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August 21, 2006
Is Michael Chertoff looking to what he'll do next?
When [Chertoff] said last weekend that the foiling of the London plot revealed a Qaeda in disarray because 'it's been five years since they've been capable of putting together something of this sort,' he didn't seem to realize that he was flatly contradicting the Ashcroft-Gonzales claims for the gravity of all the Qaeda plots they've boasted of stopping in those five years. As recently as last October, Mr. Bush himself announced a list of 10 grisly foiled plots, including one he later described as a Qaeda plan 'already set in motion' to fly a hijacked plane 'into the tallest building on the West Coast.'
As Eric had also written previously, though Chertoff might be smart, his experience is as a lawyer in law enforcement. As he showed one year ago, he doesn't know much about disaster relief. Apparently, he's no "soldier" in the "War on Terror" either. One problem the Bush Administration might have with Chertof, of course, is that successful law enforcement is something they've been downplaying as part of the "War on Terror." That Chertoff might be speaking more for his own benefit rather than in harmony with the Administration's talking points might be good for the country, but it may also mean he is looking to come out of the Administration with some of his reputation intact. I never did quite understand why a guy would give up a lifetime appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals to be head of the Department of Homeland Security.
Posted by Peter at August 21, 2006 11:18 AM