Why is this news?

[DCJenn]

Al Qaeda is stepping up efforts to sneak terrorists into the U.S. and has rebuilt most of its capability to strike here, an intelligence estimate states, according to The Associated Press.

Harriet Miers didn't even show up to say that she wasn't going to testify to Congress? or the AG was caught AGAIN not exactly telling "the whole truth and nothing but" or the President says things are going well in Iraq? or the former Surgeon General stated that he was required to mention the president during each speech he made. "

"Anything that doesn't fit into the political appointees' ideological, theological or political agenda is ignored, marginalized or simply buried," Dr. Richard Carmona, who served as the nation's top doctor from 2002 until 2006, told a House of Representatives committee."

OF COURSE people are trying to sneak terrorists in this country. Duh. Anyone who thinks otherwise is in denial.

I'm surprised we haven't moved the national color back up to orange like every other time the administration has tried to hide something. Of course, we do have Chertoff's 'gut feeling'.

or am I just cynical?

Jenn

I know your question is rhetorical but I'll give it a shot.

To most thinking adults, the "duh" part about terrorists / borders etc. resonates. And I get the implicit notion that what are we as everyday Americans to do about the problem -- that was different than what we did yesterday?

But...imagine a counterfactual. Lets say intelligence reports weren't shared with the AP and didn't make their way into the news. Then, six months, a year, or three years later under a new Executive a terrible terrorist event occurs. Imagine the news stories then..."X time ago the administration buried detailed intelligence reports that the capability of...."

In short, that's just one small bit of why terrorism sucks. No administration can ever look back on even proactive measures and prove that X efforts yielded Y results. That is, no matter what administration and no matter what safeguards are put in place you can't really ever say we're safer because without implementing X efforts it is definitive that A, B, C (terrible events would've happened).

It's almost always lose, lose.