Berger says he warned Rice about al Qaeda

[kysrsoze]

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- When the Bush administration was entering office, outgoing National Security Adviser Samuel Berger told his replacement, Condoleezza Rice, "she'd be spending more time on terrorism and al Qaeda than any other issue," Berger told the panel investigating the attacks Wednesday.

"I did my best to emphasize the urgency I felt," he said. "Getting" Osama bin Laden and stopping the al Qaeda network was a "top priority" of the Clinton administration, Berger said.

Clinton felt so strongly that in 2000 he traveled to Pakistan -- against the "adamant advice of the secret service" -- to press President Pervez Musharraf to join the battle against al Qaeda, Berger said.

(snip)

Panel member Richard Ben-Veniste, a Democrat, told Berger his appearance was "asymmetrical" because Rice will not appear publicly before the panel.



http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/03/24/911.commission/index.html


Ouch!

[bif]

1. Well isn't that convenient that Rice won't appear

"Asymetrical?" Huh? Who comes up with these terms, anyway?

[Limbought]

22. Condi had plenty of time to make other appearances this week though,

didn't she?

[RobertSeattle]

2. Thanks - I had forgotten about that Clinton trip

In contrast, Bush flew to Crawford in August 2001 to cut sagebrush.

[benfranklin1776]

4. ......which Junior continued to do and fundraise........

......even after receiving the August 6, 2001 briefing at the ranch entitled "Bin Laden determined to strike United States in U.S"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A35744-2002May17¬Found=true
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,718153,00.html

Contrast Clarke's comment on Sixty Minutes about President Clinton going to battle stations on the threat of an attack in 1999.

[kysrsoze]

Why isn't this coming out? I had forgotten about it

Why is no one bringing up that memo?

[benfranklin1776]

8. Yes its contents have been zealously guarded from the Commission.

Recall the hoops and hurdles game the maladminstration has played by denying commission members limited access, then allowing them to take limited notes, then denying them access to their notes, then agreeing to let a few members of the commission look at a redacted version.....It all reeks. The Commission should uneqivocally subpoena the relevant parts of the briefing and secure Ms. Rice's testimony under oath. If the majority refuses to go along with it the minority should refuse to sign off on the report or author a dissenting opinion.

[jbfam4]

11. wow

New accounts yesterday of the controversial Aug. 6 memo provided a shift in portrayals of the document, which has set off a political firestorm because it suggested that bin Laden's followers might be planning to hijack U.S. airliners.

In earlier comments this week, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and other administration officials stressed that intelligence officials were focused primarily on threats to U.S. interests overseas. But sources made clear yesterday that the briefing presented to Bush focused on attacks within the United States, indicating that he and his aides were concerned about the risks.

Quotes taken from the Wash post article above.....HUMMMM
are these the questions that the panel can't ask?

Condi didn't think they would take planes and use them as missles, yet she had that Aug 6th briefing.

[benfranklin1776]

15. Yes I think these are the critical questions she wishes to avoid.

Epsecially under sworn oath and penalty of perjury. As well as questioning relating to the Clarke memo requesting a meeting and the Berger warnings.

[skypilot]

17. Wasn't the briefing explicitly titled...

"Bin Laden Determined to Strike in the US"?? I'm also pretty sure that I read somewhere that someone in the administration (Ari Fleisher, I think) altered the title so that it said simply "Bin Laden Determined to Strike US" thus eliminating the very telling "in".

[LiberalFighter]

24. They thought that terrorist threats wouldn't happen in the US?

What about the WTC on February 26, 1993?

Are they going to tell the public that was in another country?

[jamesinca]

14. A few more links that are good.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/waronterrorism/story/0,1373,718218,00.html

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/waronterrorism/story/0,1373,718310,00.html

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/waronterrorism/story/0,1373,718264,00.html

What they were told, what they did with it and how they started lying. I love the guardian.

[jbfam4]

5. LOL

You see the difference between a real president and a puppet president.

Why doesn't Bush go and talk to other world leaders?

[kskiska]

9. What on earth would * talk to foreign leaders about?

Baseball?

[jbfam4]

12. Thanks for making my point.

He doesn't understand the problem and they don't respect him.

[jamesinca]

16. Well here is one thing he may talk about

Q: When you're not talking about politics, what do you and your father talk about?

Bush: Pussy.

- To David Fink of the Hartford Courant, at the 1988 Republican Convention

[Scairp]

3. Didn't watch this

But has anyone asked him what, if anything, her response was to his warnings? That would be the next obvious question to ask, dontcha think?

[hang a left]

6. She is gonna have to testify.

There is no way she will be able to get around it without people asking for her head.

[kysrsoze]

7. I'm wondering if they're saving a LOT of questions for Condi

I think they're going to confront her with a huge amount of stuff once she hits the stand. If they put up a real fight on her testimony, this thing will blow wide open.

[Kolesar]

10. I thought Condi has refused to testify in front of the 9/11 commission

It would take a lot of pressure to get her to take real questions on this matter.

note that she has time to show up on morning tv shows, though

[Rockholm]

13. TV Ain't Under Oath!

When it comes to telling the truth under oath, she is totally unable to. Condo-liar Rice....A True Amercian Patriot! Bull Shit.

[Auntie Bush]

23. Condi will be on Faux tonight! But Clarke will be on Larry King.

Want the truth? Watch Larry!
Occasionally want the truth? Watch Faux.

[JoFerret]

18. I wonder if at some point Rice

will have to resort to a "high-tech lynching"type defense. (Here's hoping not.)

[Kolesar]

19. The press will see right through such a cheap tactic

and they will run with it anyway

[JoFerret]

20. After today

how can they continue to keep her in hiding?

[notbush]

21. Unfortunately what we don't know

is what Condi told the committee in private.
My understanding is she did testify for 4 plus hours...and we don't have a clue what she said. My guess would be that the committee's final report will include some of this information, without attributing it to a single source.