JAN HAUGLAND NOTES THAT RICHARD CLARKE spent his career warning about a digital Pearl Harbor, not attacks like 9/11. He observes: “It is rather ironic when Clarke, who had a reputation for his obsession with cyberthreats, accuses the Bush administration of being obsessed with Iraq. His past history clearly puts the accusations in a new light.”

To be fair, however, Clarke has had some worthwhile things to say on the subject of cyberterrorism.

UPDATE: Here’s what Clarke was saying in 2000: “I think the largest threat is obviously posed by international narcotics smuggling, which costs a number of lives and costs an enormous amount of money.” If you read the report he’s discussing, you’ll see that drugs and intellectual property issues get a lot more attention than terrorism, and the discussion of terrorism isn’t as prescient as his current interviews suggest.

ANOTHER UPDATE: More here.