Effort to Curb Scope of Antiterrorism Law Falls Short

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“An effort to bar the government from demanding records from libraries and booksellers in some terrorism investigations fell one vote short of passage in the House on Thursday after a late burst of lobbying prompted nine Republicans to switch their votes.

The vote, a 210 to 210 deadlock, amounted to a referendum on the antiterrorism law known as the USA Patriot Act and reflected deep divisions in Congress over whether the law undercuts civil liberties.” (New York Times)

Republican procedural hanky panky to keep the rollcall open until the measure was defeated prompted uncharacteristically heated outbursts on the House floor. But I wonder if the real dirty trick to ensure the defeat of this vote wasn’t going on across town with the announcement of the usual ‘credible evidence of a major terrorist threat’ by ‘al Qaeda’ to ‘disrupt the democratic election process’ this summer or fall. The real purpose of the timing of this threat assessment, however, relates to the Presidential campaign, of course. And could the emphasis on bin Laden’s role in planning another attack be seen in light of the ‘October surprise’ many are expecting, whose timetable may actually be being moved up? Administration pressure on Pakistan to deliver bin Laden before the November elections has considerably ramped up (New Republic).

…the Pakistanis “have been told at every level that apprehension or killing of HVTs before [the] election is [an] absolute must.” What’s more, this source claims that Bush administration officials have told their Pakistani counterparts they have a date in mind for announcing this achievement: “The last ten days of July deadline has been given repeatedly by visitors to Islamabad and during [ul-Haq’s] meetings in Washington.” Says McCormack: “I’m aware of no such comment.” But according to this ISI official, a White House aide told ul-Haq last spring that “it would be best if the arrest or killing of [any] HVT were announced on twenty-six, twenty-seven, or twenty-eight July”–the first three days of the Democratic National Convention in Boston.

However, you cannot trust this report. Not only was it in TNR but it was co-written by a man with an Arab-sounding name.