Puppet Theatre

Olbermann, last night. For those times when one terrorism expert just isn't enough.

Expert #1
Name: Steve Emerson
Graphic: "NBC News Terrorism Analyst"
Day Job: Head of the Investigative Project on Terrorism, author of American Jihad: Terrorists Living Among Us, "spellbing" speaker [per the Harry Walker Agency]


So Why the Truce Business? Keith Asks:

"[He] (bin Laden) wants to appear reasonable. He feels he has the ability to appeal to half the American public. And so he thinks that if he talks about a truce, and appeals to what their sense of the truce is, he can basically sew a tremendous amount of dissention in the American body politic."

Comments, Mr. Riley?

Where does that "half" business come from? Do you really imagine that 50% of the American public is going to be swayed by something in a bin Laden tape? And hasn't Bush been doing a bang-up job of sewing dissention in the body politic these last thirteen months without any help? Why waste a perfectly good audio tape?

Bio:

"• Foremost Terrorism Expert

Steven Emerson is an internationally recognized expert on terrorism and national security and considered one of the leading world authorities on Islamic extremist networks, financing and operations. He now serves as the Executive Director of The Investigative Project, one of the world's largest archival data and intelligence on Islamic and Middle Eastern terrorist groups." [Harry Walker Agency]

Achievements:

• Won Polk award for his documentary "Jihad in America" (PBS).
• Best-selling author
• "Mr. Emerson is recognized as having been the first and only terrorist expert to have testified and warned about the threat of Islamic militant networks operating in the United States and their connections worldwide. He specifically warned about the threat of Osama Bin Laden's network in pioneering Congressional testimony delivered in 1998. " [Harry Walker Agency]

Slight Omissions:

Was dropped by CBS after he said the Oklahoma City bombing showed "a Middle Eastern trait" because it was carried out "with the intent to inflict as many casualties as possible."

Told CNN the Yugoslavs were the likely suspects in the 1993 WTC bombing.

Said TWA flight 800 was brought down by a bomb.

Principal hounder of Sami Al-Arian.

Multi-million dollar suit against John Sugg (who calls Emerson a self-styled terrorism expert" and "a pseudo-journalist") and FAIR over an article which was highly critical of him was dismissed when he couldn't prove any of his charges. "He ran, " Sugg said.

Bravery Under Fire:
Claims to have received death threats. "Mr. Emerson now lives under false cover in the United States." [Harry Walker Agency]. A CBS "48 Hours" segment showed visitors to the Investigative Project's headquarters being blindfolded before being led through the building. Yet he still shows up at NBC and Fox studios. We could use a man like him in the military.

Anything To Add, Mr. Riley?:
Yeah, even forgetting the "pseudo", the world's top terrorism expert is a journalist?

Expert #2
Name: Ben Venzke
Graphic: "Terrorism Expert"
Day Job: CEO of Tempest Publishing and its intelligence group Intel Center

So Why the Truce Business? Keith Asks:

"It's al-Qaeda giving an opportunity to whatever its targets may be, in this case the United States, the opportunity to change, the opportunity to follow their advice, and what it does, it allows them after an attack, if there's a mass casualty event, many Muslims or other Arabs killed, it gives them the opportunity to say, 'Look, we gave them a chance to change, we gave them numerous opportunities, we can't help it if they don't follow our advice.' And then they move forward and execute an attack. So it fits into the justification and warning process for attacks."

Comments, Mr. Riley?

Yeah, I haven't been able to find out just what makes Mr. Venzke a "terrorism expert"; he's edited a book for first responders and co-wrote The al-Qaeda Threat: An Analytical Guide to al-Qaeda's Tactics & Targets (Tempest Publishing), but that "mass casualty event" and the repeated inability to come up with a synonym for "opportunity" suggest he trained as a teevee meteorologist.

Available in the Lobby: The Intel Center's catalogue includes five pages of Terrorism DVDs ("Raw Terrorist Video Indexed and Formatted for Briefers, Analysts, Operators and Trainers"), audio enhanced in Dolby™ Digital, for $39.95 each. Or get the complete set of 24 for $1,015, a savings of over $23! Or, if you've happen to be a military, law enforcement, or intelligence agency in the US or allied country, why not spring for the government restricted set, 30 quality titles for only $1,315?

Slight omission: The name of Mr. Venzke's co-author is left off The al-Qaeda Threat page, though he wrote the blub himself.

Guest Blogosphere self-correcting function: In November, doorguy at Kos asked just what sort of outfit openly advertises itself as "doing support work for the intelligence community"?

Mr. Riley, you look as though you have something to add?:
Yeah, well, aren't we spending enough on Homeland Security that military, law enforcement, and intelligence agencies can get their DVDs for free? Or, like, swap 'em out with each other?