Tall Tales of Terrorism

Holden at First Draft has the goods on Dubya's fairy tale about shoe bombers and big buildings.
The transcript is analysed of the press discussion with Frances Frego Townsend who is described as Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism at the Whitehouse site

Q What level of operational detail did this plot reach before it was foiled? I mean, was it -- were they planning to fly a plane out of LAX? Did it reach that level of detail?

MS. TOWNSEND: We didn't know what plane or what flight. We knew that they were going to fly a commercial airliner into the tallest building in California, or the West Coast. And there was an analytic judgment by the intelligence community that that meant the Library Tower. But, I mean, we didn't have a day or a week; we didn't know that.

Q Okay, okay. And then, again, is there any other details -- you can't say where they were arrested, who they are? Can you tell us where they are?

MS. TOWNSEND: They're all in custody, but I --

Q I know --

MS. TOWNSEND: I know, but I can't tell you their names, because that would give it away, and I can't tell you the names of the countries because -- not because I care, but because our partners want to have it kept a secret.

Q Are they in the United States? Are they in Gitmo? I mean, can you give us any sense of --

MS. TOWNSEND: I can't.

She then goes on to explain that the leader of the plot travelled to Afghanistan to discuss the plot with Osama Bin Laden .... at the same time the USAF was bombing the shit out of Tora Bora.

So the President of the United States is telling tall tales of terrorism ... no terrorist threat ... so now do you feel better ? ...he was of course reading a children's story for some while when he was told about 9/11 ... perhaps he just prefers a good story ?