Zelikow ‘Made It Clear’ To 9/11 Commission That Richard Clarke ‘Should Not Be Believed’
Zelikow ‘Made It Clear’ To 9/11 Commission That Richard Clarke ‘Should Not Be Believed’
New York Times reporter Philip Shenon’s new book — The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation — paints a damning portrait of Condoleezza Rice. Shenon argues that Rice was “uninterested in actually advising the President,” but was instead more concerned with being his “closest confidante — specifically on foreign policy — and to simply translate his words into action.”
Today’s Sydney Morning Herald prints an extract from Shenon’s book which provides further details about Rice’s incompetence. “Emails from the National Security Council’s counter-terrorism director, Richard Clarke, showed that he had bombarded Rice with messages about terrorist threats” before 9/11, Shenon writes. Some examples:
“Bin Ladin Public Profile May Presage Attack” (May 3)
“Terrorist Groups Said Co-operating on US Hostage Plot” (May 23)
“Bin Ladin’s Networks’ Plans Advancing” (May 26)
“Bin Ladin Attacks May Be Imminent” (June 23)
“Bin Ladin and Associates Making Near-Term Threats” (June 25)
“Bin Ladin Planning High-Profile Attacks” (June 30)
“Planning for Bin Ladin Attacks Continues, Despite Delays” (July 2)
But 9/11 Commission staff director Philip Zelikow was not interested in pursuing criticisms against Rice. Zelikow — who had worked closely with Rice on the Bush transition team in 2000 and 2001 — “made it clear to the team’s investigators that Clarke should not be believed, that his testimony would be suspect.”
When 9/11 Commission historian Warren Bass uncovered a smoking gun email from Clarke to Rice written on September 4, 2001, which asked, “Are we serious about dealing with the al-Qaeda threat?,” Zelikow reverted to defending Condi.
Months later, Bass threatened to resign over what Shenon calls Zelikow’s repeated “attempts at interference”:
“I cannot do this,” Bass declared… “Zelikow is making me crazy.”
He was outraged by Zelikow and the White House; Bass felt the White House was trying to sabotage his work by its efforts to limit his ability to see certain documents from the NSC files and take useful notes from them. … Bass made it clear to colleagues that he believed Zelikow was interfering in his work for reasons that were overtly political - intended to shield the White House, and Rice in particular, from the commission’s criticism.
The former weapons inspector in Iraq — David Kay — passed word to the 9/11 Commission that he believed Rice was the “worst national security adviser” in the history of the job.
UPDATE: This post has been corrected to note that Bass’ resignation threat came “months” after discovering the Sept. 4 memo.
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Yeah she sucks, but that is why she was made Sec. of State..for sucking something….georgie.??
March 7th, 2008 at 4:40 pmCondi rice said: we don’t want the smoking gun to be in the form of a mushroom snark.
Clarke is faaaaaarrrrrr more credible than ANY Bushie
March 7th, 2008 at 4:40 pmWow, just wow…
March 7th, 2008 at 4:42 pmClarke’s testimony should be suspect EVEN after he turned out to be right?
March 7th, 2008 at 4:44 pmAll that ever mattered to the neocon crowd was oil in Iraq and winning elections to continue their failed policies. A safe America? Not so much.
March 7th, 2008 at 4:46 pmFaiz, you need to fix a date in this statement “who had worked closely with Rice on the Bush transition team in 2001 and 2001 “.
Shayne, don’t bother pointing out the obvious, those Bushites don’t give a rats ass about the truth.
March 7th, 2008 at 4:47 pmZeke The Plumber???
March 7th, 2008 at 4:47 pmQuick, someone send me a copy of Cyrus Nowrasteh’s “The Path to 9/11″ so I can watch it over and over again.
March 7th, 2008 at 4:50 pm911 has to be all Clinton’s fault…it has to be…it just has to be!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LIHOP?
Chuck Hussein Feney
March 7th, 2008 at 4:50 pmIn any other nation on earth were public officials have any shred of dignity and honor, on 9/12/01 the Chief Advisor to the President on issues of National Security would have tendered her resignation.
March 7th, 2008 at 4:52 pm.
We learned that lying by members of the BushCo to a Congressional investigation would be tolerated.
Watch the LIAR in action!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYbWaMqWy7s
Yet, Congress sits silent to this day while Rice got promoted for her lies.
WHAT DOES CONGRESS SUPPORT AND DEFEND
IF NOT THE CONSTITUTION OF THE USA?
.
March 7th, 2008 at 4:53 pmThat 9/11 happened due to the stunning indifference and incompetence of the bush administration is an accomplished fact.
There’s what historians of the future have for ya dubbie. Enjoy, ya’ punkass traitor.
March 7th, 2008 at 4:54 pmComment by Rodham Gin — March 7, 2008 @ 4:52 pm
Hey Gin-
March 7th, 2008 at 4:55 pmRead Clarke’s book for a desription of Albright vs. Rice.
He’s a professional who’s actually qualified to have an opinion on foreign policy matters and he’s pretty clear about whose judgement he prefers…
it’s called “Against all Enemies” and yeah, the title refers to you…
10 - I’d consider you for a life sentence on charges of sedition and treason.
March 7th, 2008 at 4:55 pmDid that oil tanker with her name on it sink yet?
March 7th, 2008 at 4:55 pmThanks #6. I corrected it.
March 7th, 2008 at 4:56 pmRice was always a choice for Bush due to her ‘color’, not her expertise. If Bush was going to invade Russia, then she may have been a wise choice, but Bush was set on de-stabilizing the ME; which Rice knows nothing about.
Hell, even reporters don’t want to travel with her anymore. One more neocon experiment gone wacky…
March 7th, 2008 at 4:57 pmWorst. National. Security. Adviser. Ever.
Worst. Secretary. Of. Defense. Ever.
Worst. President. Ever.
Worst. Vice-President. Ever.
Worst. Administration. Ever.
E.V.E.R.
March 7th, 2008 at 4:57 pmWhats the deal with putting women in foreign policy positions? Albright, Rice, Now Sam Power, all show no judgment.
And some people considered Mrs. Bill Clinton for CIC?
Comment by Rodham Gin — March 7, 2008 @ 4:52 pm
So Margaret Thatcher really was a man!
March 7th, 2008 at 4:57 pmExcellent information! Just in time!
March 7th, 2008 at 4:58 pmCan’t wait for the next ten years of tell all books, unraveling what we already know. Is this the whistle blower’s way to make a buck.
The truth is needed but it’s becoming too late for any accountability.
I had to send to America to get my copy of “9/11 Press for Truth”
looks like Bin Laden had nothing to do with 911 it was the ISI in Pakistan
http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/essay.jsp?article=essaysaeed
March 7th, 2008 at 5:00 pm911 was an inside job. The buildings were demolished with thermite. You have the 2 largest buildings in New York filled with asbestos purchased only months before the attacks; when the buyer knew full well he’d have to completely clean out the asbestos and upgrade all the wiring at a cost of billions. Luckily for him he insured them for billions against a “terrorist attack” and then he struck it rich.
March 7th, 2008 at 5:00 pmThe coincidences are way way too numerous to even begin to count and more and more people are becoming aware of it.
Google 911 truth, seek the answers yourself. The official investigation was a complete and total joke.
Thanks #6. I corrected it.
Comment by Faiz — March 7, 2008 @ 4:56 pm
Your welcome Faiz. Do I get a free T-Shirt?
March 7th, 2008 at 5:02 pmDavid Kay — passed word to the 9/11 Commission that he believed Rice was the “worst national security adviser†in the history of the job.
That would fit in nicely with the ‘worst president’ in the history of the job.
March 7th, 2008 at 5:03 pmDavid tried his best to stop this from happening…….I really respect him and Richard Clark. You you can guess how I feel about rice.
After reading those few examples how could anyone not agree with CitizenE that she should have tendered her resignation.
March 7th, 2008 at 5:04 pmHardly, she mucked the Falklands situation trying to prove she had brass balls.
Comment by Rodham Gin — March 7, 2008 @ 5:02 pm
Indeed one of the pivotal conflict of the century. So wanna lay out for us her failures as you see them? Also I would be interested in hearing you beefs with Golda Mier. Being a chick I must assume she has shit all screwed up as well
March 7th, 2008 at 5:06 pmhad
March 7th, 2008 at 5:06 pmSo Margaret Thatcher really was a man!
Comment by dbadass — March 7, 2008 @ 4:57 pm
And Golda Meir! And Indira Gandhi!
March 7th, 2008 at 5:07 pmZelikow is just another dirty Bush crony, and traitor to the U.S.
March 7th, 2008 at 5:10 pmEven the DUmp and PI have a dungeon for this kind of crap.
Comment by Rodham Gin
just a tyrant that is afraid of girls.
March 7th, 2008 at 5:10 pmEven the DUmp and PI have a dungeon for this kind of crap.
Comment by Rodham Gin — March 7, 2008 @ 5:05 pm
The White House has a dungeon, too. They call it a bunker. That’s where Rice and Cheney hid on 9/11… read Clarke’s book for a description of how Lynne Cheney helpfully kept hanging up the direct line to Clarke in the situation room so she could hear Fox News and speculate about Saddam’s involvement… solid judgement of foreign policy matters
March 7th, 2008 at 5:10 pm** Off Topic **
March 7th, 2008 at 5:11 pmCafferty is going off on Bush’s entire Middle East policy, brutal, hence truthful.
I knew Condi Rice was evil, but I really had no idea just how horrible she really is.
Her “husband” will be defending her within the next day or so, and she will remain.
She’s worse than useless.
March 7th, 2008 at 5:13 pm911 points to Pakistan and Bush
Bin Laden had very little to do with 911 , do you really think he could manage such a job from a cave in Afghanistan, how did he get explosives in WTC7 ??
Read this , long but worth it
http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/essay.jsp?article=essaysaeed
Saeed Sheikh is the man you should be looking for
March 7th, 2008 at 5:15 pmThe part about Rice being incompetent is old news. Although still distressing.
What’s really amazing to me is that somebody in the Bush administration actually kept their e-mails. And if this is a sample of the type of communication that went on, I can see why Bushco is so eager to destroy them.
How much more do we have to hear before America screams “we’re mad as hell and we’re not gonna take it anymore!”
March 7th, 2008 at 5:16 pmSee: http://www.cnn.com/ 2004/ ALLPOLITICS/ 04/ 08/ rice.transcript/
Please remember Rice in her own words:
BEN-VENISTE: Isn’t it a fact, Dr. Rice, that the August 6 PDB warned against possible attacks in this country? And I ask you whether you recall the title of that PDB?
RICE: I believe the title was, “Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States.”
Now, the…
RICE: You said, did it not warn of attacks. It did not warn of attacks inside the United States. It was historical information based on old reporting. There was no new threat information. And it did not, in fact, warn of any coming attacks inside the United States.
AND…
RICE: And I said, at one point, that this was a historical memo, that it was — it was not based on new threat information. And I said, “No one could have imagined them taking a plane, slamming it into the Pentagon” — I’m paraphrasing now — “into the World Trade Center, using planes as a missile.”
So September 11th 2001 was just one heck of a COINCIDENCE.
March 7th, 2008 at 5:17 pmShe’s worse than useless.
Comment by Zooey — March 7, 2008 @ 5:13 pm
Must be because she’s a she. We call this the Rodham Gin Correlary to the I’m Just a Girl Conjecture
March 7th, 2008 at 5:17 pmSenator Graham said “foreign governmentsâ€â€”plural, not singular—were behind 9/11
ISI and CIA were behind 911
March 7th, 2008 at 5:17 pmHi, Tobie Tall. Good to see you!
~Hussein Zooey
March 7th, 2008 at 5:17 pmhere’s an evil thought. Evil, but just. Condi keelhauled from the tanker that is her namesake. :-)
March 7th, 2008 at 5:20 pmComment by Uncle Ho — March 7, 2008 @ 5:20 pm
That seems a bit harsh. Maybe we should just “put her in a scupper with a hose clamp on her”
March 7th, 2008 at 5:22 pmHi Zooey
cant wait for Bush to be out , so I can take the kids to Disneyland, providing also that Obama win and not Clinton
March 7th, 2008 at 5:23 pmYeah she sucks, but that is why she was made Sec. of State..for sucking something….georgie.??
Comment by billyjoejimbob — March 7, 2008 @ 4:40 pm
No, I think you’re a little off. My money is on more of a S&M bondage kind of thing with Georgie.
March 7th, 2008 at 5:24 pmThere are rumors that he had a little bi-sexual threesome s&m fling in the 80’s with his admittedly gay old college roommate………. Condi probably looks good in that dominatrix outfit.
Obama wins I mean , I would not like to see another RENDITION of the Clintons though
March 7th, 2008 at 5:24 pmI believe that the tanker has been renamed something else.
March 7th, 2008 at 5:25 pmJust when it doesn’t seem that their incompetence and insults could get any worse, or make one any madder, another revelation leaves one astounded no one has done anything with all the death and destruction this team has committed.
March 7th, 2008 at 5:29 pmWhats the deal with putting women in foreign policy positions? Albright, Rice, Now Sam Power, all show no judgment.
And some people considered Mrs. Bill Clinton for CIC?
Comment by Rodham Gin — March 7, 2008 @ 4:52 pm
I admit that Rice has exhibited serious lapses in judgment. But I think Albright was certainly an adequate Sec/State, and I would stack her up against any man in the job. Samantha Power was on the Obama campaign team, not in a foreign policy position.
These are only three women you’ve named, and only one of them really fits the bill of “incompetent woman in a foreign policy position”. You can also count Power if we broaden it to “women who have exhibited bad judgment”.
It’s not fair to extrapolate from that the conclusion that all women are incompetent. But since you are, let’s follow that logic one step further.
Bush has shown incredibly poor judgment in foreign policy, domestic policy, public relations and even who he appoints on his staff. Gonzales has shown poor judgment in running the Department of Justice. (Cheney has just been plain evil — I can’t really credit “bad judgment” for his actions). There have been any number of men in this administration who have made poor (and very scary) foreign policy decisions — as well as bad decisions in general.
From this, should we conclude that all men are unsuitable to be in foreign policy positions?
March 7th, 2008 at 5:29 pmComment by Rodham Gin — March 7, 2008 @ 5:25 pm
Sounds sort of like Grenada. Anyway was a chick running Argentina at the time? Now about Ms Ghandi and Ms. Meir, there must be a multitude of XX driven problems here. Can you enlighten us in support of the Girls in Power Have Cooties Hypothesis
March 7th, 2008 at 5:29 pmis that how republicans learned how to stage conflicts, gin?
March 7th, 2008 at 5:30 pmmy final snark of the day, maybe even the weekend.
Let us not forget the great, legendary NFL quarterback, Fran Snarkington.
March 7th, 2008 at 5:31 pmstupid wandering letter h. Where is Letterman from the Electric company when he’s needed. Must be too busy dealing with that “silent e” problem again
March 7th, 2008 at 5:37 pmHey, uncle (Husein) Ho! I am from Snarkesota and I resent that Snarkington joke.
March 7th, 2008 at 5:38 pmI always enjoyed the SNL skits with the Landsnark.
March 7th, 2008 at 5:40 pm“David Kay — passed word to the 9/11 Commission that he believed Rice was the “worst national security adviser†in the history of the job.”
yeah, but she’s a smart dresser! that’s gotta count for something.
to all of you out there who cast a vote for this administration in 2000 and/or 2004 - ESAD!
March 7th, 2008 at 5:43 pmYeah, boy! Kiss Condi’s ass, but don’t listen to anyone who might know what the hell they are talking about.
March 7th, 2008 at 5:44 pmDon’t bother the bushies with facts and data, they cannot be bothered with them.
bush=WPE
bush’s “administration”=WAE
yawwwwwwwn.……… I think I’m coming down with snarkilepsy…………….
March 7th, 2008 at 5:44 pmHeckuva job, Condi!
March 7th, 2008 at 5:46 pmyeah, but she’s a smart dresser! that’s gotta count for something.
Comment by LividLib — March 7, 2008 @ 5:43 pm
I heard that she has many comfortable shoes!
March 7th, 2008 at 5:46 pmWhats the deal with putting women in foreign policy positions? Albright, Rice, Now Sam Power, all show no judgment.
And some people considered Mrs. Bill Clinton for CIC?
Comment by Rodham Gin
Condi Rice’s incompetence has nothing to do with her being a woman. And Madeline Albright did a credible job. So we have a new troll in Rodham Gin. Any relation to our former just Gin?
March 7th, 2008 at 6:18 pmDid that oil tanker with her name on it sink yet?
Comment by Cal Malenky
Nope, but they did take her name off of it.
March 7th, 2008 at 6:19 pmtom; Snark it off!
Snarkington did no favors for the Detroit Lions.(Come to think of it, no one else did either) Wanna swap? Or…should I say, wanna snark?
:-)
March 7th, 2008 at 6:34 pmIn Snark We Trust.
March 7th, 2008 at 6:48 pmSolidarity baby
Gross, so the two of you had a “solidarity” baby?
Does that come out the front-bottom, or the back-bottom?
March 7th, 2008 at 6:52 pmI’m reading this book right now. It’s a real page-turner. Seriously! I highly recommend it.
March 7th, 2008 at 7:02 pm“Worst national security adviser†in the history of the job working for the “Worst President and Vice President” in history.
Makes perfect sense to me.
Buck Hussein Fush
March 7th, 2008 at 7:49 pmYeah, so I’m just passed the 300-page mark, and one word springs to mind: “Wow”. If there’s anyone out there who still maintains that the only appointed “independent” investigation into the biggest crime in U.S. history wasn’t a complete shame, that person needs to come out of their bubble and acknowledge reality.
Here are some other jaw-dropping revelations in Shenon’s book:
– Original chairman Henry Kissinger nearly fell over in his chair when the 9/11 widows asked him if he had Saudi clients at his “consulting firm.” He then angrily ended the meeting with them and resigned from the commission the next day.
– the Bush League fought tooth and nail to block any independent investigation from ever forming, to the point of Cheney placing a pissy call to Tom Daschle that a Newsweek reporter was allowed to overhear. “Mr. Majority Leader, this would be a very dangerous and time-consuming diversion … We just can’t be tied down with the problems that this would present for us.” Oh, gosh, that’s too bad, Dick.
– Zelikow, hired to be the director, actually had written a 31-page policy paper, used by the WH, advocating the pre-emptive invasion of Iraq. Kean and Hamilton never mentioned this, nor Zel’s close personal friendship with Rice, nor his work on the Bush transition team, in their press release announcing the hiring of Zelikow.
– Zelikow actually reached a private agreement with the Justice Department to block his own commission from access to the files of the congressional inquiry until the WH reviewed them first.
– Subpeonas, a standard and accepted practice in Washington for investigations of this magnitude, were ruled out from the beginning by Kean and Hamilton, so as to “maintain” WH cooperation.
I could go on and on and on and on. I’m surprised TP hasn’t posted a topic on this book each and every day since its release. It’s that gripping.
Most corrupt administration of all time. Period.
March 7th, 2008 at 8:36 pmNo 9/11 attack, no Project for a New American Century. Incomptence By Design.
First order of a new Democratic administration must be to expose the truth and hold those people who purposely ignored the warnings of attacks. They must be held accountable for the deaths of 3000 people on 9/11. And then hold those same people accountable for the deaths of 100’s of thousands of innocent Iraqis and another 3000+ American soldiers.
March 7th, 2008 at 9:43 pmBushco is certainly hiding something–could be the truth about 9/11, could be the money spent on Iraq, could be personal behavior. But why is congress hiding so much? Could be the truth about 9/11, could be the money spent on Iraq, could be personal behavior. Throw them all out.
March 7th, 2008 at 9:57 pmGot Osama…yet??
March 7th, 2008 at 10:19 pmRice was the “worst national security adviser†in the history of the job.
thats why she was in the job in first place. someone else may have actually acted on the intelligence.
of course its no surprise that “incompetence” is being trumpeted as a major factor in these events. alot of people will be thrown of the scent and be comforted by the myth that it was all down to happenstance and the misguided actions of fools.
it will take decades before we get something resembling truth for 9/11. but it will happen. hopefully it wont be discovered in the ashes of WW3.
March 7th, 2008 at 10:20 pmSigh, has anyone, just one person, in the Bush administration done anything right?
March 7th, 2008 at 11:13 pmRice is no more effecitive as Secretary of State than she was as National Security Advisor, which is to say that she is worthless in that position too. This is baffling since she is obviously a very intelligent person. How can all of that talent be so poorly deployed. I have never seen such a huge gap between potential and performance in my life. How can she be so utterly useless?
March 7th, 2008 at 11:56 pmCondi is so enamored with Bush that she probably promised to service him in every way possible. She probably plays ‘dress-up’ for him at Camp David. Jeff Gannon probably has photos.
March 8th, 2008 at 12:00 am9-11 was so obviously an inside job and no one within our government or media structure has a spine strong enough to call them out on it.
March 8th, 2008 at 12:02 amHardly, she mucked the Falklands situation trying to prove she had brass balls.
Comment by Rodham Gin — March 7, 2008 @ 5:02 pm
Ever heard of George W. Bush? He fu(ked up so badly, he must be two girls.
March 8th, 2008 at 1:11 amLearn more here:
March 8th, 2008 at 3:06 amhttp://www.cooperativeresearch.org/
Condi Rice incompetent? Uh, no sh*t. You’re just realizing this now?
She has exactly ZERO accomplishments in this Administration. None Zero. Zip. A complete waste.
March 8th, 2008 at 3:36 amUnless you consider getting gas prices to go from $1.25 to $3.50, that is. Hmm, maybe it does pay to be in the pocket of Big Oil and have a supertanker named after you.
Another thing: How dare Condi Rice shops for her fancy shoes and enjoys Broadway shows when Osama Bin Laden still breaths air. She should spend every waking moment she has trying to “bring to justice” those that were really responsible for the death of 3000 people on 9/11. How dare she continues to do nothing. NOTHING at all to those who were directly involved.
Has she no shame?
March 8th, 2008 at 3:50 amSorry, this is a dual posting that can also be found under the “NIE” article.
** ************
If you are on the fence about making public the NIEs read from the following link.
http://www.smh.com.au/ news/ world/ they-knew-but-did-nothing/ 2008/ 03/ 07/ 1204780065676.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1.
I have a more sinister view of what happened on 9/11. We all remember the seven minutes of silence by our little woodenhead president at that Florida pre-school and I have a theory (besides ineptness).
I believe that it is entirely possible that Bush new of the planned attack on the World Trade Center and that they allowed the plan to go forward. In my scenario Bush’s advisers probably told him that the chance of these planes hitting their target were zero to none, and that the planes would miss the intended targets and hit surrounding areas instead.
So, when Bush was informed that the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were hit, he knew that he had either been given very bad advice or that he had been set up by the neocons.
Anyone would have been speechless under these circumstances.
March 8th, 2008 at 8:19 amWhy was a thorough investigation of Sept. 11 not pursued, and much troubling information swept under the rug???
From the Sydney Morning Herald:
“And nearly identical intelligence landed each morning on the desks of about 300 other senior national security officials and MEMBERS OF CONGRESS in the form of the senior executive intelligence brief, a newsletter on intelligence issues also prepared by the CIA.”
Bush was in charge, and therefore accountable…BUT It seems that Congress, in a bipartisan failure, dropped the Ball as well.
March 8th, 2008 at 8:22 amDon’t forget that the Dems can blow it come November — and many “white males,” as the MSM analysists are suggesting with perhaps a bit of truth, might not so identify with a young black man or a women — and McCain still has a slight chance of winning.
So here is the nightmare scenario:
President McCain and Vice-President Rice.
March 8th, 2008 at 1:30 pmRice is not only the most incompetent National Security Adviser, she is also a National Security THREAT. It is now clear that the atrocity of 9/11 could have been avoided had the stupid b*tch paid any attention to Clarke’s alerts. At the very least, she is guilty of criminal negligence. As for Zelikow, he is just as responsible as she is. To think that this scumbag is now heading the World Bank! January 2009 cannot come soon enough. Cart off the trash out of Washington and fumigate the place!
March 9th, 2008 at 3:29 am