“The CIA’S top counterterrorism officials
By on Sep 29th, 2006 at 11:43 am
“The CIA’S top counterterrorism officials
felt they could have killed Osama Bin Laden in the months before 9/11, but got the ‘brushoff’ when they went to the Bush White House seeking the money and authorization,” Bob Woodward reports in his new book. In an “urgent” July 2001 meeting with Condi Rice, CIA Director George Tenet and his counterterrorism head Cofer Black “went over top-secret intelligence pointing to an impending attack and ’sounded the loudest warning’ to the White House of a likely attack on the U.S. by Bin Laden. Woodward writes that Rice was polite, but, ‘They felt the brushoff.’“
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You think Fox news will ask any of the current administration about this? Come on Chris, here’s your chance to show the world your non partisian news reporting.
September 29th, 2006 at 11:47 amAnd this wasn’t in the “Path to 9/11″ because??????
They were more than willing to include many other false claims, but this particular one was left out. I wonder why? Hmmm….
September 29th, 2006 at 11:47 am“And this wasn’t in the “Path to 9/11″ because??????”
September 29th, 2006 at 11:49 amHmmmm, Wonder why…
Can you say LIHOP?
September 29th, 2006 at 11:50 amAt the time Bush was more interested in developing the ridiculous “Star Wars” program and sending a man to Mars. Mr. Bush, we are finally ready to send that man to Mars.
September 29th, 2006 at 11:50 amThink any of the “liberal media” will give this much air time? I doubt it!
September 29th, 2006 at 11:53 amThis is a tremendous story, if true. Down the memory hole? Probably…
September 29th, 2006 at 11:55 amI wonder if Chris Wallace is trying to get Bush/Condi/or L’il Dick to do a follow up interview?
…I wonder how much of our tax dollars are being spent on Bushiva and L’il Dick’s campaign fundraising travel too?
Chris (Wallace), Brit Hume, Bill O’lielly, Scum Vannity…
…would ANY one of you be interested in interviewing the preznit or his operatives and asking some tough questions?
September 29th, 2006 at 12:07 pmBut, but, but, Clinton!!!
September 29th, 2006 at 12:08 pmI don’t think too much about Osama.
Dereliction of duty is an impeachable offense.
#7
There is no way this is going “down the memory hole.”
If, however, you are worried that this will happen - pick a few media outlets and send them a note expressing your hope that they will cover the issues presented by this book.
Tim Russert’s “Meet the Press” website has a section that asks what things viewers want covered. The sites for the other Sunday shows have similar set ups.
The columnists for the Washington Post and other papers have email addresses.
Go on and do your thing. Contact them and express your interest.
September 29th, 2006 at 12:12 pmBush and A**croft were more interested in promoting the NRA agenda than they were in chasing down UBL.
Besides, how can someone of power chase down a business partner? Carlysle Group had several Bush business partners from the US and Saudi Arabia (including the bin Ladens).
No surprise that he’d not be interested in UBL.
September 29th, 2006 at 12:14 pma brushoff, eh…..now watch this drive! Priorities, you know!
September 29th, 2006 at 12:15 pm#9 - Dereliction of duty is an impeachable offense.
One would think. But maybe it only counts if there’s sex involved?
Still, your comment should be in bold:
Dereliction of duty is an impeachable offense.
September 29th, 2006 at 12:16 pm#10 thanks for the advice.
September 29th, 2006 at 12:18 pmWhy would Bush and friends want to spend time tracking down and capturing a friend of the Bush family? The only thing Bush wants to track down terrorists for is to hold hands with them in the blue bonnet garden.
September 29th, 2006 at 12:18 pmTreason on 9-11.
September 29th, 2006 at 12:28 pm#13 - So right.
September 29th, 2006 at 12:28 pmI was just monologuing…
“Operation Ignore” redux.
September 29th, 2006 at 12:29 pmI don’t put that much trust in what Woodward says. I don’t believe, for example, the Tenet quote to Richard Clarke. Had that exact exchange taken place I believe Clarke would have already reported it. In my book Tenet was part of the problem, not part of a proposed solution. When you have doubts about one part of the book you have doubts about everything else as well. It doesn’t help either that Woodward has been a Bush toady for nearly 6 years either.
September 29th, 2006 at 12:33 pm“Asked about the book, the White House on Thursday night dismissed it, telling The Associated Press it didn’t contain anything new. During a briefing Friday at a NATO meeting in Slovenia, Rumsfeld declined comment on the book, saying he hadn’t read it.”
Source: http://www.cnn.com/ 2006/ POLITICS/ 09/ 29/ books.woodward.ap/ index.html
Wonder if the top-secret intelligence referred to was also included in that infamous 8/6/2001 PDB that Condi also swept aside, or was the PDB a result of ignoring the July 2001 intelligence? Either way, clearing brush and lame golf drives were far more important than the lives lost since then.
September 29th, 2006 at 12:36 pmI wrote two weeks ago that Cofer Black is Bush’s equivalent of Nixon’s Butterfield who divulged the presence of an Oval Office audio taping system. That brought Nixon down. Black said two weeks ago when referring to 9/11 that they had strong feelings that the attack would take place in August. His statement seem to be inadvertent. After 9/11 Black was appointed to an Ambassador At Large position. Was this a reward to keep his mouth shut? Black is now an officer with Blackwell USA, which has made a fortune off the war. If the Democrats gain subpoena power, Cofer Black should be one of the first served.
September 29th, 2006 at 12:48 pmI will reinterent my suspicions . THE ADMINISTRATION HAD NO INTEREST KILLING OBL . They wanted him alive , they knew the attack was coming , to the day if not to the hour . Condi lied and they all continue to lie . The interest was Iraq and only Iraq for the OIL . Bush for OILD AND HIS MESSIANIC VISION .. ..ALL A BUNCH OF CYNICAL FOOLS .
September 29th, 2006 at 12:58 pmThis is important information to damn the Bush Regime, but will the Congress bother to take notice? They are too wussy to impeach Bush!
September 29th, 2006 at 1:00 pmThe same old play - Bush attacks opponents for his weaknesses. Dems are on defense. By the time the information comes out about Bush, the press can ignore it as old news or mere partisan fingerpointing.
September 29th, 2006 at 1:12 pmSomeone contact Disney - they need to issue an addendum, you know, in the interest of fairness and all. I don’t remember this brushoff scene in their “based on the 9/11 commission report” film.
September 29th, 2006 at 1:16 pmAmerica’s Least Wanted
Bu$h would be a nobody, a one term boil on the ass of the presidency if it weren’t for Bin Laden. Why on earth would he want to kill or capture the one man that has kept him in power?
September 29th, 2006 at 1:24 pmHe cold have leaked this information but chose to reap the profits instead. A good republican would not do any less.
September 29th, 2006 at 1:44 pmSo is Bob Woodward doing any MSM interviews to promote this book? Will the truth get out this time? One can only hope.
September 29th, 2006 at 1:50 pmI wanted to e-mail Chris Wallace (since I understand he takes questions from e-mailers) and make sure he asks the next administration official he interviews about this. But I got a little Easter egg instead.
Nobody seems to proofread their META tags, so if you google “fox news sunday” you learn that “Chris Wallace hosts the pubic affairs show FOX News Sunday (FNS). Read recaps and watch video clips on FOXNews.com.
Tee-hee!
September 29th, 2006 at 2:57 pmdigg it!
September 29th, 2006 at 3:03 pm#28
Oh, yeah, he’s on the full-bore book tour. 60 minutes Sunday and Larry King Monday that I know of.
September 29th, 2006 at 3:16 pmRepubliscum will say that this is just a book, and that it is just his opinion, and he is wrong — but what were they saying when Woodward was kissing Bush’s ass in his previous writing?
September 29th, 2006 at 5:34 pmWhatever — at least Woodward will make all the shows, and people will be talking about this for a while. Bush&Co will be forced into defense mode, and that is a good thing.
As for Woodward, I think he is a windsock, writing books according to the favorable winds, but if Bushie has to squirm a bit more because of this book, fine. Something should keep him squirming and defensive until he finally snaps and we are rid of him.
How many “smoking guns” of testimony do we need to hear? Many books have been written by people who were in the inner circle and with little variation, they all tell a similar story.
September 29th, 2006 at 5:37 pmBush did NOT do anything about terrorism, specifically about OBL, before 9/11 — why?
Family connections? Saudi connections? Why were they so inert?
#19
medal of freedom to Tenant was to get him to remain silent like a good cia director. Cause Iam sure tenant would like to have come forward and spill the beans on what really happened.
September 29th, 2006 at 8:02 pmYou people are disgusting. How dare you criticise Bush. The president was so concerned, so worried, by all the reports coming into the White House about an impending major attack by Al Qaeda inside the United States that he sprang into action and…
He went on vacation.
Within days of Tenet’s emergency visit to the White House. He did what any smart person who was the most likely target of an Al Qaeda attack would do. He fled Washington. FOR A MONTH.
This ever-growing stream of revelations about what happened (or did not happen) inside the White House during 2001 is beyond fiction now.
It is all so foul, so despicable, no novelist could have come up with this story. It had to actually happen before it became believable.
http://www.lastdaysofpresidentbush.blogspot.com
September 30th, 2006 at 6:55 am“Can you say LIHOP”
Sure we can.
“What they will do is stagger along until there’s a major incident and then suddenly say, ‘Oh my God, shouldn’t we be organized to deal with this?”
Fmr. Nat. Comm. On terrorism chairman Paul Bremer (Feb. 26. 2001)
The neocons needed an attack for their agenda. And that’s not just me saying it, they themselves have said it in their own document, rebulding america’s defences. Why democrats are afraid to point this out is beyond me.
September 30th, 2006 at 8:27 am[…] The CIA S top counterterrorism officials Think Progress, DC - Sep 29, 2006 In an urgent July 2001 meeting with Condi Rice, CIA Director George Tenet and his counterterrorism head Cofer Black went over top-secret intelligence […]
October 12th, 2006 at 6:44 pm[…] The CIA S top counterterrorism officials Think Progress, DC - Sep 29, 2006 In an urgent July 2001 meeting with Condi Rice, CIA Director George Tenet and his counterterrorism head Cofer Black went over top-secret intelligence […]
October 24th, 2006 at 2:30 pm[…] The CIA S top counterterrorism officials Think Progress, DC - Sep 29, 2006 In an urgent July 2001 meeting with Condi Rice, CIA Director George Tenet and his counterterrorism head Cofer Black went over top-secret intelligence […]
October 29th, 2006 at 2:14 am