Bush Officials May Have Covered Up Rice-Tenet Meeting From 9/11 Commission
Bush Officials May Have Covered Up Rice-Tenet Meeting From 9/11 Commission
[Our guest blogger, Peter Rundlet, was a Counsel to the 9/11 Commission.]
Most of the world has now seen the infamous picture of President Bush tending to his ranch on August 6, 2001, the day he received the ultra-classified Presidential Daily Brief (PDB) that included a report entitled “Bin Laden Determined To Strike in US.” And most Americans have also heard of the so-called “Phoenix Memo” that an FBI agent in Phoenix sent to FBI headquarters on July 10, 2001, which advised of the “possibility of a coordinated effort” by bin Laden to send students to the United States to attend civil aviation schools.
As a Counsel to the 9/11 Commission, I became very familiar with both the PDB and the Phoenix Memo, as well as the tragic consequences of the failure to detect and stop the plot. A mixture of shock, anger, and sadness overcame me when I read about revelations in Bob Woodward’s new book about a special surprise visit that George Tenet and his counterterrorism chief Cofer Black made to Condi Rice, also on July 10, 2001:
They 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.”
If true, it is shocking that the administration failed to heed such an overwhelming alert from the two officials in the best position to know. Many, many questions need to be asked and answered about this revelation — questions that the 9/11 Commission would have asked, had the Commission been told about this significant meeting. Suspiciously, the Commissioners and the staff investigating the administration’s actions prior to 9/11 were never informed of the meeting. As Commissioner Jamie Gorelick pointed out, “We didn’t know about the meeting itself. I can assure you it would have been in our report if we had known to ask about it.”
The Commission interviewed Condoleezza Rice privately and during public testimony; it interviewed George Tenet three times privately and during public testimony; and Cofer Black was also interviewed privately and publicly. All of them were obligated to tell the truth. Apparently, none of them described this meeting, the purpose of which clearly was central to the Commission’s investigation. Moreover, document requests to both the White House and to the CIA should have revealed the fact that this meeting took place. Now, more than two years after the release of the Commission’s report, we learn of this meeting from Bob Woodward.
Was it covered up? It is hard to come to a different conclusion. If one could suspend disbelief to accept that all three officials forgot about the meeting when they were interviewed, then one possibility is that the memory of one of them was later jogged by notes or documents that describe the meeting. If such documents exist, the 9/11 Commission should have seen them. According to Woodward’s book, Cofer Black exonerates them all this way: “Though the investigators had access to all the paperwork about the meeting, Black felt there were things the commissions wanted to know about and things they didn’t want to know about.” The notion that both the 9/11 Commission and the Congressional Joint Inquiry that investigated the intelligence prior to 9/11 did not want to know about such essential information is simply absurd. At a minimum, the withholding of information about this meeting is an outrage. Very possibly, someone committed a crime. And worst of all, they failed to stop the plot.
– Peter Rundlet
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It becomes more and more clear tome that this event was allowed to happen. The alternative leads to considering such high levels of incompetence as to suspect Mickey Mouse and his crew could have done as good a job. Somebody clearly thinks the American people stupid.
September 30th, 2006 at 6:23 pmSo what happens now?
September 30th, 2006 at 6:25 pmI don’t know about Tenet and Black, Condi Rice testified under oath. A lie of omission is still a lie.
Woodward knew about this meeting all this time, and yet waited until now to disclose it.
September 30th, 2006 at 6:25 pmNothing new here. Just another disagreement over the interpretation of old data. Lets move on.
- D. Rumsfeld
September 30th, 2006 at 6:27 pmIt’s time to lawyer up for all the GOP and the White House. The lies are coming out faster then we can handle. I ‘m still in shock that we have GOP officials who are child sex offenders. Those who covered up are part of the criminal acts. Now we know the White House lied and the truth is out. Yes Connie’s been lying since the beginning. Tenet did what it took to keep his job and if that ment sucking up and lying for Bush so be it. Now they have to face those lies as the American people see the truth.
September 30th, 2006 at 6:31 pm“Somebody clearly thinks the American people stupid.”
Are you saying they aren’t? I belong to a large family of idiots.
September 30th, 2006 at 6:33 pmBushCo just let 9/11 happen. That’s unforgivable.
If they had done their jobs, and tried everything they possibly could to try and stop 9/11, but failed, it would be easier to forgive.
But they didn’t care, didn’t try, and then they tried to cover their asses with lies, lies and more lies.
They should all be in prison.
September 30th, 2006 at 6:36 pmI would say that this is a breathtaking revelation but then I would also have to believe that this administration was actually competent and simply got the surprise of their lives like everyone else 5 years ago.
September 30th, 2006 at 6:39 pmSadly, that is not the case here. What it is is the latest example of what I think now looks like the Bushies complicity in the murder of almost 3,000 innocent people that day. What has followed since is only a confirmation of their utter contempt for the Americaqn People and our safty and welfare. They simply don’t give a rats a** about us.
A coverup is the only thing that does seem to make sense. The commission did not know about the meeting and so did not ask about it. Rice, Tenet, and Black did not volunteer the information though they all had to know that the fact that this meeting occured was blockbuster information that the 9/11 commission and everyone else would have been very interested in. This story needs to appear on the front page of the major papers and Rice, Tenet and Black need to talk publicly about what happened.
September 30th, 2006 at 6:42 pmBush Officials May Have Covered Up Rice-Tenet Meeting …
Why wasn’t the 9/11 Commission told about George Tenet’s warnings on Al Qaeda in July 2001?…
September 30th, 2006 at 6:46 pmFor the past 5 years I have tried to brush most of the problems our country has been led into by the Bush Admin as plain incompetence. However, every time a new piece of information comes out about their actions leading up to the war in Iraq leads me closer to the following conclusion.
Bush and his administration NEEDED 9/11 to happen in order to push forward their middle east agenda. To that goal, they either looked the other way or ACTIVELY CONSPIRED to bring about 9/11.
They are as guilty as Bin Laden in either case.
September 30th, 2006 at 6:50 pmIt is clear more than ever -
The Commission needs to reopen the investigation.
Questions remain unanswered. Here are a few that are disconcertingly dismissed as “nonsense conspiracy theories.”
1 - How is it that WTC 7, a 47 story building that wasn’t hit by a plane on 9/11, collapsed from fire alone? This defies the basic principles of science. No steel frame structure has ever collapsed from fire alone.
2 - Why did FEMA and the 9/11 Commission leave out WTC from their investigation? I am sure insurance companies would love to know why it happened. I am sure aspiring architectural engineers whould know as well.
3 - Why was all the steel from WTC shipped off to China, even before the investigation was opened? This could be considered the greatest tampering (or destruction) of evidence in the history of forensics. What were they hiding?
4 - Why didn’t the SEC investigate the tremendous spike in put-options for airline companies that took place in the days prior to 9/11? Isn’t this clearly a red-flag that someone had foreknowledge? Why not investigate those who profitted from this info?
5 - Why was the Bush administration so opposed to an investigation into 9/11 to begin with? Why wasn’t he or Cheney called to testify? If this was a company, you know the CEO would have been questioned by the authorities.
6 - How is it that no one has been fired for the gross security failures and negligence of the 9/11 attacks? The only one who admitted any fault was Richard Clarke. Read his book - it says a lot.
7 - Why isn’t Osama bin Laden listed as wanted for 9/11 on the FBI website? He is only wanted for the embassy attacks of 1998. Who is responsible for these attcks?
8 - Why did Ashcroft start to fly on private charters in the weeks leading up to 9/11? Who was it that gave San Francisco Mayor Brown the warning not to fly before 9/11? What are the roots of these warnings? Who knew what and when? Why was that omitted from the investigation?
9 - And now…does this recent info about a July 10, 2001 meeting between the CIA and Condi Rice suggest that the Bush adminsitration had some knowledge that attacks were imminent? Why did he continue to vacation after receiving the Aug. 6th PDB memo that bin Laden was determined to attack? Couldn’t he have given the American people some warning that Ashcroft and Mayor Brown ostensibly received?
People… trust me when I say that the whole story has not been revealed to us about why 9/11 happened. The unanswered questions should be explored. The truth isn’t possible by being passive. I implore you to seek these answers for yourselves. The real conspiracy, and an outrageous one at that, is the one that was given to us by our government.
st911.org
911truth.org
911proof.com
“All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.†- Arthur Schopenhauer
September 30th, 2006 at 6:58 pmI still have relatives and co-workers who defend the Bush Regime - even people who consider themselves moderates and liberals. They watch the local news and believe the garbage that they sell for news.
People in this country do not think for themselves. And as a high school teacher, I’d be happy to tell you why. We spend 12 years training them to be lemmings. Sit in your seat, shut-up and memorize everything your teachers, preachers, politicians and parents tell you to. The mentality is “Do what I say and never ever have a thought of your own that I didn’t give you”. Really, what to we expect from people after that? No wonder Einstein dropped out.
Friday, I met with two of my students after school to discuss the trip we’re taking to Europe this summer. I asked them what they liked about school and what they didn’t. They pretty much confirmed what I just wrote.
September 30th, 2006 at 6:59 pmOur Federal Government has become what we have allowed.
September 30th, 2006 at 7:03 pmOne has only to watch 1 hour of television to see what we have become as a nation.
When it is more important who in hollywood is sleeping with whom and what “reality” event shapes our day, we can expect the foxes to eat all the chicken and convince us it was to make us more secure.
unbelievable,
My father stills says to this day that he believes Bush did his best before and after 9/11 & Katrina.
I’ve sent him TP’s timelines and other things, but nothing penetrates. My dad is not a stupid person, he just cannot believe anyone would do a bad job at something as important as the presidency. I’m sure there are many, many people just like him out there.
He’s a history buff, so I hope he lives long enough to read the Bush horror story in a book (not from me), and have him say to me, “Did you know…?”
Now, when the topics come up, I just say, “Spare me…”
September 30th, 2006 at 7:07 pmTo the above comment made by unbelievable:
I am a teacher as well. I completely agree with you. We need to teach our students to be independent thinkers and objectives critics of what is often presented as fact.
My previous post was a collection of inquiries that were not handed to me as I lazily skimmed through channels via the remote control. And the newspapers, even the reputable ones, like the NY Times, did not steer me to question the truth about 9/11.
It was friends who lived near the accident. It was another collegue who lost a loved one. It was a distant relative who worked at the clean-up site for the WTC and was left questioning what was missing from the evening news.
While we can’t force any particular theory down the throats of our loved ones or our students or a co-workers, we can leave them with the questions. If they choose to dimiss the questions on the spot, or to mock us for our unbending curiosity, then what’s worked for me is to silently walk away knowing that they either can’t understand the truth, are lazy, or are too afraid to seek it for themselves. Time will pass. Things will change.
“All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.†- Arthur Schopenhauer
September 30th, 2006 at 7:12 pmHuh. I guess that explains the look on Georges face that day when he was reading his kiddie book.
September 30th, 2006 at 7:26 pm9/11:
September 30th, 2006 at 7:28 pmIf you watch someone get beat to death, are you legally guilty of anything? No. If you know an attack is coming as did Bush and FDR, and you don’t tell anyone to stop it, have you committed a crime? No. It’s a sin (not crime) of omission. It’s as bad as a crime, but isn’t one. However, impeachment doesn’t require a crime, just a politicial mistake. And that’s why it’s time for some former coward to make THE BIG MOVE.
Now, when the topics come up, I just say, “Spare me…â€
Comment by Zooey — September 30, 2006 @ 7:07 pm
Sounds like one of my brothers. He’s like your Dad in the sense that he cannot question anyone UP the chain of command. The whole respect for hierarchy thing. My brother and I fight when we talk about politics and he makes up crap when he’s being out debated (the facts always have a way of doing that :). Eventually, when I debunk a few of his fabrications he just says “I’m not going to discuss politics with you.” I keep hoping he’ll catch on, but like you, I’m doubtful.
Though several of my students are going to vote, and have actually been encouraging one another. I told them that if Bush starts a war with Iran, guess who is going to fight it. I think it woke them up.
September 30th, 2006 at 7:29 pmSeptember 30th, 2006 at 7:29 pm
First, I would like to know how it comes to pass that we learn this from Bob Woodward, and why (in view of his past inability to report in a timely fashion critical facts) should we believe him.
Secondly, if the report of this meeting is true and Condi Rice decided to brush them off, how does this materially affect anything we do not already know…. apart from perjury or witholding evidence. Oh that’s right, they aren’t criminals.
Where is the Special Prosecutor for occasions like this? Where is Ken Starr when he could do some actual good investigating a real issue?
Republicans are liars first and incompetents second. Where is the news in that?
September 30th, 2006 at 7:30 pmYou are all crazy.
September 30th, 2006 at 7:30 pmI just ordered Woodward’s Book from Amazon. I should have it Tuesday, Oct. 3. I have a suggestion, if you can do so, purchase a copy of the book for yourself and then give it to someone else to read. It should go to someone who needs to be convienced that it is time for a change. This cannot go on if our country is to survive.
September 30th, 2006 at 7:32 pmDid you notice what the student that Foley was hitting on did? Read the correspondence back and forth and then the email he sent to a friend.
September 30th, 2006 at 7:34 pmKids, particularly those with Internet savvy, are way on top of all of this. They are back to not trusting anyone over thirty and believing in themselves more than what they are spoonfed in school.
I teach at two colleges; one a small Catholic college of mostly mid-level Health Care and LE. The other is Broward Community College and these kids are sharp; not about school but life and the political landscape. They have had it but are not retreating–they just go to MySpace and writie about it with their peers.
Just like the iPod has changed the way they listen to music, the Internet frees them up to speak their mind minus all the crap. They also have to be streetsmart at school and online. Doesn’t matter if they are in the city, the burbs or the exburbs.
I feel good about this and believe that the real story in the Foley case is the reaction of the Pages among themselves.
So President Clinton was right during his recent interview with Chris Wallace on Faux News. He tried but failed. The Bush Administration did nothing.
September 30th, 2006 at 7:34 pmRob,
I actually had students who thanked me this week for asking them what they thing about things. It’s what got me to wondering what the rest of their teachers are like. I teach Architecture, and frequently tell them that parts of it are subjective, so there are no right or wrong answers. As long as they can back up their opinions with facts, experiences or credible sources, I will give them credit on the test. For some of them it has been like pulling teeth to get them to do this. I’m not giving up though.
Hopefully there will be more teachers who feel as we do - that it’s more important as a nation for children to prove us wrong when are than to feed our egos by immitating us…
For the record, the 9/11 conspiracy theory posts are not welcomed here and are deleted by the administrators. They ask people to take it to other forums. Thought I’d let you know.
September 30th, 2006 at 7:34 pmYes, against humanity.
September 30th, 2006 at 7:38 pmAs I remember the administration didn’t want Condi to testify at the 911 hearings. It was on and off again and then they caved. Wasn’t there something about being under oath or not too?
September 30th, 2006 at 7:38 pmThis is serious and warrants further questioning. Nothing they ever said or say seems to be the truth.
Bill
Funny, I was thinking that about the Bush cabal and, well..you.
September 30th, 2006 at 7:40 pmBut, “Who could have ever guessed they would use Airplanes to Attack us,” don’cha know?
September 30th, 2006 at 7:41 pmI wonder if the guest blogger can now tell us what was in those 27 pages or so that were redacted from the 9/11 commission report?
September 30th, 2006 at 7:43 pm9/11 was in fact the result of a conspiracy.
No one with a brain can disagree with that statement.
Anyone who doesn’t have a Theory about this Conspiracy is in denial.
September 30th, 2006 at 7:45 pmI think Condi Rice is a much bigger part of all of the coverups than anyone imagines; but everyone seems afraid to go after her. I wonder why? Remember when she explained not knowing that the yellowcake claims from Niger were forgeries; that maybe somewhere down in the “bowels of the agency” somebody knew about it, but she had no idea. I believe the CIA sent the information to Condi’s assistant (smart move!), who (we are to believe) must have forgotten or neglected to pass on the information to her. What a load of crap. The reason that nobody gets fired in this administration is that everyone has a truckload of dirt on everyone else! That’s why a WMD “slam dunk” will get you a Medal of Freedom.
September 30th, 2006 at 7:46 pmYou are all crazy.
Comment by Kevin
I know! Do you have specifics…..?
September 30th, 2006 at 7:47 pmThe fact that both parties failed to disclose this further indicates cover-up and duplicity by both admin (Rice) and intellegence (Tenet). The admin is infested with criminals. Please, will whistleblowers step forward.
September 30th, 2006 at 7:51 pmNuggets,
Both parties….?
September 30th, 2006 at 7:53 pmI have maintained from the start that Condoleeza Rice fell asleep at the wheel. Lesser mortals would have been fired; she was not. This has been the pattern of the Bush Administration from its inception—incompetence and not having to be held accountable for one’s incompetence.
I am aghast that Americans have turned a blind eye to this overall incompetence for the past 6 years. The American people voted for “values”; thus, they deserve the President they elected.
September 30th, 2006 at 7:54 pmUnbelievable -
Kudos to you. That’s what it’s all about. In the spirit of John Dewey, we are not to produce automatons in our schools, but critical thinkers. The ultimate goal for educators should be to teach students to teach themselves. Having been at this profession for 8 years now, it’s great to have former students come back and thank me for being supportive in this manner.
As for the administrators of this website, as you warned me… we’ll see if they’re willing to refute perfectly legitimate and scientifically sound questions and concerns. If they do, so much for free speech…and meaningful speech at that.
I’ll say it again - the real conspiracy is to believe the government supported myth that has been fed to us via the major news networks.
One zogby poll - 45% of Americans support a new 9/11 investigation. That number is creeping up to a majority. More people are actively seeking answers.
The truth is out there.
September 30th, 2006 at 7:54 pmKevin,
Self-Delusion breed’s pride and pride breeds the inability to learn.
When fascism comes to the United States, it will be waving a flag and carrying a cross.
Attempting to dismiss the logic of others by calling them names or simply dismissing them as “idiots” is to loudly proclaim your own lack thereof. An intelligent response would be to state why or how you think that these people are wrong.
“States are not moral agents.” - Chomsky
September 30th, 2006 at 7:57 pmPer the book, the reason the 9/11 Commission did not know of this meeting was a cover up by the lead commission investigator (he is named in the book) who was friends with and happened to co-author a book with Ms. Rice. Ouch!!!
September 30th, 2006 at 7:58 pmSteve,
What is that person’s name?
September 30th, 2006 at 8:00 pmWhy did the Bush administration fight the creation of an independent, bipartisan investigation into 9/11 in the first place?
Once they caved to public pressure, why were they so uncooperative in delivering 10’s of thousands of documents requested by the Commission?
Why did Bush and Cheney refuse to testify to the 9/11 Commission unless they appeared together?
Why didn’t they testify publicly? Or under oath?
You’d think that a government so very concerned about 9/11 would have been more eager to get to the bottom of what happened that day. You’d think that at the very least, they wouldn’t have tried to appoint Henry Kissinger initially, to oversee the Commission.
Almost every member of the 9/11 Commission, including Jamie Gorelick, has strong ties to defense contractors. Draw your own conclusions there.
They’re covering up, I’m just not sure what.
September 30th, 2006 at 8:02 pmJust another tragic piece of evidence that Buch & Co were so stoked about their new power, that they focused only on what THEY were interested in. All the other stuff was viewed as “Clinton” stuff and insignificant details. They brushed aside experts, warnings, critical information all along the way and have continued to close their ears regarding the War. Thousands have died because of their arrogant incompetence. They lie so often, they think it is their right to lie to push whatever goal they seek. Each one is indecent in the least and likely criminal with respect to neglect, violation of oath of office and abuse of power. I pray November will find the DEMs running the House and the investigations will begin full force. Only shedding light on this corruption and incompetence will save the country. This is bigger than a U.S. problem. The world is watching as well.
September 30th, 2006 at 8:07 pmAs I asked previously - Why wasn’t anyone fired as a result of 9/11?
If this were a company and 3000 innocent people were killed as the result of gross negligence and incompetence, it is undeniable that heads would have been severed and displayed for the public.
From a purely economic and legal stand-point… it is undeniable that 9/11 is a conspiracy and the parties responsible for standing down that day have not been held accountable.
Hopefully Woodward’s book will get more people curious again. Hopefully there will be another investigation - a truly independent one.
If you feel strong about this, do as I did and request that your local congressional rep and senator open the case again. This news about Rice suggests yet again that this administration hasn’t been forthright with us. If this suggests perjury… then just think back to the last time we had a sitting president testify in the grounds of lying in court.
No one died when Clinton lied.
September 30th, 2006 at 8:09 pmLying at watergate cost only the President of this land his job, however lying by this so called President has not only cost us the infamy of 911, but also unnecessary deaths of soldiers, as well as Iraqis, who went about their business, before Saddam was attacked on false pretext.
September 30th, 2006 at 8:13 pmOnly thing left to do now is take back both the houses this November, and impeach Bushand all other incompetent fools who sorround him. Let there never be a President who uses Religion to misguide him as well as masses.
Please God, lets this push voters to the polls in November to vote in the Democrats that will appoint the Special Prosecutor needed to get to the truth of this tragedy.
September 30th, 2006 at 8:14 pmIf they can keep one bottle of nail polish off an airplane now, why couldn’t they keep 20-30 Arab terrists off five years ago? Has technology advanced that far is such a short time? This stuff is getting old. It is time to vote out the perverts, liars, thieves, cheats, crooks, imbeciles, and plain incumbents. Oust all the incumbents, particularly the rethuglican incumbents. Then impeach those that are left.
September 30th, 2006 at 8:15 pmClyde,
They just didn’t care. And they don’t particularly care now.
September 30th, 2006 at 8:18 pmthis latest has me trembling… i don’t know if i should scream or cry…
wonder what the sunday talking heads will have to say…
per cromulant #21 - can we believe woodward?
September 30th, 2006 at 8:21 pmsomehow it’s actually easier to believe him rather than bushco…
hmm… imagine that…
Philip Zelikow is the executive director of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, better known as the “9/11 Commission.” He is also the director of the Miller Center of Public Affairs and White Burkett Miller Professor of History at the University of Virginia. After serving in government with the Navy, the State Department, and the National Security Council, he taught at Harvard before assuming his present post in Virginia to direct the nation’s largest research center on the American presidency. He was a member of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board and served as executive director of the National Commission on Federal Election Reform, chaired by former Presidents Carter and Ford, as well as the executive director of the Markle Foundation Task Force on National Security in the Information Age. Zelikow’s books include The Kennedy Tapes (with Ernest May), Germany Unified and Europe Transformed (with Condoleezza Rice)…
September 30th, 2006 at 8:22 pm
i don’t know if i should scream or cry…
Comment by katy
I feel that way a lot of the time, too.
September 30th, 2006 at 8:22 pmeveryday…
September 30th, 2006 at 8:28 pmHere is a link to the soon to be more famous Philip Zelikow…
September 30th, 2006 at 8:28 pm
Thanks Steve.
I thought I recognized the name. From today’s Think Fast thread:
In February 2005, two weeks after Condi Rice became secretary of state, her top aide Phillip Zelikow “presented her with a 15-page, single-spaced secret memo†summing up his fact-finding trip to Iraq. “At this point Iraq remains a failed state shadowed by constant violence and undergoing revolutionary political change,†Zelikow wrote.
It was a massive conflict of interest for this guy to be involved with the 9/11 Commission.
September 30th, 2006 at 8:28 pmZooey,
This guy decided what was and was not important, and what the commission would persue.
It’s just like every other Bu$hCo appointee; the fox guarding the hen house…
September 30th, 2006 at 8:35 pm#37 ~I have maintained from the start that Condoleeza Rice fell asleep at the wheel. Lesser mortals would have been fired; she was not. ~
She has an abundance of the only quality Bush has ever looked for: Unquestioning loyalty to him.
September 30th, 2006 at 8:36 pmIt’s just like every other Bu$hCo appointee; the fox guarding the hen house…
Comment by Steve
Oh my god, the 9/11 Commission Report is a complete scam. I doubt we will ever know the truth.
September 30th, 2006 at 8:41 pmThis guy [Zelikow] decided what was and was not important, and what the commission would persue.
Comment by Steve — September 30, 2006 @ 8:35 pm
from the story above:
According to Woodward’s book, Cofer Black exonerates them all this way: “Though the investigators had access to all the paperwork about the meeting, Black felt there were things the commissions wanted to know about and things they didn’t want to know about.â€
huh… did i connect something there?
September 30th, 2006 at 8:46 pmseems they all got their stories straight before testifying… …?
My only question about all this is:
Who is making profits out of this? There you have who planned 9/11.
September 30th, 2006 at 8:49 pmIt’s been pretty clear to a lot of people for a long time that the official story about 9/11 was not right–especially among those of us who were directly impacted by the tragedy. Remember that the respected pollster Zogby International found in 2004 that half of New Yorkers believed US leaders had foreknowledge of the impending attacks and had “consciously failed†to act. Half of New Yorkers. That’s millions of folks.
At first, these people were ridiculed when they dared to question the official story, confirming the accuracy of what Schopenhauer once said, as Rob the Truthseeker has so helpfully pointed out.
Lately, the truth is being actively opposed.
But as more and more dribbles out, it’s becoming clearer and clearer to more and more awakening people: 9/11 was the means to an end, the pretext to a larger goal, years in the planning, by a group of dangerous ideologues who wanted to remake the world. It was the “catastrophic and catalyzing event” and the “new Pearl Harbor” spoken of in the Project for the New American Century’s 2000 report, Rebuilding America’s Defenses.
Well, the ideologues have remade the world. And what a tragic mess they’ve created.
All I hope is that there is some accountability left in the universe and that justice is served for the tens of thousands of victims who have suffered since that horrifically awful day.
What has now become pretty clear is that the criminals will use every means at their disposal to prevent such accountability, even to shredding centuries of precedent in jurisprudence in order to protect themselves. No matter how much more harm is done.
September 30th, 2006 at 8:52 pmWoodward claims the intelligence Tenet and Black shared with Rice included communication intercepts indicating the likelihood of an Al Qaeda attack on U.S. soil.
Tenet said he had hoped the meeting would shock Rice into encouraging the President to take immediate action against Al Qaeda.
Black, looking back at the July 10, 2001, meeting with Rice, concludes, “The only thing we didn’t do was pull the trigger to the gun we were holding to her [Rice’s] head.”
Woodward says that Tenet described the meeting as a “tremendous lost opportunity to prevent or disrupt the 9/11 attacks.”
Tenet also claims that his alarm over Bin Laden was downplayed by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who asked, “Could all this be a grand deception?”
The book claims that two weeks before the July meeting with Rice, Tenet told Richard Clarke, the National Security Council’s counterterrorism director, of his gut feeling about a likely attack.
“It’s my sixth sense, but I feel it coming. This is going to be the big one,” the book quotes Tenet as telling Clarke.
September 30th, 2006 at 8:52 pmFor more interesting stuff on Zelikow, see this article:
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0115-11.htm
If the link doesn’t come through, you can Google: whitewash shaun waterman
…this is the story of how Zelikow, because he was part of the Bush transition team when they officially took office, testified HIMSELF to the 9/11 Commission. This conflict of interest set off the families of the victims of 9/11.
September 30th, 2006 at 8:53 pmThis pack of bushrat scum are not only responsible for the murder of thousands in New York City they are also responsible for the thousands of our soldiers maimed and killed in the unnescesssary war in Iraq. Remember to keep the sleaze and slime in government be sure to vote for the pedopublicans in November. So torture somebody today!
September 30th, 2006 at 8:54 pmI look forward to Rice and Rumsfeld being awarded the freedom medal , as awarded to Franks, Bremer, and Tenant, for their magnificent contribution to help ensure the safety of american citizens. It only follows since none have admitted to making mistakes in the “war on terror”. Indeed, AIPAC should fiscally squeeze the NGO think tanks to crank out “goodthink” preemption position papers, and push for Bush to get the Nobel Peace prize…Hell, if one of the prime butchers in “oxymoron history”, Kissinger, could be awarded that prize, surely Bush, with each passing bloody day in Iraq, is becoming more than eligble for such an august award
September 30th, 2006 at 9:04 pmthe criminals will use every means at their disposal to prevent such accountability, even to shredding centuries of precedent in jurisprudence in order to protect themselves.
Comment by Yankeeinpacnw
Well in fact thats what the law is about. To protect the interests of the ruling class. Have a wealthy CEO received the death penalty? No. Do rich guys are sent to prison just like a black gang member is? No. Do poor latinamerican farmers and peasants will succeed at stopping Monsanto? I dont think so. And the examples can go on and on. Governments and laws are made to protect profits of companies.
September 30th, 2006 at 9:05 pmThese people;Condi Rice,Bush,Cheney,etc. have been allowed to lie with impunity for five years now,they are not going to suddenly grow a conscience and start telling the truth.I doubt they even know what the truth is.If they are not placed under oath and questioned by a competent prosecutor and demanded to give clear answers they will continue to lie until this country has gone to hell.The 911 Commission did not do the job the American people expected them to do.That was a big waste of taxpayers money.This one incident is not all they failed to report.There were numerous other incidents.Toeven expect a truthful investigation from this bunch is stupid in the exterme.
September 30th, 2006 at 9:08 pmThese people;Condi Rice,Bush,Cheney,etc. have been allowed to lie with impunity for five years now,they are not going to suddenly grow a conscience and start telling the truth.I doubt they even know what the truth is.If they are not placed under oath and questioned by a competent prosecutor and demanded to give clear answers they will continue to lie until this country has gone to hell.The 911 Commission did not do the job the American people expected them to do.That was a big waste of taxpayers money.This one incident is not all they failed to report.There were numerous other incidents.Toeven expect a truthful investigation from this bunch is stupid in the exterme.
September 30th, 2006 at 9:08 pmI remember Kristen Breitweiser and the Jersey Girls complaining about Zelikow when the commission was first formed.
—————–
According to Woodward’s book, Cofer Black exonerates them all this way: “Though the investigators had access to all the paperwork about the meeting, Black felt there were things the commissions wanted to know about and things they didn’t want to know about.â€
huh… did i connect something there?
seems they all got their stories straight before testifying… …?
Comment by katy
—————–
I read this section of the book today and didn’t feel that Black exonerated everyone. I felt that he was just lamenting the fact that Zilikow was a “company man”.
September 30th, 2006 at 9:09 pmif one of the prime butchers in “oxymoron historyâ€, Kissinger, could be awarded that prize
Comment by Frank
Im sure The Nobel Foundation wants to nominate Negroponte, Stalin, Somoza and Pinochet, too.
September 30th, 2006 at 9:14 pmGovernments and laws are made to protect profits of companies.
Comment by Juan+C — September 30, 2006 @ 9:05 pm
not originally, juan… read the Preamble of the Constitution…
it has been perverted, as so much else…
this is so sad…
September 30th, 2006 at 9:16 pmThis is a smoking gun against Condi Rice, so she must resign immediately and be indicted for war crimes in Iraq!
September 30th, 2006 at 9:16 pmit has been perverted, as so much else…
this is so sad…
Comment by katy
From the beginning. Democracy was invented by greeks and they had slaves…so…whats the point? Here in Mexico, we have democracy every 6 years. Whats that suppose to mean when millions of people dont know how to read? I know Im sounding extreme, but democracy is useless if people are ignorant.
September 30th, 2006 at 9:23 pmLets hope Woodward has body guards.Desparate people resort to desrarate measures.
September 30th, 2006 at 9:24 pmWhat a surprise. The Bushites lie and lie and lie. That’s not new.
We know they wanted a war to grant themselves a dictatorship. They would have taken any war that came along, and if the other guys hit us first and killed Americans on American soil, that was the best scenario the Bushites could ask for. Bin Laden gave them what they wanted, an excuse to create a dictatorship; and Bush has given Bin Laden what he wants, an unending, overseas, multi-front conflict that is unwinable, and that is bleeding America into a bankrupt, despised, second world country.
September 30th, 2006 at 9:25 pm#48 Zooey
I agree with you completely but just to say they don’t care is being kind to bushco. With the exception of DUHbya the majority of bushco are not dumb, they are intelligent and misguided amoral sociopaths. They will manipulate anything for their own personal gain and lie just for the sake of lying. To tell the truth is to pass on information that can be used against them. The nail polish bottle represented a threat and therefore generated the necessary fear in the sheeple populace to justify the position of bushco. The Arab terrorists represented an opportunity for bushco to advance their position of greed, therefore, they were not stopped. The invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq were considered long before the attack on 9/11. I do not believe the bushco was a conspirator in the attack but they sure as hell were an accessory before and after the fact. This current revelation of yet another cover-up proves the fact.
September 30th, 2006 at 9:26 pmJay #42
“Why did the Bush administration fight the creation of an independent, bipartisan investigation into 9/11 in the first place?
Once they caved to public pressure, why were they so uncooperative in delivering 10’s of thousands of documents requested by the Commission?
Why did Bush and Cheney refuse to testify to the 9/11 Commission unless they appeared together?
Why didn’t they testify publicly? Or under oath?”
These questions should be SHOUTED OUT TO EVERYONE. Be they Right-of-Right or Left-of-Left or anywhere in between. These questions must be asked. Again and Again. Drill them into the concience of America. Everyone should ask themselves these questions. Ask your friend. Ask your neighbour.
Thanks Jay for pointing those out.
September 30th, 2006 at 9:31 pm…I know Im sounding extreme, but democracy is useless if people are ignorant.
Comment by Juan+C — September 30, 2006 @ 9:23 pm
extreme times, juan…
and you are correct… i sometimes think it should be mandatory to pass a civics test before voting…
…
September 30th, 2006 at 9:32 pmthis is weird - i posted the preamble and an explination from senate.gov site and evidently TP thought it was spam…
huh…
Of course it was allowed to happen. In this administration’s own words: “Further, the process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event – like a new Pearl Harbor.”
This except is from “Rebuilding America’s Defenses” published by PNAC including Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Jeb Bush, and others. This was published early 2000 and laid out this groups largely desires for transformation of America. One problem…they needed some catastrpohic and catalyzing event to kick it off.
BTW, what were some of the key initiatives that they wanted to kick off? (1) war with Iraq, (2) war with Iran, and (3) war with North Korea. And you wonder why this administration was so determined to invade Iraq even before 9/11? It was all in their game plan. Wake TF up America. All this info is very easy to find…if you want to find it.
September 30th, 2006 at 9:34 pmThis is by far the best discussion I’ve seen at ThinkProgress for a long time.
Thanks everyone.
September 30th, 2006 at 9:34 pmBTW, what were some of the key initiatives that they wanted to kick off? (1) war with Iraq, (2) war with Iran, and (3) war with North Korea.
Comment by Ken
Option (3) is cancelled out. They have nukes. US wont engage with a nuke holder. Ever.
This is by far the best discussion I’ve seen at ThinkProgress for a long time.
Comment by Yikes
Thats because you missed the Paella and ceviche discussion we had with Clyde, Zoo and true a while ago. :)
i sometimes think it should be mandatory to pass a civics test before voting…
September 30th, 2006 at 9:46 pmComment by katy
Even that wont help. Education is not a free ride for all. At least if you arent cuban.
Well in fact thats what the law is about. To protect the interests of the ruling class.
Comment by Juan+C
Sad but true, for the most part. However, not always. And isn’t this why The People all over the world continue to struggle? For justice?
Listen to the great abolitionist, Frederick Douglass: “If there is no struggle there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation…want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without thunder and lightening. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters…. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.”
September 30th, 2006 at 9:46 pmGeniusboy Don’t make accusations about FDR until you’ve read all 12. Yes 12 independent investigation. Both Roosevelt and his Vice President at that time testified under oath. Never mention Bush in the same context with Roosevelt.
September 30th, 2006 at 9:47 pmThis is by far the best discussion I’ve seen at ThinkProgress for a long time.
Thanks everyone.
Comment by Yikes
It’s amazing what we can do on the verge of being catatonic.
September 30th, 2006 at 9:48 pmWrite to your state senators and congressional reps.
Write to your local paper.
Email the news stations.
Demand answers to these questions.
The deaths of nearly 3000 American civilians on 9/11, nearly 3000 soldiers in Iraq, and the estimated 30,000 Iraqi Civilians should not be dismissed as the work of Islamic Jihadists. If there was criminal negligence, incompetence, or fraud as the root cause of these deaths on the part of the American government, then demand those in charge to be held responsible. The evidence mounts daily that the tragedies of 9/11 could have been prevented.
st911.org
September 30th, 2006 at 9:48 pm911truth.org
911proof.com
I was only able to read the first few chapters of Woodward’s book today, but from what I read I would have named the book, “Iraq: Bush’s Goat Rodeo”
September 30th, 2006 at 9:49 pmThough the American people are in denial, Iran and North Korea are aware of all this. Not to be apologists for them, but doesn’t their behavior seem more logical as a response to this reality? BTW, another little known but easy to find fact. In the negotiations for North Korea to develop it’s Nuclear weapon, one of N. Korea’s terms was that America sign a non-aggression treaty (i.e. they were likely running toward nukes as a defensive position).
[i]Option (3) is cancelled out. They have nukes. US wont engage with a nuke holder. Ever.
Comment by Juan+C[/i]
My point exactly. N. Korea knew this and this is very likely why they did what they did (i.e. developed nukes). It was more convenient for this administration to paint the situation a bit differently…and with a popluace that is so ignorant and so gullible, it was darned easy too.
September 30th, 2006 at 9:53 pmLast thing: And when did all the “problems” with N. Korea’s nuclear program begin? The days immediately leading up to and after the invasion of Iraq.
Point is this: Once it was clearly evident that this administration was ACTING upon their 1, 2, 3 game plan and that the world did little to prevent #1, and the U.S. refused to sign the non-agression treaty, N. Korea basically threw up the middle finger to the U.S. and to the world and restarted their nuclear development program which resulted in them becoming a nuclear power.
September 30th, 2006 at 10:03 pmWow. We go so fast when there are no trolls around.
September 30th, 2006 at 10:06 pmOr Yenta to hijack the thread… :)
Yikes #77,
There are so many obvious questions to ask, but don’t expect them to be asked by the MsM.
Also, be careful discussing 9/11 here. I’ve seen entire threads get zapped because people dared to discuss just what the hell may have taken place on 9/11.
I want to know exactly what the Veep was doing that morning?
September 30th, 2006 at 10:12 pmI know this may sound simplistic. But given the articles written by Seymour Hersh, etc. and anecdotal evidence of naval personnel and ship movements, Bush/Rove may have been preparing for their much anticipated “October Surprise”; an air attack on Iraq’s underground nuclear sites. Hopefully, the fall out from the massive amount of shit that is now hitting the fan, will deter the W-armongers for a while.
September 30th, 2006 at 10:13 pmSteve…don’t you mean Iran? If yes, I agree with you.
September 30th, 2006 at 10:17 pmThe more I read about this administration and the Republican Party in general the more I recoil from their supporters. The whole group gives me the creeps. Who covers something like this? Who says me me me when 3000 people died? Who lies under oath? Who sends a nation to war knowing they are doing it falsely? Who keeps a bumbling idiot in charge of that war? Who doesn’t do any post war planning and has the audacity to claim there will be no casuaties? Who screws the elderly because ‘they can’? Who gives big oil the biggest profits in history? Who ignores one of the worst hurricanes in history as it comes to shore? Who thinks global warming is a marketing strategy? Who believes the crap they spew?
The me me me party.
September 30th, 2006 at 10:17 pmJuan,
I’ll get you for that. :)
September 30th, 2006 at 10:19 pmSteve…don’t you mean Iran? If yes, I agree with you.
Comment by beachnana — September 30, 2006 @ 10:17 pm
Yes, as my son would say “My Bad”. That mistake was either due to the red wine or typing while watching George Carlin on HBO.
September 30th, 2006 at 10:22 pmJeanne,
I really believe that it’s just easier for them to go along, than it is for them to think, or take an afternoon and research the subject. That’s all it would take — one afternoon.
I’ve heard this phrase so many times I want to puke: I’m just so busy.
Aren’t we all busy? That’s a poor excuse.
September 30th, 2006 at 10:24 pmmmmmm… paella… now there’s a happy thought…
that’s one dish i want to tackle someday soon… any tricks to know?
but what is ceviche?
sorry about OT… just had to ask…
September 30th, 2006 at 10:25 pmtime to walk the doggy, and some aggression…
later…
How low will a GOP college republican sink? Quite low, these guys learn to lie at an early age. Here’s a perfect example of how these ‘moral’ college republicans [such as Rove and Abramoff] are taught to lie and blame.
Did Zatkoff lie? Who knows, but the College republicans, obviously drunk, used this incident as political propaganda and to blame those that were in no way responsible.
The lesson here is that what we have operating in the white house operates in the same manner as these College Republicans. [Rove, Abramoff etc] This kind of behaviour only leads to corruption later on because lying isn’t seen a problem to these folks.
What are they teaching these College Republicans??
[hey TP if I use my Camino Browser I can post, but not with Firefox browser Mac OSX, might wanna look into that =)
September 30th, 2006 at 10:41 pmZooey,
September 30th, 2006 at 10:41 pmYeah the German people tried to use that one too. It doesn’t work. No one, especially the children and grandchildren, believe it. I prefer never having to say to my children and grandchildren that I ever bought into this deranged logic. I prefer to show strength of conviction and keep my values and my morals intact. I don’t make excuses for my country. I tell it like it is. This administration is criminal and most of the Republican congress belong in the same cell. I mean look at this latest thing with Foley and Hastert. Jeez…does the Republican Party have ANY moral decency? ANY MORAL DECENCY? Seriously, who can support these people?
At a press conference on December 20, 2006 George W. Bush was asked how he felt about this country becoming a dictatorship. His reply was “it would be ok if I am the dictator.”
September 30th, 2006 at 10:42 pmI’m with you, Jeanne.
Who supports these people? Only every member of my extended family — except me and my sons. It’s very frustrating. It’s hard for me to be around them very much, and they wonder why I keep my distance.
September 30th, 2006 at 10:48 pmRob at 12:
1 - How is it that WTC 7, a 47 story building that wasn’t hit by a plane on 9/11, collapsed from fire alone? This defies the basic principles of science. No steel frame structure has ever collapsed from fire alone.
September 30th, 2006 at 10:54 pmRob wrote: “If this were a company and 3000 innocent people were killed as the result of gross negligence and incompetence, it is undeniable that heads would have been severed and displayed for the public.”
Bush actually ran for reelection using 911. Remember him turning up in New York and saying…
“Not on my watch.”
One would have thought 911 happened on someone else’s watch, or that 911 was a feather in his cap!
September 30th, 2006 at 10:56 pmAll the while, they are transferring wealth as fast as they can. Everybody who lock-steps with Bu$hco is profiting like never before-at the expense of the masses.
September 30th, 2006 at 10:57 pmKeep an eye on the voting machines this year. The Repugs can’t allow a Dem victory, or its big house time for the whole lousy bunch!
Lying bastards, and the mothers that bore them!!!!!!
September 30th, 2006 at 11:02 pmI cannot alow myself to believe that if every registered voter who is digusted with this Administration and Congress votes Democratic on Nov. 7and still the Republicans win, there won’t be marching in the streets! Or there SHOULD be!!
September 30th, 2006 at 11:03 pmWhat gets me about all this chatter that is now going on is that you voted for a program the espoused giving a trillion dollars in tax cuts to the richest people in the US and a tightening of the purse strings on the poorest segments of American society. I that didn’t tell you what an immoral bunch of bastards they were what could have?
September 30th, 2006 at 11:05 pmhello doug… so it’s you…
September 30th, 2006 at 11:08 pmWe know they are an immoral bunch and we need to replace them but keep in mind the 2000 election in Fl., 2002 in Ohio and recent primary in Ohio! If the Republicans continue to win, it has to be the machines !!! We then must march in the streets (but then again, we just lost our rights with passage of S. 6166, didn’t we!
September 30th, 2006 at 11:13 pm“Marching in the streets” will be like it has never been before. With guns for hire like “Blackstrapp” and “Halliburton” it will not be a quiet march. Also, the law in the USA as of this week is that you can find yourself in a prison, tortured, somewhere on earth, being tortured, with no rights to trial….let me cut to the chase….with no rights. “Good Morning, America!”
September 30th, 2006 at 11:13 pm#104
“or its big house time for the whole lousy bunch!”
Please God… I don’t ask for much.
September 30th, 2006 at 11:17 pmKaty, it’s who?
September 30th, 2006 at 11:17 pmI am late to the party tonight — WOW!
September 30th, 2006 at 11:18 pmThis is incredible. Great comments and questions from everyone here. I second them.
Are we sure Woodward’s book contains actual quotes? I don’t have a lot of respect left for Woodward (his books are aimed more at his own bnenefit according to the political winds, IMO).
What is meant by Black saying the commission wanted to know some things and not others?
Zelikow was under question from the first day; in fact I think I recall some discussion about his inclusion.
If Cofer Black knew this info was omitted from public testimony, how did he know it was omitted from private testimony?
Why didn’t C. Black offer this information to the commission?
Why did they all hold back?
Were they conspiring to obstruct justice?
There are many, many questions that remain unanswered, and witnesses who won’t offer anything unless they are asked specifically.
What will get the attention of of those who aren’t so concerned about our occupation in Iraq? How about a full scale draft…it’s not until it affects people and their families directly that they start asking how we got in this mess. To a degree, this is a war fought by the poorer and less educated americans who have few options beyond military service. And that’s just how this admin wants it.
September 30th, 2006 at 11:20 pmi’m not sure yet…
September 30th, 2006 at 11:21 pmWhen the peasants riot in the streets and storm the white house with their pitchforks and torches, they will all be subject to the new interpretation of the rule of law according to Bush. Incarceration with no end and no counsel.
September 30th, 2006 at 11:26 pmWe are in trouble folks, the only thing we can do is unite in great numbers and overwhelm them before they overwhelm us.
If they plan the October surprise to be bombing Iran, then they should initiate the draft but they won’t. Somehow Rove will create some other means….make it look like the Dems did it!
September 30th, 2006 at 11:27 pmDoug, don’t you watch the news? The Reps are moral - no gay marriage, no abortion…
September 30th, 2006 at 11:28 pmI’ll get you for that. :)
Comment by Yenta
I wish. :)
September 30th, 2006 at 11:29 pmIf it was safe to be honest, then people would be honest.
Marie,
They covered up because they didn’t want to be seen as responsible for such a spectacular negative event.
They said they would get to the bottom of it to make it appear that they cared.
Society is about appearances.
September 30th, 2006 at 11:35 pmRice’s disavowel of the importance of the Bin Laden Determined to Strike….memo is simple criminal negligence. Even a Republican controlled Congress should be holding necessary investigations into thiss conduct.
September 30th, 2006 at 11:37 pmThey said they would get to the bottom of it to make it appear that they cared.
Society is about appearances.
Comment by Martin+of+Earth
But really, did people actually want government to get to the bottom or just choose targets to place cluster bombs? I remember interviews of people right after 9/11. The general opinion was: Lets bomb the bastards. Nobody had a clue who they were. But, sorry to all of you, thats the way you solve problems.
September 30th, 2006 at 11:40 pmI wish. :)
Comment by Juan+C
Careful what you wish for, cutie. ;)
September 30th, 2006 at 11:42 pmTo a degree, this is a war fought by the poorer and less educated americans who have few options beyond military service. And that’s just how this admin wants it.
Comment by chuck
As the vast majority of wars. They are always fought by the poorest people seeking better living standards for them (revolutions) or driven by blind patriotisms (wars). Either way, innocent or poor people ends up dead. Please, someone tell me any president, general or CEO that has ended up dead in any war. (I know who you are thinking about, but he took a pill…)
September 30th, 2006 at 11:47 pmCareful what you wish for, cutie. ;)
Comment by Zooey
I know. Dont get mad. Heard you were 5 10″. :)
September 30th, 2006 at 11:50 pmHeard you were 5 10″. :)
Comment by Juan+C
Scared of an angry Amazon, Juan? :)
September 30th, 2006 at 11:52 pm#114
September 30th, 2006 at 11:55 pmChuck,
You should say to a BIG degree this war is fought by the poorer and less educated Americans. The administration also targets immigrants who want legal status. They used those Hispanics for fodder in Iraq by giving them a dream to be an American citizen and yet they want to build a wall to keep them out of this country. Hmmm.
It is late and I must admit that I am very impressed with the above comments. There is a definite concern that those clowns in washington are breaking the law. When their actions are questoned, they just lie. Today, a posting in huffington post indicated that the AG Gonzales has told the federal courts to keeps hands off the new detainee law. Is there nothing this bunch of cowards will not do the stay in CONTROL? November 7 has to produce Democratic majorities to start letting the country know what has been going on and make sure that justice will be served. Crimes against humanity must be prosecuted and justice served.
September 30th, 2006 at 11:56 pmRice: “What we did in the eight months was at least as aggressive as what the Clinton administration did in the preceding years.”
October 1st, 2006 at 12:00 amGreat comments! Now what the hell is everybody going to do about it? As usual sit on their hands and do nothing and hope a crapshoot election is going to solve the problems?Gone are the days when people would get off their asses,take to the streets, and really protest.The Internet is great but more and more I think it just allows people to blow off steam. When that relieves the pressure they somehow think they have done something worthwhile and quickly drift back into complacency until the next contoversy.Looking back on the record of the Bush administration and the little that has been done by ordinary people in protest, I fear for the future.
October 1st, 2006 at 12:01 am[…] UPDATE: Think Progress has a related post, so we can probably expect this one to get some more attention. […]
October 1st, 2006 at 12:02 amdsquare,
Thanks, we’ve been having a rare troll-free day.
Remember, remember, 30 September,
October 1st, 2006 at 12:02 amThe day ThinkProgress was troll free…
Martin +of+ Earth
October 1st, 2006 at 12:03 amYou f..n Godless fart!
#120 MofE
October 1st, 2006 at 12:04 amThat is a frightening thought. That one is afraid to be honest.
My disillusion and disgust with government today is pushed even further by the notion that there are so many involved who didn’t have the spine to stand up and admit what they did (and didn’t), and how it happened.
Bush never wanted the 9/11 commission in the first place - which was always puzzling at best. Then we get one and it was ineffective in many areas.
I have vacillated regarding the conspiracy of 9/11 being an inside job — it is just more than I can bring myself to believe, but more bits of information like this coming out, I have to consider everything.
Juan,
The people wanted to get to the bottom of the security failure, so there had to be a commission.
Those in power didn’t want to be seen as the cause of the security failure so they covered up - before, during, and after the commission.
October 1st, 2006 at 12:05 amScared of an angry Amazon, Juan? :)
Comment by Zooey
I would be scared of a happy amazon, Zoo. (Nahh, not really) But I would say yes to everything.
October 1st, 2006 at 12:08 amMarie,
Researchers found that hospitals (in Canada?) covered up doctors’ mistakes because of the fear of legal proceedings. Once it was made safe for hospitals and doctors to admit mistakes, the researchers found out what caused the mistakes and so they made recommendations to improve systems so that mistakes would be less likely to occur.
October 1st, 2006 at 12:11 amWhat hasn’t been explained very clearly to the public is why 3 of the world trade centre buildings collapsed on Sept. 11th. You should understand that it was physically impossible that the collapse could have been caused by the airplanes smashing into the buildings. The airplanes caused a great deal of damage on the upper floors, but temperatures from the fires caused by the collision could never have become hot enough to melt the steel framework of those buildings. If the airplanes didn’t bring those buildings down, then what did?
And coincident with “9/11″ was the never to be solved “anthax” scare.
It was certainly effective in hiking up the public’s sense of fear and terror.
American democracy was definitely hijacked in the 2000 election.
What to do? Those implicated in the coup include members of the US Supreme Court, the corporate media, the Republican Party, Corporate America. Those with the money and the power try to cover themselves with glory. Their ideas of glory are gory. We must resist.
Even if 80% of Americans turned against this government, I wouldn’t trust your voting machine to come up with an honest count in the coming elections. Check them carefully against the exit polls. See if there is a discrepancy, as there were in all US elections since 2000, and go with the exit poll as being more accurate.
October 1st, 2006 at 12:12 am#130
Pat,
I disagree. The blogs have removed the shroud from the Republican Party. I think Americans have a very clear picture of who is running the country. They have a clear picture of who is passing the legi