posted February 16, 2005 11:11 AM            

The answer is unknowable and, at this date, moot. Yet it was appalling to learn last week that the White House suppressed until after the election a damning report that exposes the administration as woefully incompetent if not criminally negligent. Belatedly declassified excerpts from still-secret sections of the 9/11 commission report, which focus on the failure of the Federal Aviation Administration to heed multiple warnings that Al Qaeda terrorists were planning to hijack planes as suicide weapons, make clear that this tragedy could have been avoided.

For the last three years, administration apologists have tried to make the FAA the scapegoat for the 9/11 attacks. But it is the president who ultimately is responsible for national security, not a defanged agency that is beholden to the industry it allegedly monitors.

The terrible fact is that the administration took none of the steps that would have put the protection of human life ahead of a diverse set of economic and political interests, which included not offending our friends the Saudis and not hurting the share prices of airline corporations.

The warnings provided by intelligence agencies to the FAA were far clearer and more specific than suggested by Condoleezza Rice's testimony before the 9/11 commission when she reluctantly conceded the existence of a presidential briefing that warned of impending Al Qaeda attacks. Rice had dismissed those warnings as "historical," but according to the newly released section of the 9/11 report, an astonishing 52 of the 105 daily intelligence briefings received by the FAA -- and available to Rice -- before the Sept. 11 attacks made specific reference to Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.

Given this shocking record of indifference on the part of the administration, it is politically understandable that it tried to prevent the formation of the 9/11 commission in the first place, and then for five months prevented the declassification of key sections of the final report. Commission members, including its Republican chairman, Thomas Kean, stated in the past that there was no national security concern that justified keeping those sections of the report from the public.

And let's be clear: The failure to fully disclose what is known about the 9/11 tragedy is not some minor bureaucratic transgression. Not since the Soviets first detonated an atomic bomb more than half a century ago has a single event so affected decision-making in this country, yet the main questions as to how and why it happened remain mostly unanswered.

Even worse, what we do know calls into question our government's explanation that a diabolical international terrorist conspiracy exploited our liberal, naive society. What has emerged, instead, is a portrait of an often bumbling terrorist gang allowed to wreak havoc because the top tiers of the administration were so indifferent to the alarms, which former CIA Director George Tenet described so graphically: "The system was blinking red."

Had the business-friendly administration put safety first and ordered a full complement of air marshals into the air, over the obscene objections of airlines loath to give up paid seats, nearly 3,000 people might not have died that day. And had the president of the United States taken some time from his epic ranch vacation that August to order a nationwide airport alert, two bloody wars abroad, as well as an all-out assault on civil liberties in this country, probably would not have happened.

Instead, an administration that resisted spending the tens of millions required to fortify airline security before 9/11 is nearing the $300-billion mark on Afghanistan and Iraq. And declassified documents have unmistakably said the latter had nothing to do with 9/11. Meanwhile, those countries that at least indirectly did, most notably "allies" Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, have been let off the hook.

Indeed, the 9/11 commission was not allowed to get near that story: It is an unnoticed but startling truth that the basic narrative on the tragedy derives from the interrogations of key detainees whom the 9/11 commissioners were not allowed to interview. Nor were they permitted to even take testimony from the U.S. intelligence personnel who interrogated those prisoners.

When the truth and governmental transparency are arbitrarily trumped by the invocation of national security, the public is simply incapable of making informed decisions on the most crucial decisions we face -- starting with whom we elect as our commander in chief.

posted February 16, 2005 11:44 PM            

If you think that you have ever known it all about 9/11 and all the little deficiencies have that acquired therein to what we find out now, all this is are just basic articals that have been collected that even trace back as far as Sept,11 1941!

No opinions placed in there, just facts about all the events that are making and/or made news to even now to this very day!

You might as well go to the "2005" page first, to see exactly the relation to the articals of what you've just posted, but this whole sight is really something to behold, that I find very interesting and undisputedly admire!

There's also hyperlinks under each and every artical of the subject of 9/11 on the webpages, so that JW can find all the "sources" to it!

posted February 17, 2005 01:45 AM            

These are the events leading up to the 9/11 attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon along with the causes.

In February 1993, the World Trade Center was bombed and Clinton did not respond against terrorists and terrorism, rather, Clinton treated the terrorist bombing as a law enforcement matter, even though "foreign radical Islamic fundamentalist terrorists" were involved and prosecuted.

In October 1993, 18 American troops were killed in a firefight in Somalia with an American soldier's body dragged through the streets of Mogadishu. Prior to that incident, the military commander requested armor to complete the Clinton issued escalating mission of finding and capturing the Islamic terrorist Mohammed Farrah Aidid. Clinton refused the means for the military to carry out the mission Clinton had issued. Clinton's response to the attack was to pull American military forces out of Somalia. Later, bin Laden would say the US military is a paper tiger but it was and is Clinton who is the weak sister.

In November 1995, five Americans were killed and 30 wounded by a car bomb in Saudi Arabia set by Muslim extremists. Clinton did not respond yet again.

In June 1996, a U.S. Air Force housing complex in Saudi Arabia was bombed by Muslim extremists. Clinton's response was to send the FBI into Saudi Arabia to investigate this "law enforcement matter".

On Aug. 7, 1998, U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by Muslim extremists. Clinton fired off a few cruise missiles at empty terrorist training camps in Afghanistan and a pill plant in Sudan, got Monica off the front pages of the nations newspapers and off the evening news. Then Clinton declared victory.

In October 2000, our warship, the USS Cole, was attacked by Muslim extremists. No response from Clinton

Prior to leaving office, Clinton pardoned terrorists from Puerto Rico who had committed murder in New York.

In the whole 8 years of the Clinton Administration, there was nothing done that would indicate to terrorists that America would respond effectively and forcibly against terrorism and terrorist attacks against America at home or abroad.

Against that backdrop of terrorist attacks at home and abroad, Clinton reduced American military forces. Clinton reduced American military forces by more than 500,000 troops. Clinton cut 4 active divisions from the regular army and 2 divisions from the reserves. Clinton cut the Air Force personnel by nearly 30%. Clinton cut 22,000 troops out of the US Marines. Clinton cut the United States Navy from 393 ships down to 316 with attendant cuts in Naval Personnel. Clinton cut about $50 Billion from the military budgets. There was nothing secret about these drastic cuts in military force levels or military spending, nor was it any secret from America's enemies, including bin Laden. Clinton was setting about making the United States military into the paper tiger bin Laden said it was.

In Feb 1995, Osama bin Laden was named in an indictment as an un-indicted co-conspirator, in the first bombing of the World Trade Center.

In Mar 1996, the Government of Sudan offered to turn Osama bin Laden over to U.S. custody, 3 different times. Clinton refused Sudan's offers, later stating the United States had no legal reason to accept bin Laden into custody and no legal reasons to hold him. Clinton lied through his teeth. Bin Laden had already been named in an indictment in 1995 but was not within the jurisdiction of the United States at the time of the indictment. In 1996, he could have been, along with his top commanders AND their documents detailing their plans, forces and locations.

In August 1996, bin Laden declared war/jihad against the United States.

In February 1997, Algore handed over to Clinton a special commission report on Airline Safety and Security. No part of that report, known as the Gore report was ever implemented by Clinton, even though it was commissioned by Clinton and was delivered to Clinton 4 years before Clinton's second term in office expired.

There has never, in the history of the United States, been a President who stood by and did nothing in the face of direct attacks against the United States both within the continental US and abroad. Nor has there ever been an American President who stood by and emboldened an enemy into the belief they could strike the United States with impunity and with no consequences.

The attacks on the WTC and Pentagon had been in the planning stages for about 2 years or more. George Bush had been President for 8 months.

Like the rest of the loony left airheads, Robert Scheer needs to pull his head out of his $ss. Inaction, in the case of Bill Clinton's had consequences.

posted February 17, 2005 03:39 AM            

quote:

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Hopefully, theres only one way to go and it's not down.

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Are you sure about that Tracysalome?

posted February 17, 2005 11:28 PM              

damned if you do,damned if you dont lol

posted February 18, 2005 06:02 AM            

If you ask me about my belief on the issue of the future of the school system in the US or in anywhere else on that matter? If the Bill Graham, Pat Robertson and the rest of the Religious Right had they're way, the history of mankind would be taught out in the wilderness somewhere with the explaination that a pairing humans that look like something that came right out of Hollywood(all clean shaven)of the opposite sex of eachother, found wondering naked in a forest somewhere(like that of a shameless survivor series seagment), eating an apple together and discovered by a guy in a white business suit and a rod of iron and joined by a winged search and rescue team, damning another guy that looks like Tommy Chong and his pet snake, just for asking the "naked chick" if she would like to eat some "reds"!

Oh yeah, I forgot! Here's a cool source: