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L.A. Mayor Blindsided by Bush Announcement
AP Wires ^ | 2-9-2006 | AP Wire

Posted on 02/09/2006 1:31:15 PM PST by Thanatos

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Thursday he was blindsided by President Bush's announcement of new details on a purported 2002 hijacking plot aimed at a downtown skyscraper, and described communication with the White House as "nonexistent."

"I'm amazed that the president would make this (announcement) on national TV and not inform us of these details through the appropriate channels," the mayor told The Associated Press. "I don't expect a call from the president _ but somebody."

Bush has referred to the 2002 plot before but he publicly filled in the details Thursday.

Bush said Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks who was captured in 2003, had begun planning an attack to fly a commercial airplane into the tallest skyscraper on the West Coast, the Library Tower in Los Angeles, since renamed the US Bank Tower.

Instead of recruiting Arab hijackers, Southeast Asian men would be used, Bush said, because they were less likely to arouse suspicion. He said they would use shoe bombs to blow open the cockpit door.

The president said the plot was derailed when a Southeast Asian nation arrested a key al-Qaida operative. Bush did not name the country or the operative.

"I go to work every day knowing that we are a target," Villaraigosa said.

The mayor said homeland security needs better funding, including for the protection of high-risk targets in Los Angeles. He said some funding could be redirected from the war in Iraq, but he did not advocate an immediate withdrawal of troops.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; Government; Politics/Elections; US: California; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: 911; antoniovillaraigosa; aztlan; bushsfault; la; laliar; lamayor; laterrorplot; librarytower; losangeles; mecha; mediamalpractice; notlibertytower; projournalism; terrorplot; tonyvillar; usbanktower; villaraigosa
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To: Thanatos

Seems to me an expression of gratitude would be the better response from the honorable mayor.


21 posted on 02/09/2006 1:41:54 PM PST by Faith
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To: Thanatos

Lesson #4,899,953,654 from the left wing media on how to show hate and disdain for George W. Bush.


22 posted on 02/09/2006 1:42:06 PM PST by westmichman (Please pray with me for global warming)
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To: All
Read about "Antonio Villaraigosa" (born Tony Villar) and his pro-Communist, pro-Aztlan/MeCHA activities at UCLA Alumni Association website
23 posted on 02/09/2006 1:42:28 PM PST by newzjunkey (In 2006: Reelect Arnold; Get GOP Elected in CA; Halt W's Amnesty for Illegals. Win in Iraq.)
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To: Thanatos

I do not believe that he was mayor in 2002. Why give him a heads-up in 1006?


24 posted on 02/09/2006 1:42:38 PM PST by hotshotpilot
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To: Draco
Radio news report says White House informed Mayor's office before speech. Guess somebody didn't get the message.

Then the mayor is as big of a "payaso" as I already knew him to be. I heard about the threat to that building two damn years ago. And Chicago, and a bunch of other cities. BTW, I live in Los Angeles, and I am thankful that the president and those who serve him and serve with him are working their arses off to keep us safe.

25 posted on 02/09/2006 1:42:48 PM PST by Christian4Bush (More than 3000 people lost their "civil liberties" on September 11, 2001.)
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To: Thanatos

What is he whining about .. he wasn't the mayor when the threat happened (Oct 2001) - so why would the WH now be required to inform him .. why didn't his predecessor inform him of the threat ..??


26 posted on 02/09/2006 1:42:54 PM PST by CyberAnt
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To: BelegStrongbow
There really ought to be an AP idiocy ping. They serve up so many items so badly and in so skewed a text, they almost deserve to be collected.

Today I read they were upset that their French Pig calling winner was being used as propaganda by the Terrorists.

Poor babies.

27 posted on 02/09/2006 1:43:05 PM PST by Duke Nukum (To thine own self be true...or relatively true. --Guy Caballero)
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To: Travis McGee

Ping for MEChista bloviating


28 posted on 02/09/2006 1:43:14 PM PST by Regulator
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To: Thanatos

The mayor of LA has an over estimation of his importance.


29 posted on 02/09/2006 1:43:45 PM PST by TASMANIANRED (The Internet is the samizdat of liberty..".Liberty is the right and hope of all humanity"GW Bush)
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To: Thanatos

Yup, dumb as blinds----he's correct on this one, probably his only one.


30 posted on 02/09/2006 1:43:56 PM PST by budman_2001
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To: rockabyebaby

Has the mayor been asleep these past few years?

This was in the news several years ago. Everyone knew they had a plan to fly planes into this building.

The only new detail I heard today was that they intended to use shoe bombs to breach the cockpit door.


31 posted on 02/09/2006 1:44:12 PM PST by Deo volente
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To: Thanatos

LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa

Is he a clone of Mayor Nagin of NO?


32 posted on 02/09/2006 1:44:19 PM PST by TomGuy
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To: Thanatos

((PING))


33 posted on 02/09/2006 1:46:25 PM PST by oxcart (Remember Bush lied.......People DYED... THEIR FINGERS! (M. Steyn))
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To: CyberAnt; All
What the idiot mayor is talking about is not being briefed in 2002 but being briefed in 2006 that the President was going to release this information about a prior threat to LA without informing LA city government. In this case I agree with him. The mayors office should have been briefed.
34 posted on 02/09/2006 1:47:40 PM PST by Ben Mugged ("Television is the most perfect democracy, You sit there with your remote control and vote")
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To: cotton1706


"in 2002, Villaraigosa was embroiled in a s(e)cession movement by Hollywood and the San Bernadino vall(e)y and was smoozing left-wing don(a)rs to pony up to the bar and pay for his run for City Councilman of the 14th District in preparation to run a second time for mayor after a failed attempt in 2001."

This guy is quite an ambitious weasel and is seeking to get slimey "after PR mileage" out of this news coverage.

It's what you do when you are "personna non grata" with the White House.


35 posted on 02/09/2006 1:48:50 PM PST by CBart95
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To: Thanatos

Since Feinswein said she knew all about it, why doesn't the Mayor complain about no communication from his senators.


36 posted on 02/09/2006 1:48:58 PM PST by OldFriend (The Dems enABLEd DANGER and 3,000 Americans died.)
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To: hotshotpilot
Why give him a heads-up in 1006?
Because the Battle of Hastings will be coming in 60 years?

37 posted on 02/09/2006 1:50:39 PM PST by conservatism_IS_compassion (The idea around which liberalism coheres is that NOTHING actually matters but PR.)
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To: Thanatos
Maybe someone should start compiling a list of other things that affected Los Angeles before Villaraigosa became mayor, and then we can make sure that President Bush informs him. After all, we wouldn't want Villaraigosa to remain totally ignorant, would we? I'll start the list right here:

Northridge Earthquake occurred on January 17, 1994

38 posted on 02/09/2006 1:51:15 PM PST by Zeppo
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To: Thanatos
described communication with the White House as "nonexistent

I have a funny feeling that when this all shakes out the nonexistent communication will be between the mayor and his aide who took the White House call.

39 posted on 02/09/2006 1:52:03 PM PST by CharacterCounts
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To: Ben Mugged

Why ..??

And .. like I said, why wasn't the former mayor telling the new mayor about this incident in 2002 ..??

Why is that Bush's fault!


40 posted on 02/09/2006 1:54:42 PM PST by CyberAnt
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