AG: terror threats "way beyond anything... I knew or believed"

Michael Mukasey, quoted in the Wall Street Journal, rivals Dick Cheney as the administration's primary fear-monger. Unfortunately for the Party of Weakness, his fears are well-founded as he is exposed to all of the country's intelligence streams. And -- even worse for liberals progressives -- Mukasey is a man not known for overstatement on either side of the aisle.

...the former judge who once tried terror cases told the Commonwealth Club audience that even he had no idea of the extent of the threat... Speaking of what he hears in his national security briefings, Mr. Mukasey said, "It is way beyond – way beyond anything that I knew or believed. So, if I was picked for the level of my knowledge . . . that was a massive piece of false advertising."

...on the necessity of warrantless antiterror surveillance. Before 9/11, Mr. Mukasey said, "We knew that there had been a call from someplace that was known to be a safe house in Afghanistan and we knew that it came to the United States. We didn't know precisely where it went. We've got" – here the Attorney General paused with emotion – "we've got 3,000 people who went to work that day, and didn't come home, to show for that."

The AG also addressed why immunity from lawsuits is vital for the telecom companies that cooperated with the surveillance after 9/11. "Forget the liability" the phone companies face, Mr. Mukasey said. "We face the prospect of disclosure in open court of what they did, which is to say the means and the methods by which we collect foreign intelligence against foreign targets." Al Qaeda would love that. The cynics will call this "fear-mongering," but most Americans will want to make sure we don't miss the next terror call.

From all appearances, the Democrats would love that too. But don't question their patriotism. They're doing the very best they can to undermine national security because George W. Bush is the real threat.