Tale of Terror
Find a Conversation
| Sat, 08-07-2004 - 8:03am |
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040806/OPINION/408060388/1030/OPINION01
Tall tale of terror
Harris' story of plot shows neither decretion nor good sense
As a member of Congress, with the nation engaged in a war on terror, Katherine Harris should be careful of what she says and certain about her facts.
People already on edge from high alerts and suspicious of foreign-looking neighbors don't need their congresswoman ratcheting up their fears. Tales of sinister plots should not be spun for political gain.
Unfortunately, Harris, R-Longboat Key, showed neither discretion nor good sense in her recent public statements about a purported terrorist plot in Indiana.
In a speech to Republican supporters Monday in Venice, Harris extolled President Bush's record in the war on terror. As an example, she told of a plot by an man of Middle Eastern heritage to blow up a Midwestern power grid. The plot, she said, was thwarted and the man arrested.
The trouble is, there appears to be no record of such a plot, and no one who can confirm Harris' story. Neither the mayor nor the police chief of Carmel, Ind., which Harris said was at the center of the plot, knows anything about it. Neither do counterterrorism officials in Indiana nor anyone in the governor's office.
Harris says she heard the story "secondhand" from another mayor in Indiana, but she has refused to name that person or to provide more details to support her story.
A press release Harris issued Wednesday didn't help much. She said the story "illustrated the need for each of us to remain alert and vigilant in fighting terror." She added, "I regret that I had no knowledge of the sensitive nature of this situation and any undue concern this may have caused."
To speak without "knowledge of the sensitive nature" of a tale of terror does Harris, the public and the president no favor.
