corrente

Well, here's the latest. The lead:

Pakistan has given American officials what they regard as credible and specific information indicating that Al Qaeda has considered using tourist helicopters in terror attacks in New York City, domestic security officials said Sunday.
(via the sadly unskeptical and panicked Ny Times)

And now we read all the way to the end:

The possible use of chartered helicopters in a terrorist attack has also attracted fresh scrutiny from the F.B.I., officials said. Helicopters "are on the list with everything else - it's another one of the areas we're concerned about," a federal law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity said Sunday.

Well. So we have to read all the way to the end to see that helicopters are "on the list with everything else." I hope to God they are. It took BushCo three years to figure this out?

Anyhow, it does make you wonder, doesn't it? Why cherrypick pick tourist helicopters off the list?

Could it be that in a few short weeks there are going to be a lot of Republican tourists in Manhattan? Tourists from Red (i.e., not front line) states? And that Bush wants to make them, well, feel part of it all?

UPDATE Xan writes:

I saw Bloomberg on the NY news tonight talking about this..."Are they [in Washington] not aware that we have had some experience with people using aircraft as weapons???" with his voice getting higher on every word. Not really with anger as much as stunned incredulity. Okay, PLUS just a tad of anger.

Ha ha. Bloomberg seems to think they are talking to people actually on the front line, instead of tourists from the base. What a maroon!