival of Mr. Kerry for the Democratic nomination, told Wolf Blitzer on CNN on Sunday. “His whole campaign is based on the notion that ‘I can keep you safe, therefore at times of difficulty for America stick with me,’ and then out comes Tom Ridge,” Mr. Dean, the former Vermont governor, added, referring to the homeland security secretary. “It’s just impossible to know how much of this is real and how much of this is politics, and I suspect there’s some of both in it.” From the Times, Aug. 17: British police today charged eight men with conspiracy to murder and violations of the Terrorism Act after finding that they possessed surveillance information on the same financial centers in Washington, New York and New Jersey that were the focus of the terror alert earlier this month in the United States. The eight men were arrested on Aug. 3 and held for two weeks at a high security police facility in West London. They were also charged with conspiring to use “radioactive materials, toxic gases, chemicals and explosives” to cause fear, panic and disruption against unspecified targets. Blogger John Henke has a list of others who claimed that the terror alerts earlier this month were political. They all owe the country an apology.


KERRY’S COLD WAR NOSTALGIA


“John Kerry on Wednesday set out his opposition to the Bush administration’s plans to bring home 70,000 US troops from permanent overseas bases,” reports the Financial Times: Mr. Kerry argued that the withdrawal of troops from Europe and Asia threatens to undercut alliances and weakens America’s ability to project its power overseas. “For example, why are we unilaterally withdrawing 12,000 troops from the Korean Peninsula at the very time we are negotiating with North Korea – a country that really has nuclear weapons?” Kerry said. Of course, Kerry also opposes missile defense, which would actually offer protection from Pyongyang’s nukes. A New York Times editorial also weighs in for the status quo: Despite the Pentagon’s denials, it seems deliberate that the two largest withdrawals have been proposed for countries that the Bush administration has had serious differences with in recent years, over Iraq in the German case, and over negotiating strategy with North Korea in the case of Seoul. Both countries have been working hard to patch up relations – South Korea is one of the few American allies with troops in Iraq – but the Pentagon does not seem interested in reciprocating. Both the Times and Kerry seem to be making a fetish of preserving Cold Warera alliances and institutions, even if it means sacrificing U.S. security interests. Given who’s proposing change here and who’s resisting it, you really have to wonder just who the “conservatives” are.


BLOGGERS HIT THE TRAIL


A year ago on the pages of The Wall Street Journal, we had a little fun at the expense of politicians who were trying their hand at blogging. But we’ve gotta love this story, actually a press release from the Iraq Pro-Democracy Party : Two popular Iraqi webloggers, Ali Fadhil and Mohammed Fadhil, today announced their candidacies for the Iraqi National Assembly. The bloggers, who are brothers, have been writing their popular weblog www.IraqTheModel.com since November of 2003. Their weblog has been quoted in major world media, including the BBC,USA Today , [The] Wall Street Journal, National Review, Sydney Morning Herald, Australian Bulletin, Dallas Morning [News], and New York Post. We believe that we represent an important segment of the Iraqi people that was never organized before under any category as a result of the oppression of the past regime. Now this segment has come to see the necessity to contribute to the building of a new Iraq in a way that is entirely different from the old ways that are still dominant in the Middle East and that are governed by religious fanaticism and pan-Arab nationalism. We see that remaining silent is not an option in our battle towards democracy and freedom and that everyone who seeks a better future should take part in this battle. Two years ago, Iraq had one political party and no blogs. Now, thanks to America and our allies, it has a Pro-Democracy Party and two bloggers-turned-candidates. Meanwhile, America has a party that calls itself Democratic, even though most of its members would rather Iraq still be a dictatorship.


HOW TO GET A ‘PIECE’ IN THE NEW YORK TIMES


Boy, the guys at the New York Times have amazing expense accounts. The New York Observer reports: Since January 2003, the paper has included “Gunmen” under the miscellaneous options on its electronic expense-reporting form. “Gunmen” appears in the program, produced by Concur Technologies, just before “Internet” and “Laundry.” And it occurs just after “Fixers,” another January 2003 addition. “Fixers” covers the helpers-usually local journalists-who serve as idea-generators, translators and general facilitators for foreign correspondents. “Gunmen” apparently covers the more narrowly specialized facilitators who use guns. . . . Asked to explain the thinking behind adding the gunmen in the first place, The Times turned to its time-tested protective measure: impenetrability. “I can tell you,” a spokesperson wrote, “that we establish expense categories for various reasons, including expense control and analysis, what our internal customers or business units would like to see on a reporting basis, to help us negotiate favorable vendor contracts and to satisfy statutory reporting requirements principally in the tax area as some expenses are not fully deductible.” No one has actually filed an expense report for a gunman, and the Times plans to remove the option from its expense software. It’s not clear if the paper will also eliminate its magazine, but this should put a stop to the rumors that the Old Gray Lady is changing her name from the Times to the Bullet-In.


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