WP/Pincus/Milbank: Neither Silent Nor a Public Witness (Discrepancies)

[kskiska]

This week's testimony and media blitz by former White House counterterrorism chief Richard A. Clarke has returned unwanted attention to his former boss, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice.

The refusal by President Bush's top security aide to testify publicly before the commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks elicited rebukes by commission members as they held public hearings without her this week. Thomas H. Kean (R), the former New Jersey governor Bush named to be chairman of the commission, observed: "I think this administration shot itself in the foot by not letting her testify in public."

At the same time, some of Rice's rebuttals of Clarke's broadside against Bush, which she delivered in a flurry of media interviews and statements rather than in testimony, contradicted other administration officials and her own previous statements.

Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage contradicted Rice's claim that the White House had a strategy before 9/11 for military operations against al Qaeda and the Taliban; the CIA contradicted Rice's earlier assertion that Bush had requested a CIA briefing in the summer of 2001 because of elevated terrorist threats; and Rice's assertion this week that Bush told her on Sept. 16, 2001, that "Iraq is to the side" appeared to be contradicted by an order signed by Bush on Sept. 17 directing the Pentagon to begin planning military options for an invasion of Iraq.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25177-2004Mar25.html

[Beetwasher]

1. OMG She is So Fucked!

"Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage contradicted Rice's claim that the White House had a strategy before 9/11 for military operations against al Qaeda and the Taliban; the CIA contradicted Rice's earlier assertion that Bush had requested a CIA briefing in the summer of 2001 because of elevated terrorist threats; and Rice's assertion this week that Bush told her on Sept. 16, 2001, that "Iraq is to the side" appeared to be contradicted by an order signed by Bush on Sept. 17 directing the Pentagon to begin planning military options for an invasion of Iraq.

Rice, in turn, has contradicted Vice President Cheney's assertion that Clarke was "out of the loop" and his intimation that Clarke had been demoted. Rice has also given various conflicting accounts. She criticized Clarke for being the architect of failed Clinton administration policies, but also said she retained Clarke so the Bush administration could continue to pursue Clinton's terrorism policies."

No wonder she can't testify.

[calimary]

13. What's that line? "Oh, what a tangled web we weave..."

As John Ashcroft would say (and SURELY DOESN'T DARE, NOW) "if you have nothing to hide, then you have nothing to be worried about."

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT????????

Remember when everybody was in such an uproar because some big shot lied about cheating on his wife?

NOTE THE SUGGESTION IN MY SIG LINE.

ALSO:

National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States
301 7th Street, SW
Room 5125
Washington, DC 20407

Washington Office*
Tel: [phone]
Fax It is vital to get these criminals under oath.
: [phone]

email: [e-mail]

And don't forget your reps in Congress:

www.senate.gov

http://www.house.gov/writerep/

DEMAND THAT SHE TESTIFY UNDER OATH!!! That MIGHT get to the bottom of it. Some of it, anyway.

[virgdem]

21. Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive

And have they ever deceived - the entire country to be exact. They are getting so tangled up in the web of lies that they have woven over the past 3 years that it would take an eternity to disentangle themselves.

[grytpype]

2. Lyin' Leezie!

Looks like Lyin' Leezie is finally cornered!

And the Plame Affair hasn't really come to a head yet. Just wait for that!

[AlCzervik]

3. see what happens

when you lie. You have to keep lying to cover up your original and then it compounds. I'm sure Team Bush calls this "changing course". Anyhow, they screwed up on this one so bad, they had Clarke's book for months, yoy think Rove would have had the guns blazing beforehand.

[catzies]

29. Welcome to DU, chimpsrsmarter!

:hi:

As has been said since Watergate, "It's not the crime, it's the cover up!"

[PROGRESSIVE1]

4. No wonder Joe "Dead Intern" Scarbormediawhore is......

shouting down the Dem's tonight! The beedy eyed nazi knows that
his God (Shrub) is really a Devil!!!

Condesleeza Lies is in deep doo-doo.

[UpInArms]

5. here is Powell's testimony

(under oath)

http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2004/s1072397.htm

Secretary of State Colin Powell confirmed that four days after the 9/11 attacks the Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz had advocated an attack on Iraq.

COLIN POWELL: There was a meeting of the National Security Council that Mr Wolfowitz also attended on that day, Camp David as you describe. There was a full day of discussions on the situation that we found ourselves in, who was responsible for it, and as part of that full day of discussion Iraq was discussed. And Secretary Wolfowitz raised the issue of whether or not Iraq should be considered for action during this time.

and from the article cited in the original post:

Democratic commission member Richard Ben-Veniste disclosed this week that Rice had asked, in her private meetings with the commission, to revise a statement she made publicly that "I don't think anybody could have predicted that those people could have taken an airplane and slam it into the World Trade Center . . . that they would try to use an airplane as a missile." Rice told the commission that she misspoke; the commission has received information that prior to Sept. 11, U.S. intelligence agencies and Clarke had talked about terrorists using airplanes as missiles.

http://www.nlsi.net/hs-alc-info.htm

On the morning of September 11th 2001, Mr. Fulton and his team at the CIA were running a pre-planned simulation to explore the emergency response issues that would be created if a plane were to strike a building. Little did they know that the scenario would come true in a dramatic way that day. Information is the most powerful tool available in the homeland security effort. At the core of every initiative currently underway to protect our country and its citizens is the challenge of getting the right information to the right people at the right time. How can so much information from around the world be captured and processed in meaningful and timely ways? Mr. Fulton shares his insights into the intelligence community, and shares a vision of how today's information systems will be developed into even better counter-terrorism tools of tomorrow.

and



A plane crash is simulated inside the cardboard courtyard of a surprisingly realistic-looking model Pentagon. This "tabletop" exercise was designed to help emergency relief personnel better prepare for disasters when they occur.

Washington, D.C., Nov. 3, 2000 — The fire and smoke from the downed passenger aircraft billows from the Pentagon courtyard. Defense Protective Services Police seal the crash sight. Army medics, nurses and doctors scramble to organize aid. An Arlington Fire Department chief dispatches his equipment to the affected areas.

Don Abbott, of Command Emergency Response Training, walks over to the Pentagon and extinguishes the flames. The Pentagon was a model and the "plane crash" was a simulated one.

The Pentagon Mass Casualty Exercise, as the crash was called, was just one of several scenarios that emergency response teams were exposed to Oct. 24-26 in the Office of the Secretaries of Defense conference room.

Yeah, right Sleazy, you "mis-spoke".

:puke:

(edited for html and clarity)

[lostnfound]

28. UpInArms, Your Post is Excellent & Useful <-Take Note Everyone

I forwarded these two things to many people:
1) a copy of yesterday's http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/03/26/translator/index_np.html">Sibel Edmonds interview from Slate where she talks about the 'aircraft as missiles' information being available in April 2001
AND
2) a copy of sections of your post above, with the photo of the Pentagon mockup and description of the 'Mass Casualty Exercise' and Fulton's preplanned simulation of aircraft-into-buildings.

The combination of these two, with a photo to boot, is shocking and clear. It speaks volumes about how shallow the public portion of the 9-11 commission hearings are. We are all owed some answers.

Whether left or right, any reasonable person can see this and be affected by it. Thank you.

[Nordic65]

6. WOW! Look at this (middle of the article)

"Democratic commission member Richard Ben-Veniste disclosed this week that Rice had asked, in her private meetings with the commission, to revise a statement she made publicly that "I don't think anybody could have predicted that those people could have taken an airplane and slam it into the World Trade Center . . . that they would try to use an airplane as a missile." Rice told the commission that she misspoke; the commission has received information that prior to Sept. 11, U.S. intelligence agencies and Clarke had talked about terrorists using airplanes as missiles."

[UpInArms]

7. welcome to DU Nordic65!

Glad to have you here! :hi:

[bagnana]

8. that one paragraph is incredible.

I had no idea. My god what a liar she is. Incredible! And, why do no reporters bring up the fact that BUSH AND CHENEY WENT ON A ONE MONTH VACATION IN AUGUST 2001? I haven't seen that anywhere in this coverage. Rice claims they are on "high alert" and Bush is on vacation??

[UpInArms]

10. here's a great news article from May 17 2002 from CBS

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/05/17/attack/main509471.shtml

'99 Report Warned Of Suicide Hijacking

(AP) Exactly two years before the Sept. 11 attacks, a federal report warned the executive branch that Osama bin Laden's terrorists might hijack an airliner and dive bomb it into the Pentagon or other government building.

"Suicide bomber(s) belonging to al Qaeda's Martyrdom Battalion could crash- land an aircraft packed with high explosives (C-4 and semtex) into the Pentagon, the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), or the White House," the September 1999 report said.

The report, entitled the "Sociology and Psychology of Terrorism: Who Becomes a Terrorist and Why?," described the suicide hijacking as one of several possible retribution attacks al Qaeda might seek for the 1998 U.S. airstrike against bin Laden's camps in Afghanistan.

The report noted that an al Qaeda-linked terrorist first arrested in the Philippines in 1995 and later convicted in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing had suggested such a suicide jetliner mission.

<snip>

The report contrasts with Bush administration officials' assertions that none in government had imagined an attack like Sept. 11 before that time.

"I don't think anybody could have predicted that these people would take an airplane and slam it into the World Trade Center, take another one and slam it into the Pentagon; that they would try to use an airplane as a missile, a hijacked airplane as a missile," national security adviser Condoleezza Rice said Thursday.

...more...

The world knew she was lying because her lips were moving. The puppeteers are so sloppy :puke:

[gbwarming]

20. Genoa: OBL 'airborne spectacular' mentioned in UK Observer, 7/15/2001

Sunday July 15, 2001
The Observer

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,522008,00.html
It appears an uneven contest. One of Italy's biggest security operations will mobilise at least 15,000 police and soldiers, including paratroopers and specialists in nuclear, germ and chemical warfare.

Twelve helicopters and four reconnaissance aircraft will zip overhead, warships and mini-submarines will prowl the bay where the 58,600-tonne cruise ship, European Vision, will play host to most of the summit participants.

A battery of Spada ground-to-air missiles will bristle at Christopher Colombus Airport, lest the al-Qaida terrorist group headed by Osama bin Laden tries an airborne spectacular.


-------------------------
Guardian: Friday July 20, 2001

http://www.guardian.co.uk/theissues/article/0,6512,524209,00.html
<snip>
What is security like for G8?
Horrendous. There are upwards of 16,000 troops and police on duty - some reports say more than 20,000. The centre of the ancient city has been declared a "red zone" and sealed off with steel barriers. The airport, rail stations and the seaport have been closed to civilian traffic. There are missile batteries at the airport to counter any terrorist threat. Around 700 would-be protesters have been turfed out of Genoa, including several Britons.
--------------------------------------
CNN 7/17/2001
http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/07/17/genoa.security/

The Italian authorities' security measures also include the positioning of surface-to-air missiles at Genoa's Christopher Columbus airport. Dubbed the SPADA, the land-based system consists of missiles capable of a range of 15 kilometres (9.3 miles).

The ministry said the decision to install the missiles is not excessive.

"There's no excessive precaution," military spokesman Colonel Alberto Battaglini told Reuters. "The measure, which was planned by the previous government, may seem open to criticism, but in reality it is merely to act as a deterrent against any aerial incursion during the summit."

---------------------------------------

Another Guardian story http://www.guardian.co.uk/globalisation/story/0,7369,519925,00.html

Wednesday July 11, 2001
The Guardian

Italy has installed a missile defence system at Genoa's airport to deter airborne attacks during next week's G8 summit, fuelling hysteria about looming violence.
A land-based battery of rockets with a range of nine miles and an altitude of 5,000 feet has been positioned in the latest security measure against perceived threats from terrorists and protesters.

Unidentified planes, helicopters and balloons risk being shot down should they drift too close to the heads of state from the group of seven leading industrialised nations and Russia.

Colonel Alberto Battaglini, of the ministry of defence, said the precaution was not exces sive. "The measure, which was planned by the previous government, may seem open to criticism, but in reality it is merely to act as a deterrent against any aerial incursion during the summit.

"They are little missiles ... which only have a deterrent function to discourage any aerial-led attack and they do not present any danger to the residents of the city," he said.

[enough]

9. I don't see how she can survive this.

This article is so dead on, so unsparing, and so devastating. One lie after another, one contradiction after another exposed. It just keeps on coming. Read the whole thing. It's worth it to register with the Washington Post if you haven't already.

[snippy]

26. I agree, except that I think she can survive.

Only the crimes of honesty and integrity are firing offenses in the Bush administration or the republican party.

Anyone who wants to read the article, but does not want to register can use http://www.bugmenot.com/ to find a registration id and password.

[Spazito]

11. Wow!

Has the tipping point finally been reached? This is a devastating article!

[kainah]

12. the next week will tell the story on that

stay tuned........... the mainstream buzz seems to have slowed today but I suspect that may be due, at least in part, to having a "build up" of "news" from so much 9/11 coverage this week. Maybe people are waiting for some dust to settle to see where it lands. Or maybe, yet again, the rug is big enough to contain the dirt.

It would be very hard on the bushies if they have to throw Condi over.

[UpInArms]

14. something's shakin'

check out this thread:

Condi Rice to leave Bush administration at end of year / NYT

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x445205

[hang a left]

15. Hopefully it is in handcuffs.

n/t

[SayitAintSo]

16. Ever think these thugs set the black chick up for the fall ?

Just think about it ... That might the reason she looks so pissed...not a friend in the world ....

C'mon... do you think these guys really like taking orders from a sista? I think not ... don't get me wrong, I don't like her much myself, but they clearly don't either - I think for different, very republican reasons. As much truth as Clarke talked - I saw something else there too .... contempt for her... Just reading the subtext .... :)

[Spazito]

17. The contempt I saw was for her incompetence and her lies...

and it was appropriate as she is both incompetent and a liar.

[SayitAintSo]

18. Contempt for incompetence yes ... perhaps

Lying is a norm for that crowd.

[JoFerret]

32. It's all part of an elaborate game at which they have been found out

I took this from the MSNBC article on Blix's book where he writes about how civil Rice was and then before he can turn around someone has leaked different info to the press:
<<Blix adds another dimension to the story -- how willing the Administration was to ride roughshod over allies, the U.N., and, to a large degree, the truth of what was really known about Iraqi WMDs in pursuit of its goals. In his telling, the hawkish agenda was mainly played out in the press. He describes U.S. officials -- notably National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice and even the President himself -- as perfectly reasonable, supportive, and professional in private dealings with him. But he says their messages were repeatedly undercut by news stories -- many based on anonymous Administration sources -- in publications such as The Times of London, The Washington Post, and The New York Times.>>

And yes - i think they could well set her up. If she weren't so out of touch one could almost feel sorry for her. She made her pact with the devil and now she must pay the price.

[CatWoman]

19. Condi needs to own up to reality

and understand.

She is a black woman.

She was a double trifecta for Bush and his racist following.

How many times have we heard the praise and glowing words lavished on Bush for appointing a black woman to such a high position in his administration.

She was his trump card. His ace of spades. To be pulled out and played when the situation arose. She owed him. And the bitch better well deliver.

Powell as well.

They chose these blacks because they were easily manipulated, complete sellouts, plus they were convenient backdrops for this administration. They were nothing more than carbon based backdrops touting, "mission accomplished".

hope she enjoyed the ride.

[SmokeyBlues]

23. And there you go!

If the "sista" got set up, that's just the way it bees. Too bad!

She knew what the deal was, if not from the start, then surely after "we all love JC" Watts was sent packing and later talked about like a big dog. And then there is Shannon Reeves in California who was told publicly by one of his white state GOP soul mates that the only reason why he advanced as high as he did in the GOP is because he is a Black man. Hello!

If Colin has any sense remaining (I know he has no decency left), he better pack his bags before they let loose the hounds on his butt. As the old saying goes, and particularly for 'massa you sick we sick' negroes like Colin and Condi, hard heads make a soft ass.

[Lugnut]

22. Shades of......

Watergate. Does the phrase "twisting slowly in the wind" come to mind?

[DeepModem Mom]

24. Michael Isikoff's piece in Newsweek is just as damning --

What I've been waiting for, is for press reports that don't include administration spin. There comes a time when there are not two sides to an issue, as happened in Watergate. I think it's finally beginning to hit the fan:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4594652/

[UpInArms]

25. kick

:kick:

[Barrett808]

27. And another kick

[neverforget]

30. Rice is toast. She's been caught lying numerous times and,

compound that with her terrible public speaking ability, Bush will toss her overboard soon. She's become a liability for not getting their lies straight.

[Oilwellian]

31. Kick

This is big! :D

[The Night Owl]

33. This is pure comedy!

The Bushies are all tripping over each other's lies.