The incomparable Joseph Cannon has once again scooped the media by discovering the Big Lie that will be the centerpiece of Bush's SOTU: the fictional tale of an Al-Zarqawi plot (under direct written orders from Bin Laden and Al-Zawahiri) to send 19 terrorists into the U.S using student visas.

After reviewing the three published versions of this story (below), it's perfectly clear there are no credible facts - no independently verified documents, no identified witnesses, and no suspects. The whole story hinges on a single document, which was not seen by any of the reporters and probably does not exist.

Doesn't anyone in the Corporate Media remember the utterly bogus Niger forgery (created by Michael Ledeen and his Italian intelligence cronies) that helped launch the war - and led to the Wilson-Plame scandal that put Scooter Libby on trial?

Even Dan Rather had the journalistic integrity to publish his source documents on the Internet. Too bad Rather was fed forgeries by Karl Rove via Roger Stone and his wife Nydia, who posed as the mysterious "Lucy Ramirez" who delivered the forgeries to truthteller Bill Burkett. (Rove's authorship explains why the Bush Administration never prosecuted Burkett or anyone else for forging federal documents, ignoring the urgent pleas of rightwing bloggers.)

Also note the vague references to "suspects" in all the reports. Were any "suspects" captured or even identified? Of course not - they never existed.

This Big Lie first appeared as an "exclusive" on ABC News, the rightwing propaganda network that produced the bogus 9/11 documentary that used completely fictionalized scenes to blame Bill Clinton for everything and George Bush for nothing. ABC's "reporter" is Pierre Thomas, a name I've never encountered in any credible reporting on intelligence.

It was then "confirmed" by the New York Sun, a rightwing newspaper run by rich neocons, under the byline of Eli Lake, another new name in "credible" intelligence reporting.

The story got a third boost from Reuters, a propaganda arm of Tony Blair's lying government, which has also been caught lately publishing lies.

And it got a fourth boost from Rupert Murdoch's leading propaganda organ, Fox News.

And CBS News bought the story as well.

Mysteriously, none of the nation's leading newspapers reported the story - not the New York Times, the Washington Post, or the Los Angeles Times. But the Washington Post performed its propaganda duty by running an op ed by Liz Cheney attacking leading Democrats  citing the threat from al-Zarqawi and al-Zawahiri. A coincidence? Hardly.

This whole "plot" is just a fantasy - like all the other terrorist plots "uncovered" by the Busheviks, from Jose Padilla's dirty bomb "plot" to the Miami losers' "plot" to bomb the Sears Tower. (I'll leave it for other bloggers to document all the bogus plot atrocities since 9/11.)

Here is my challenge: if this isn't a Big Lie, then Bush or ABC or the Sun or Reuters should put the original documents on the Internet for everyone to read and get top intelligence officials to make unqualified, unambiguous statements under oath and penalty of perjury before the Senate or House Intelligence Committees.

Personally I bet there is no document, and I also bet there is no intelligence official who would testify under oath about it.

Here's the ultimate proof: if this story was real, it would have been vetted by the 16 intelligence agencies and included in a National Intelligence Estimate. But the administration just welched on its promise to produce a NIE on Iraq because the 16 agencies refused to endorse this bullshit story concocted by Karl Rove just in time for the State of the Union.

1. ABC News "Exclusive"

ABC's "Exclusive" has Big Lie warning lights all over it. Just read the underlined words - there isn't a single hard (unqualified) fact or primary (versus hearsay) witness in the entire article. It's pure unadulterated bullshit.

Details Emerge About Possible Terror Threat
Suspects, Reportedly Tied to Al Qaeda in Iraq, Sought Student Visas
By PIERRE THOMAS

WASHINGTON, Jan. 22, 2007 — - Mimicking the hijackers who executed the Sept. 11 attacks, insurgents reportedly tied to al Qaeda in Iraq considered using student visas to slip terrorists into the United States to orchestrate a new attack on American soil.

Lt. Gen. Michael D. Maples, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, recently testified [to whom? where is the transcript?] that documents captured by coalition forces during a raid of a safe house believed to house Iraqi members of al Qaeda six months ago "revealed [AQI] was planning terrorist operations in the U.S."

At the time, Maples offered little additional insight into the possible terror plot. ABC News, however, has learned new details of what remains a classified incident that has been dealt with at the highest levels of government.

Sources tell ABC News that the plot may have involved moving between 10 and 20 suspects believed to be affiliated with al Qaeda in Iraq into the United States with student visas -- the same method used by the 19 al Qaeda terrorists who struck American targets on Sept. 11...

The plot was discovered six months ago, roughly the same time that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, was killed by coalition forces. Sources tell ABC News that the suspects involved in the effort to launch the U.S. attack were closely associated with Zarqawi.

The plan also came only months after Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda's No. 2, had requested that Zarqawi attempt an attack inside the United States.

"This appears to be the first hard evidence al Qaeda in Iraq was trying to attack us here at home," said ABC News consultant Richard Clarke, former chief counterterrorism adviser on the U.S. National Security Council.

The plan was uncovered in its early stages, and sources say there is no indication that the suspects made it into the United States. Officials also emphasize that there is no evidence of an imminent attack.

The hunt for suspects continues, however, and some fear that al Qaeda recruits in Iraq could be easily redirected.

"Anyone willing to go to Iraq to fight American troops is probably willing to try to come to the United States," Clarke said.

2. The New York Sun

In the Sun version, all of the qualified facts are magically unqualified. Why? Because the Sun is just a rightwing rag so they can get away with flat-out lying, unlike ABC News which could get into real trouble with its audience if it was caught lying - just as Dan Rather did.

Qaeda Eyes New Attacks Here

WASHINGTON — Al Qaeda's second in command yesterday taunted President Bush on the eve of his State of the Union address, saying the American leader should send more troops to Iraq so that terrorists could kill more Americans.

In a video released on the Internet, Ayman al-Zawahiri asks, "Why send 20,000 only? Why not send 50,000 or 100,000?" He adds, "Aren't you aware that the dogs of Iraq are pining for your troops' dead bodies?" according to a translation from the SITE Institute, which monitors Al Qaeda-affiliated Web sites.

Al Qaeda sent the message to jihadist Web sites as ABC News and The New York Sun confirmed that coalition forces had disrupted a new Al Qaeda plot last summer to launch multiple attacks on American cities.

How exactly did either news organization "confirm" anything? Simply by taking dicatation from anonymous sources. Hello Michael Ledeen?

The plot was uncovered during a summer raid on a Qaeda safe house following the elimination of Al Qaeda in Iraq's deposed leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

In the ABC version, it was "a safe house believed to house Iraqi members of al Qaeda," and the raid was "roughly the same time that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi" was killed. By the magic of Bushevik alchemy, pure bullshit becomes intelligence gold.

According to one American intelligence official,

Just one? In which of the 16 intelligence agencies? At what level? Does this person have a real government job or is it a contractor or freelancer or advisory board member? Or is this just a crazy person who thinks he works for the CIA? There are plenty of people like that floating around in New York City, my proud home town.

the raid broke up a plan

ABC reported "the plan was uncovered in its early stages, and sources say there is no indication that the suspects made it into the United States. Officials also emphasize that there is no evidence of an imminent attack."  If there was a plan, it was at the fantasy stage and nobody was sent anywhere. Moreover, no one was captured. So how did they "break up a plan"?

to send 19 terrorists to America on student visas to carry out conventional bombing attacks, though chemical munitions were considered. ABC News reported yesterday that the plot would have involved between 10 and 20 people.

Does the number 19 ring a bell? Ah yes, that's the exact number of terrorists in the 911 attack. Obviously that number is supposed to send chills up our collective spines. Is that some kind of magic number for Al Qaeda, like the 7 virgins for jihadis? As I wrote above - how about putting the document with the number 19 on the internet so we can all see it?

The plot was in its early stages, the official, who requested anonymity, said. While Google Earth images of potential targets were found, the plotters had yet to do on-site surveillance in America.

Maps - another blast from the bullshit intel past!! Remember the bogus school drawings that dominated TV news for days?

At the same time, the operation had received approval from Al Qaeda's Shura Council, now based in the Pakistani province of Waziristan, on the border with Afghanistan.

Cool! Does the Shura Council place a special rubber stamp on terrorist plans? May we see the original document with the stamp, please?

"I would say had we not found out about this, the attack would have been scheduled for sometime in the summer or September 2007," the official said.

"I would say" is a bit dodgy, wouldn't you say? Is there a date in the mysterious document? Or did "the official" pull this "fact" out of one of his orifices?

The head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, General Michael Maples, told both the House and Senate intelligence committees this month:

This answers one of the questions left unanswered by ABC. So was this testimony given in open or closed session? Is there a published transcript? Is this an exact quote?

"Documents captured in a raid on an Al Qaeda in Iraq safe house in Iraq revealed AQI was planning terrorist operations in the U.S. The disrupted plots underscore both the accomplishments achieved in union with our partners in the war on terrorism and the continuing danger posed by Al Qaeda. Despite being forced to decentralize its network, Al Qaeda retains the ability to organize complex, mass casualty attacks and inspire others."

The testimony from General Maples marks the first time a senior American official has stated publicly that Al Qaeda in Iraq has ambitions to attack America.

When asked about the general's testimony yesterday, a spokesman for the Directorate of National Intelligence, Ross Feinstein, said his organization "agrees with the statement for the record General Maples made on January 18, 2007, about current and projected national security threats to the United States."

There's a convenient non-answer. Obviously Feinstein refuses to confirm the bullshit plot story, and restricts his comments to vague generalities "about current and projected national security threats." I guess Feinstein doesn't want to get caught in a flat-out lie either.

While the intelligence community appears to concur on the basic facts of the disrupted Al Qaeda plot,

"Appears to concur"??? What kind of bullshit confirmation is that?

the FBI said yesterday that the specific intelligence did not indicate a threat to America.

"The FBI has been aware of the information cited by the DIA. Various streams of threat information are evaluated on a regular basis by the FBI in conjunction with our intelligence community and law enforcement partners," Special Agent Richard Kolko said.

Translation: the FBI heard the story and determined the story is pure bullshit, but is keeping its mouth tightly shut so Cheney doesn't blow the place up for exposing the truth.

3. Reuters

Qaeda in Iraq had plan to hit U.S. - officials
By David Morgan

WASHINGTON, Jan 22 (Reuters) - The former Al Qaeda leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, once planned to send militants to the United States on student visas to carry out attacks on U.S. soil, officials said on Monday.

Voila - suddenly the plan was authored by the devil himself, al-Zarqawi! Why was that crucial fact missed by both ABC and the Sun? Because it's complete bullshit.

But the plot, which came to light during a raid on an al Qaeda safe house in Iraq early last year, never got off the ground and Zarqawi was killed months later in an attack by U.S. forces, officials said.

The plan, which was alluded to in congressional testimony last week by Defense Intelligence Agency director Army Lt. Gen. Michael Maples, called for using student visas to get 10 to 20 militants into the United States.

Only "alluded to" in Congressional testimony? Why on earth would Maples withhold the relevant facts from Congress and then leak them to three news agencies?

And why does Reuters use the vague 10-20 number when the Sun reports exactly 19?

Officials said the plot appeared to be Zarqawi's response to requests by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri, that the Iraq militant branch of al Qaeda carry out attacks in the United States.

Another dodgy "appeared to be." And was there ever really a memo from Bin Laden and al-Zawahari to Zarqawi? I can't remember whether that story survived vetting.

ABC News first reported the existence of the plot on its Web site at www.abcnews.go.com.

"It never happened. There were no visas obtained and none were ever applied for," said one U.S. official knowledgeable about the plan who asked not to be identified.

Well at least everyone seems to agree on that part!

Russ Knocke, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, said there was no credible evidence to suggest any imminent threat to the United States.

"This was more aspirational than operational," he said.

Gee, "aspirational" sounds familiar - where have we heard that one before???

Translation: utter bullshit.