And Now A Travel Warning

Back when Bush was in office we had the great freak out about terrorists blowing up airplanes over the Atlantic using liquid bombs. The British were a bit ticked off with us because they were actually on top of the thing, and we blew the whistle before they were ready to jump on the plot. Something to do with timing due to one of our elections.

Well, it turns out the current administration can pull that trick, too. We have a terrorist plot to blow shoot up a whole bunch of cities in Europe but, according to The Guardian, British intelligence says the American report is, um… Well they’re not very happy.

European officials again made it clear yesterday they were "irritated" with the US for leaking stories before they could gather more intelligence. There was no evidence that a plot was imminent, and intelligence was described by a well-placed Whitehall official as "ill-defined".

The story did not gain any traction in American media, perhaps the “boy has cried wolf” once too often, and so the government issued a “travel advisory” for anyone going to Europe. Wait a minute; wtf, Europe?!

Now, my wife kills spiders for me, but she is no dragon slayer, trust me. She pretty much jumps in the back seat if a car in front of us on the freeway even swerves. She is on her way to Italy as we speak, which last time I checked is in Europe, and even she laughed when she read that advisory. She is more worried about finding the right train and not speaking Italian than she is about getting shot up by some pissed off Muslim.

Current information suggests that al-Qa’ida and affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks.

I think that President Obama has been telling us that pretty much every week, when he tells us why we are fighting a war in Afghanistan. The warning goes on to advise,

Terrorists may elect to use a variety of means and weapons and target both official and private interests. U.S. citizens are reminded of the potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure.

So my wife made a note to keep an eye out for “a variety of means and weapons” while she is riding the subway in Rome. But that, in itself, does not guarantee that she will vote Democrat when she gets home. Or perhaps, according to the administration, I should say if she gets home.

Since the simple statement about there being a massive terrorist plot didn’t create panic in the media and an upsweep in Democratic voter energy, we’ll see if a warning about travelling to Europe will do the trick. I rather suspect it won’t. I don’t think enough Democratic voters are travelling to Europe in the next month.

Update: Yeah, she probably will vote Democrat, she is one, but it won't be because the Democratic government kept her safe by warning her to watch for “a variety of means and weapons” while she was in "public and private" places in Europe.