According to his publisher, Tom Ridge is levelling a major accusation at the Bush administration:
According to promotional materials for Ridge’s coming book, “The Test of Our Times: America Under Siege . . . And How We Can Be Safe Again,” the ex-homeland security secretary and governor of Pennsylvania accuses the Bush White House of pushing him to “raise the national security alert just before the 2004 Election.”
A description for the book on the publisher’s website also says Ridge “was pressured to connect homeland security to the international ‘war on terror’.”
(Via Hot Air.)
This has to be taken seriously. Ridge doesn’t seem to have much reason to lie that we know of (unlike, say, Scott McClellan). But, until the book actually comes out, we can’t know exactly what the allegation is, so it’s impossible to know what to make of it. If the publisher is exaggerating the accusation to sell books, it wouldn’t be the first time such a thing has happened.
Nevertheless, I think Ace’s analysis is apt:
I assume Ridge is not lying. But I also assume he needs some hot facts, or even “facts,” to sell a book.
Best case for Bush and Cheney: There was an elevated risk and Ridge was wrong; Ridge was too worried about the appearances of raising the level, whereas Bush and Cheney didn’t care about appearances.
Second-best case for Bush and Cheney: As people tend to do, they viewed the data with their own best interests in mind, and thus arguable, on-the-line data was seen by them — honestly, but wrongly, due to the powerful agent of subconscious self-interest — as warranting a heightened threat level.
Bad case scenarios: I think the lefty blogosphere should have these well-covered.
It appears as though Ridge’s story is that he did not yield to the pressure, and ultimately the alert level was not raised. Nevertheless, if Ridge’s publisher’s accusation is true, this is misconduct nearly on the level of Bill Clinton’s “wag the dog” attacks. (But only nearly, since it didn’t actually happen, and anyway raising an alert level is not the same as a bombing run.) The Bush administration would deserve all the opprobrium it gets over this.
UPDATE: Ridge has disowned the allegation.
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