Bush: Espionage helped prevent terror attack

Bush: Espionage helped prevent terror attack

President Bush finally won a real deal to support his anti-terror machinery yesterday when he made public that it was US intelligence that helped thwart a terrorist attack in 2002. Al-Qaeda had planned to hijack an airplane using shoes bombs and fly it into a building in Los Angeles.

Bush emphasized that the US was able to avert the attack only because of international support. He said that it was information obtained through surveillance, from American and certain Asian countries that contributed to the prevention of what could have been a sequel to the September 11th attacks.

“It took the combined efforts of several countries to break up this plot,” said the President. “By working together we stopped a catastrophic attack on our homeland.”

Speaking at a function in the National Guard Memorial Building on Thursday, Bush said that the attack was planned by Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the same terrorist who had had devised the 9/11 attacks. “Rather than use Arab hijackers as he had on Sept. 11, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed sought out young men from Southeast Asia _ whom he believed would not arouse as much suspicion,” said Bush detailing the plot. The President also revealed that the plot was spoiled when an important al-Qaida operative was apprehended by a country in Southeast Asia.

However the President made no mention of the mechanism used to collect the information. Bush administration has been criticized by democrats and republicans alike, for eavesdropping, without proper permits from the court, on the telephone calls and emails of citizens of America to get clues about terrorist activities. The government has lately been able to impress upon the people that the spying program was indispensable for national security.

Nonetheless, the President's speech failed to impress some. “As is too often the case with this president, the rhetoric does not match the reality,” said Harry Reid, the Minority Leader in the Senate. “The fact is this White House has committed a series of national security mistakes that have made America less secure.”