Early Warning Quotes
On May 11, 1998, India exploded a nuclear bomb. The CIA and the NSA were caught flatfooted. They had no inkling of such an event, and found out about it when the Indian Government announced it. The entire world balance of power had shifted and the United States had no warning despite the fact that the Indian Prime Minister and other Officials had publicly stated that they were working on a nuclear bomb. The American Warning System had failed totally. That is what prompted McCarthy’s statement. However, many key people at the CIA were angry at their old colleague for so dramatically drawing attention to what they regarded as a slip up. Later, when she returned to the CIA, there was much contention and she was fired by Republican Director Porter Goss, but the details of the circumstances have never been made public.
This was another of Palin’s gaffs reflecting on her shallow knowledge of American History. Paul Revere’s ride was for the purpose of warning Samuel Adams and John Hancock and the Americans along the way. It was not to warn the British of course. However, there was a grain of truth in her misstatement. Halfway on his ride, Revere was stopped by the British and questioned. The British were on their way to capture the Armory and its weapons. Revere did tell the British that as a result of his warning the Americans along the way, there would likely be 500 patriots in defense. So in a sense, Revere “warned” the British. This is another of example Palin’s shallow understanding of events and ideas for which she was notorious. See {623710} for a historians view. She was following the Freedom Trail in Massachusetts and commenting for the press at every opportunity. Ironically, Palin. In her own inimitable style, was loquacious on a subject she had not studied or prepared for.
