Foiled terror plot was "not imminent"

But, of course.

It turns out that the big British terror plot to blow up airplanes was not imminent, and that U.S. officials pressured the Brits to push up the timetable on the arrests.

NBC News has learned that U.S. and British authorities had a significant disagreement over when to move in on the suspects in the alleged plot to bring down trans-Atlantic airliners bound for the United States.

A senior British official knowledgeable about the case said British police were planning to continue to run surveillance for at least another week to try to obtain more evidence, while American officials pressured them to arrest the suspects sooner. The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the case.

In contrast to previous reports, the official suggested an attack was not imminent, saying the suspects had not yet purchased any airline tickets. In fact, some did not even have passports.

I mean, of course!

This blog's default position on the Bush administration is that you can never believe the first thing they say. The first answer to any question is a lie. Period.

"Tony, what color is the sky today?"

"The sky is blue."

Therefore, the sky must be any color but blue. Brown. Pink. Just not blue.

Likewise, the administration's first unsolicited statement on any topic, from politics to pudding, from aardvarks to zebras, must be assumed to be a diversion, an exaggeration, or an outright lie.

They provide proof of this theory every time they open their mouths. This is just the latest example. And, it's just the tip of the iceberg. Within days, we will learn that this cell of al Qaeda-type terrorists was nothing of the kind. We will learn that they were no more dangerous than the Miami Seven, or that guy who wanted to cut down the Brooklyn Bridge with a single blowtorch.

This president's willingness to exploit our fears for political advantage knows no apparent limits.

The tragedy is that by the time there is a real threat that he wants to warn us about, we won't believe him. Most of us learned the moral of "The Boy Who Cried 'Wolf'" when we were in kindergarten. Apparently, George W. Bush never did. Maybe we can find a five-year-old to read it to him.