Uh Oh! Is It Time for That October Surprise?

Conspiracy freaks and even some normal people have been warning that the White House is going to engineer an October Suprise -- a stunning news event intended to influence the outcome of an election that looks increasingly like a huge setback for the Bush administration and possibly an end to the 12-year Republican hegemony.

Does the following qualify?

LONDON - Coalition naval forces in the Persian Gulf have been deployed to counter possible seaborne threats to an oil refinery in Bahrain and to Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura terminal, which is the world’s biggest offshore oil facility, Britain's Royal Navy said on Friday.

Saudi Arabia confirmed it was taking measures to protect its oil and economic installations from a “terrorist threat” by al-Qaida . . .

A British navy official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press, said a threat from al-Qaida last month to target Gulf oil terminals had resulted in the stepped-up security and vigilance.

U.S. Navy sources told NBC News that U.S. warships were on a "heightened state of alert" in the Persian Gulf.

Let's hope not.

Nevertheless, world of heightened naval alerts and the deployment of battle groups to the Persian Gulf has been circulating for weeks, so this news doesn't exactly qualify as a surprise, October or otherwise.

More here on this sucky development. Click here for a list of October Surprises.