> The timing means Bush pressed Blair to move, quite possibly for
> electoral purposes. It's not bin Laden setting the watches - and he
> probably had nothing to with all this anyway.
I agree. The timing shows that the terror plot revelation was probably tied to the upcoming U.S. elections. The news was broken two days after election primaries in the U.S. This news also deflects attention away from the fact that Bush is on vacation. Polls this week show a bounce for Bush on his perceived handling of "security" issues.
Plenty of news reports say that British and U.S. authorities knew about the alleged plot for months, so the timing of the public release of info about the plot can be tied to political motivations.
This news also helped divert attention away from the Israel-Hizbollah conflict and the U.S. inaction.
And see: Seymour Hersh: Washington’s interests in Israel’s war. http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/060821fa_fact
Chuck