archangel_m

July 11, 2005 | 11:39 a.m. ET

Karl Rove: Soft on terror (Keith Olbermann)

SECURED UNDISCLOSED LOCATION -- Karl Rove is a liability in the war on terror.

Rove -- Newsweeks new article quotes the very emails -- told a Time reporter that Ambassador Joe Wilsons trip to investigate of the Niger uranium claim was at the behest of Wilsons CIA wife.

To paraphrase Mr. Rove, liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers; conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared to ruin the career of one of the countrys spies tracking terrorist efforts to gain weapons of mass destruction -- for political gain.

Politics first, counter-terrorism second -- its as simple as that.

In his story guidance to Matthew Cooper of Time, Rove did more damage to your safety than the most thumb-sucking liberal or guard at Abu Ghraib. He destroyed an intelligence asset like Valerie Plame merely to deflect criticism of a politician. We have all the damned politicians, of every stripe, that we need. The best of them isnt worth half a Valerie Plame. And if the particular politician for whom Rove was deflecting, President Bush, is more than just all hat and no cattle on terrorism, he needs to banish Rove -- and loudly.

Because its starting again. I was in the checkout line in a supermarket last night when one of New Yorks countless little old ladies barked out something at the cashier: Miss? Who does this bag belong to? Uncomprehending, the checkout woman blinked at her. The older woman pointed at a gym bag that had been left near the stores entrance, on a ledge below the delicatessen cabinet. Gefilta fish is an unlikely terrorist target to say the least, but the woman was absolutely right. Were supposed to report unattended bags. There could be a bomb in there.

Silly, right? As silly as it wouldve been before last Thursday in London if somebody on the Underground had said to a fellow passenger, Theres a bag of something here that doesnt seem to belong to anybody.

You may not have lived through a Time of the Bags in your hometown, but I did, and I dont want to go through it again. In the jittery New York of October, 2001, I once came within seconds of getting Yankee Stadium evacuated, because there it was, resting against the railing of the visitors dugout: a small backpack surrounded by hundreds of reporters who were all carrying their own backpacks. I asked several of my colleagues about it - none saw it placed there nor knew to whom it belonged. I called out loudly; nobody responded. The two or three other reporters with whom Id been chatting suddenly announced I was in charge.

Gee, thanks.

I did the calculations: the Stadium was filling up. There were hundreds on the field, thousands already in the stands. The bag had a Super Bowl logo on the side - if designed to fit in with the environment, it was ideal. As my colleagues faces got whiter and whiter, I said Id give it 30 seconds and one more shout. I saw a policeman about 20 feet to my left. The process wouldnt take long. I gave one final shout seeking the identity of the owner. A goateed ESPN guy ambled over. Im pretty sure thats, whats his name, hes down the other side of the dugout.

We didnt call the cop. We called Whats His Name. He was from the Bay Area and though an otherwise intelligent man, he simply hadnt yet had to consider exactly what was meant by the phrase unattended bag. He sheepishly reclaimed it.

Not an hour later, I was finishing up dinner with one of my colleagues who had shared my Near Bag Experience. He had a press seat way out in leftfield and didnt want to take his bag with him. So he promptly stuffed it under a desk in the Yankee Stadium press room. Hes a friend, and I swore at him as you can only swear at a friend. He took the bag with him.

Were back in those times, thanks to the London attacks. Needless to say, the 2001 bag at Yankee Stadium was no more threatening than the 2005 bag at the Associated Supermarket. But if were going to have to live our lives looking for them, I damn well dont want political morons in positions where they can deliberately screw up counter-terrorism measures. I know we already have to live with the idea that theyll do it accidentally.

Any time Ive criticized the current administration here or on the air, Ive gotten the same idiotic emails from the same idiotic people whove never been touched by terrorism. They brand me a liberal who doesnt understand that terrorists want the next unattended bag to be filled with WMD. Their position is incredible on its face; in the light of the confirmation of the Karl Rove revelation it would assume the quality of farce, were it not so deadly serious.

And the bottom line is this: in the metaphoric department of the war on terror, Karl Rove not only leaves bags unattended - he does it intentionally.