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LV Review-Journal publisher falsely claims no domestic terrorism cases since 9-11 under Bush

January 06, 2010 4:40 pm ET — 12 Comments

In his January 3 column, Las Vegas Review-Journal publisher Sherman Frederick falsely claimed that "the two cases of domestic terrorism since 9/11" happened "on Obama's watch." In fact, while Frederick and other conservative media figures have recently downplayed the number of attacks on the United States under former President Bush, there were numerous post-9-11 terrorist attacks attempted during the Bush administration, including the attempted detonation of an explosive device on an airplane by shoe bomber Richard Reid and the anthrax attacks.

Frederick joins list of conservatives denying existence of terrorist attacks under Bush

Frederick: All domestic terrorist attacks since 9-11 took place "on Obama's watch." From Frederick's Las Vegas Review-Journal column:

If this is what it takes to wake up Obama to the evils of this world, then he learned an easy lesson. But tell that to the personnel who lost their lives to terrorism at Fort Hood.

Then, as now, the Obama administration fails to swiftly acknowledge the threat. They demur in describing our enemy as radical Muslims. They plan to close the offshore prison for terrorists at Guantanamo Bay and transfer the prisoners to the United States. They give the enemy combatants who killed more than 3,000 people on 9/11 the privilege of a civilian federal trial in New York City when a military tribunal is more appropriate. And for three days our president failed to address his people directly on Abdulmutallab's failed effort to blow up a commercial flight over Detroit on Christmas Day. All of this on top of President Obama's noticeable refusal to characterize our struggle as a "war" on "terror."

In the wake of fierce criticism, Obama now talks tough about keeping America safe. But in the two cases of domestic terrorism since 9/11 -- both on Obama's watch -- red flags flew aplenty.

Matalin downplays attacks under Bush, falsely claiming "Bush inherited" 9-11 attacks. On the December 27 edition of CNN's State of the Union, Republican strategist Mary Matalin falsely claimed that Bush "inherited the most tragic attack on our own soil in our nation's history." In fact, the September 11, 2001, attacks occurred eight months into Bush's presidency and more than a month after he had received a Presidential Daily Briefing titled, "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S."

Perino: "We did not have a terrorist attack on our country during President Bush's term." Bush White House Press Secretary Dana Perino falsely claimed on the November 24, 2009, edition of Fox News' Hannity that "[w]e did not have a terrorist attack on our country during President Bush's term."

Several domestic attacks took place under Bush in addition to 9-11

2001 Anthrax attacks. A March 2004 State Department report on "Significant Terrorist Incidents, 1961-2003" quotes then-Attorney General John Ashcroft saying of the letters containing anthrax mailed to various targets: "When people send anthrax through the mail to hurt people and invoke terror, it's a terrorist act." Five people were killed as a result of those letters in the autumn of 2001.

2001 shoe bomber attempted attack. In June 2008, then-Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff described Reid's December 2001 attempt "to blow up a trans-Atlantic plane with a shoe bomb" as an attempt to "carry out terrorist operations for Al-Qaeda."

2002 attack against El Al ticket counter at LAX. In July 2002, Hesham Mohamed Hadayet opened fire at an El Al Airlines ticket counter at Los Angeles International Airport killing two people and wounding four others before being shot dead. A 2004 Justice Department report stated that Hadayet's case had been "officially designated as an act of international terrorism."

2002 DC-area sniper. The state of Virginia indicted Washington, D.C.-area sniper John Allen Muhammad -- along with his accomplice, a minor at the time -- on terrorism charges for one of the murders he committed during a three-week shooting spree across Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Muhammad was convicted, sentenced to death, and subsequently executed for the crime.

2006 UNC SUV attack. In March 2006, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill graduate Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar drove an SUV into an area of campus, striking nine pedestrians. According to reports, Taheri-azar said he acted because he wanted to "avenge the deaths or murders of Muslims around the world." Taheri-azar also reportedly stated in a letter: "I was aiming to follow in the footsteps of one of my role models, Mohammad Atta, one of the 9/11/01 hijackers, who obtained a doctorate degree."

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    • Author by magnolialover (January 06, 2010 4:49 pm ET)
      6  
      These guys always conveniently forget that Bush was leading the country ON 9.11.
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      • Author by shaggles (January 06, 2010 6:39 pm ET)
        4 1
        Yeah but he "inherited" those from Clinton (even though Clinton and Richard Clarke tried to warn him about the threat.) This is the beginning of the Reaganization of Dubya.
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        • Author by magnolialover (January 06, 2010 9:37 pm ET)
          2  
          True, mostly. Although, there were some other things Clinton could have done in his day to get Bin Laden (as I always tell folks, read Ghost Wars by Steve Coll to get a good history of how the Taliban came to be, and how we were attacked on 9.11). Unfortunately, during the times that Clinton did try to get Bin Laden, he was castigated by republicans in charge of Congress, and he was also spending most of his time defending himself against spurious impeachment charges.
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    • Author by wzwriter (January 06, 2010 4:50 pm ET)
      4  
      I used to live in Henderson, NV - just outside Las Vegas. The Review-Journal is a worthless rag; it's not even suitable for wrapping rotten fish.
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    • Author by smmnth1002 (January 06, 2010 5:36 pm ET)
         
      What about the VT shooter ?
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    • Author by nerzog (January 06, 2010 6:16 pm ET)
      3  
      This is a difficult leap of logic, even for the airheaded Troglodytes.

      To ground this claim in anything resembling reality, they must allow that the Shoe Bomber was not a terrorist. If the Shoe Bomber was not a terrorist, then the Jockstrap Bomber was not a terrorist.

      But, this requires critical thinking skills .... never mind.
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    • Author by Samurai Cowboy (January 06, 2010 7:21 pm ET)
      3  
      They conveniently forget that the Bush Administration was a failure on and forever after 9/11. RNC Kool Aid drinker Dana Perino claimed that there were NO terrorist attacks during Bush's presidency. Dick Morris says the the civil trails of the '93 WTC bombers led to 9/11. These people live in an alternative reality where Bush/Cheney are still in office the Republicans control all of Congress, and that we are not only in Afghanistan and Iraq, fighting in Iran, as well.
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    • Author by Samurai Cowboy (January 06, 2010 7:25 pm ET)
      3  
      My wife and I lived in Las Vegas. The place is the Ultra Conservative Headquarters of The West. There is an am radio station, KXNT, that constantly preaches anti government hate. We were there from '03 and 04 and they were preaching anti government hate even then. The Review-Urinal is so band that our cat would not even use rolled of copies as a scratching post.
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    • Author by IndieJoan (January 07, 2010 12:32 am ET)
         
      Yeah, I guess they wouldn't want their flunky under pressure, since he didn't perform all that well for them while he was "supreme ruler of the world's superpower."

      Any jouralists working on his record number of verbal cues?
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    • Author by proudObamasupporter (January 07, 2010 10:27 am ET)
         
      "In 2007 we probably had our electronic Pearl Harbor. It was an espionage Pearl Harbor," Lewis said. "Some unknown foreign power, and honestly, we don't know who it is, broke into the Department of Defense, to the Department of State, the Department of Commerce, probably the Department of Energy, probably NASA. They broke into all of the high tech agencies, all of the military agencies, and downloaded terabytes of information."

      That would be Jim Lewis a former state department employee. This is from a 60 Minutes interview. The entire interview can be found here.

      http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/11/06/60minutes/main5555565.shtml?tag=currentVideoInfo;segmentUtilities

      Not many have heard of this attack but it is much more of a threat than any other attack that they have attempted since 9-11. Can any of you imagine if this entire country lost power what would happen?
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    • Author by murphyj87 (January 08, 2010 11:03 pm ET)
         
      Rudy Guliani caught Republican amnesia today by saying that there were no terrorist attacks during the GWB term, despite the long list of them given above.
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