Fear Factor

Interesting read over at The New Republic this morning.
Fear Factor
by John B. Judis

What is clear is that, once the arrests were made, the Bush administration used the threat to stoke public fears about "Islamic fascism" while portraying itself and the Republican Party as the only ones capable of quieting these fears.

Leaving us with the concern that--

...by hyping the danger--as he had previously done with the threat from Iraq's weapons of mass destruction--Bush administration officials create the possibility that the public, when it sees through the administration's attempt to manufacture hysteria, will turn cynical and not take seriously the need to remain vigilant in the face of a genuine threat from abroad.