Terrorism

"While the administration of President George W. Bush is aggressively positioning itself as the world leader in the war on terrorism, some families of the Sept. 11 victims say that the facts increasingly contradict that script," reports Eric Boehlert. "The White House long opposed the formation of a blue-ribbon Sept. 11 commission, some say, and even now that panel is underfunded and struggling to build momentum.

The producer of a CBS mini-series has been fired after comparing the climate of fear in the United States to the political environment that enabled Adolf Hitler's rise to power. Ed Gernon, the producer of "Hitler: The Rise of Evil" told TV Guide that the story "basically boils down to an entire nation gripped by fear, who ultimately chose to give up their civil rights and plunged the whole world into war.

Minneapolis FBI agent Colleen Rowley, who last year exposed the agency's mishandling of warning signs prior to September 11, has written a new letter to FBI director Robert Mueller, warning that "the diversion of attention from al-Qaeda to our government's plan to invade Iraq ... will, in all likelihood, bring an exponential increase in the terrorist threat to the U.S., both at home and abroad. ... It is altogether likely that you will find yourself a helpless bystander to a rash of 9-11s.

"Ruder Finn designed the Dept. of Homeland Security's www.ready.gov website and brochure that provides tips on how to prepare against a biological, radiation or nuclear attack," O'Dwyer's PR Daily reports. "Ruder Finn wants to be 'clear and accurate' in giving tips to cope with terror attacks. 'We worked with the Ad Council on its Smokey the Bear campaign, and AC staffers recommended us for the Homeland Security work,' said [Ruder Finn senior VP Scott] Schneider.