Bush Eyes Political Gains From Air Plot

Experts say that Bush and his Republican party has a history of spotlighting terror threats in election seasons.

Weighed down by the unpopular war in Iraq, Bush has tried to shift the national debate from that conflict to the broader and more popular global war on terrorism as his Republicans fight to keep control of the Congress, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

Bush, on a day trip to Wisconsin, said the foiled conspiracy was "a stark reminder that this nation is at war with Islamic fascists" and hammered unnamed critics he accused of all but forgetting the September 11, 2001 attacks.

"It is a mistake to believe there is no threat to the United States of America," Bush said.

"We've taken a lot of measures to protect the American people. But obviously we still aren't completely safe."

The remarks came a day after the White House orchestrated an exceptionally aggressive campaign to tar opposition Democrats as weak on terrorism, knowing what Democrats did not: News of the plot could soon break.

Vice President Dick Cheney and White House spokesman Tony Snow had argued that Democrats wanted to raise what Bush's spokesman Snow called "a white flag in the war on terror."

Snow said Bush first learned in detail about the plot on Friday, and received two detailed briefings on it on Saturday and Sunday, as well as had two conversations about it with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

But a senior White House official said that the British government had not launched its raid until well after Cheney held a highly unusual conference call with reporters to attack the Democrats as weak against terrorism.

"Playing Big"

The Republicans – with a history, as Democrats say, of spotlighting terror threats in election seasons – were also quick to score political gains over their opponents.

They argued that the foiled London terror plot highlighted that they were doing everything possible to keep the US safe.

"Weeks before September 11th, this is going to play big," a White House official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The official added that some Democratic candidates will not "look as appealing" under the circumstances.

The Republicans also argued that the London arrests portrayed that the Democrats were weak, The New York Times reported.

"Defeatocrats!" declared a statement issued by office of the House majority leader, John A. Boehner of Ohio, capturing the tone of Republican rhetoric as the news unfolded.

The Ohio Republican chairman, Bill Bennett, also attacked Representative Sherrod Brown, the Democratic challenger to Senator Mike DeWine, for voting against some intelligence bills.

"(It is) the very types of programs that helped the British thwart these vicious attacks," he said.

Firing Back

But the Democrats immediately fired back, saying the foiled London plot showed how the war in Iraq has siphoned resources from the war on Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network, which carried out the 9/11 attacks.

"The war in Iraq has become a dangerous distraction and a profound drain on our financial and military resources," said Senator John Kerry, Bush's rival for the White House in 2004.

"Osama bin Laden is still on the loose."

While many Democratic leaders have called for a withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, few of them have opposed taking more steps in the so-called war on terror.

"Terrorism remains the greatest threat to our security," said Harry Reid, the top Democrat in the US Senate.

A survey of 116 leading US experts and former officials showed on July 4 that the Bush administration was losing its global war on terror which has not made the world a safer place.

The survey, which was conducted by Foreign Policy Magazine and the Center for American Progress, shows that 84 percent of those interviewed believe the US is losing the war.