Finally! A Truth

Finally, we have one truth spoken from the Bush Administration - U.S. Can't Protect All Targets, Chertoff Says.

Congress and the American public must accept that the government cannot protect every possible target against attack if it wants to avoid fulfilling Al Qaeda's goal of bankrupting the nation, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told a Senate committee Tuesday.

Of course, one can't take too much truth. I had no idea that it was al Qaeda's goal to bankrupt the U.S. I thought (according to Bush) that they want to "destroy our way of life." I thought (again according to Bush & Co.) that this was the final conflict - the endless war of "good vs evil," or for the non-religious, a battle to save "civilization."

In a 2004 video, Mr. bin Laden, the Qaeda leader, spoke of "bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy."

"He understood that one tool he had in waging war against the United States was to drive us crazy, into bankruptcy, trying to defend ourselves against every conceivable threat," Mr. Chertoff said at a hearing of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. "We have to be realistic about what we expect and what we do. We do have limits, and we do have choices to make."

Of course, one of the most expensive aspects of defending against terror is to "fight them over there so we don't have to fight them here." The occupation of Iraq is costing $10 Billion a month - a wallet soaker for sure.

Beyond the truth that "we can't protect all targets," Chertoff slipped back into obfuscation stating that funding for projects is prioritized by level of risk. That explains why Indiana had more targets (and therefore higher risk of a terrorist attack) than NY - which has already been hit twice. Or, that radiation detection in cargo containers was higher than mass transit attacks - even though in Spain, Britain, and India, the attacks have focused on mass transit.

Oh well a little honesty is exhausting, but hey Chertoff, good job for making an attempt.