NYT: Colleague of (Clarke) Disputes Part of Account

[DeepModem Mom]

Colleague of Ex-Official Disputes Part of Account
By DAVID E. SANGER

Published: March 30, 2004


WASHINGTON, March 29 — A senior national security official who worked alongside Richard A. Clarke on Sept. 11, 2001, is disputing central elements of Mr. Clarke's account of events in the White House Situation Room that day, declaring that it "is a much better screenplay than reality was."

The official, Franklin C. Miller, who acknowledges that he was often a bureaucratic rival of Mr. Clarke, said in an interview on Monday that almost none of the conversations that Mr. Clarke, who was the counterterrorism chief, recounts in the first chapter of his book, "Against All Enemies," match Mr. Miller's recollection of events....

***

"He did a hell of a job that day," Mr. Miller said of Mr. Clarke in an interview on Monday that was suggested by the White House. "We all did." But then he disputed many of the most dramatic moments recalled by Mr. Clarke, from conversations with Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld to the question of whether another aide in the room was yelling out warnings that a plane could hit the White House in minutes. Efforts to reach Mr. Clarke on Monday through his publisher were unsuccessful.

Mr. Miller and other White House officials said they were not accusing Mr. Clarke of fabricating events. Events were moving so quickly, they said, and memories have since blurred, that it is little surprise that accounts differ. But Mr. Miller, a senior aide to Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser, suggested that Mr. Clarke's version, while it would "make a great movie," was more melodramatic than the events he recalled....


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/30/politics/30CLAR.html

[ClintonTyree]

1. Perhaps...............

Mr. Miller could use his obvious intimacy with Condi to persuade her to testify in front of the commission, thus bringing to an end all of the conjecture and disagreement among the concerned parties.
Yeah, that'll happen. Gee, what are the chances that Condi's toady would remember events that occured that day somewhat differently than Clarke?

[Catherine Vincent]

2. Oh looky!

They found 1 colleague to disagree with Clarke. Big deal. Just another bush bootlicker.

[Blasphemer]

5. But he's not really disagreeing...

He chose his words carefully. It's just more Spin. Their memories differ... things were moving so fast.. Give me a break. Just because his memory is poor doesn't mean that Clarke's is.

[ConcernedCanuk]

6. Thot I'd share this pic Wonk made

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.
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(Clinton Surfing DU - look at the screen closely) :hi:

[lancdem]

16. Love that pic!

[Catherine Vincent]

20. I love that.! I shall thank Wonk when I see him.

[Democat]

3. The media is against Clarke, the White House is against him, the FBI, CIA

Telling the truth in Bush's American is a dangerous thing to do.

[Buns_of_Fire]

13. If he's got that many people in the maladmistration lined up against him

he's obviously doing SOMETHING right! :thumbsup:

[TXDemGal]

4. It sure took them long enough

to scare up someone willing to go on record as contradicting Clarke.

KKKarl is falling down on the job. Bad dog, Karl!

[thebigidea]

7. muahahahahah: "in an interview on Monday that was suggested by the WH"

is that new? Have they ever tried that before, this business of "suggesting" interviews?

[mouse7]

8. Research on Franklin C. Miller (including namebase search)

(My gut instinct is this guy is trying to score points so he can be next national security advisor after Rice leaves. He's not that far down the chain of command to make it impossible. Remember, loyalty is everthing with these guys.)

Franklin C. Miller

Franklin C. Miller was born in New York City. He earned a B.A. from Williams College and an M.P.A. from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.

From 1972 to 1975, Miller served as a naval officer on active duty; from 1975 to 1980, he served as a naval reservist. He became a member of the Senior Executive Service in 1984, and in 1989, Miller began a relationship with the Department of Defense that has lasted over a decade. He started there as deputy assistant secretary of nuclear forces and arms control policy; by 1993, he had left that post to become the principal deputy assistant secretary, a position he held until 1996 when he began serving as acting assistant secretary of international security.

Miller then served as principal deputy assistant secretary and finally acting assistant secretary until 2001, when he joined the staff of the National Security Council as special assistant to the President and senior director for defense policy and arms control.

http://www.americanpresident.org/action/orgchart/administration_units/nationalsecuritycouncil/specialassttothepresidentandsnrdirfordefensepolicyandarmscontrol/franklincmiller/a_index.shtml

------------------
Organizational chart of House showing Franklin Miller answers to Condi Rice

http://www.americanpresident.org/action/orgchart/a_index.shtml?/action/orgchart/administration_units/nationalsecuritycouncil/orgchart.xxml

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MR. FRANKLIN C. MILLER

Mr. Miller is the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Threat Reduction. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree, Phi Beta Kappa, in political science from Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts. He also earned a Master's in Public Affairs in International Relations from the Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University. After graduation from Williams, Mr. Miller entered active military duty with the US Navy. Following completion of officer training, he was designated a distinguished naval graduate at Naval Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as an ensign. He served as communications officer and later, anti-submarine warfare (ASW) officer on board the USS JOSEPH HEWES (DE-1078), with deployments in the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. He earned the Surface Warfare Officer designation while aboard the HEWES. Mr. Miller transferred to the US Naval reserve in 1975 in order to pursue his graduate education. While in the reserves, he served as Assistant Weapons Officer on the USS JOHNSTON (DD-82 I -NPF), and as an Intelligence Watch Officer at the Naval Ocean Surveillance Information Center, Suitland, Maryland. After completion of his graduate program at Princeton, he joined the State Department's Politico-Military Bureau, where he worked on a variety of nuclear policy and arms control issues. In this position he was responsible for analyzing and recommending various aspects of naval support of US diplomatic initiatives. He was also a principal State Department action officer on the nuclear weapons deployment plan and various SSBN/SLBM matters. Mr. Miller transferred to the Department of Defense as an Assistant for Theater Nuclear Policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. In this position, he was involved in NATO's decision to modernize its long-range nuclear forces and in a wide variety of other nuclear policy issues relating to short-range, intermediate-range, and naval tactical systems. Mr. Miller was appointed as the Director, Strategic Forces Policy where he was responsible for the formulation and review of US nuclear deterrence policy and ensuring that US strategic force capabilities and nuclear targeting plans were consistent with national policy objectives. Mr. Miller was promoted Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Forces and Arms Control Policy. He directed the formulation of DOD policy with respect to strategic offensive forces and strategic targeting theater nuclear forces and arms control, and strategic nuclear arms control. Mr. Miller made major contributions to the START I and START II treaties, to the September 1991 Presidential Nuclear Initiative and to changes in NATO's nuclear posture. He led the Department of Defense's 1989-1991 overhaul of the nuclear planning process and of the US nuclear contingency plan (SIOP). He was promoted to Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (International Security Policy). Mr. Miller became the acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy. As Acting Assistant Secretary, he directed the Department of Defense policy for countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; US-UK nuclear deterrent cooperation, US nuclear weapons, nuclear forces and targeting; arms control; and interaction between the Department of Defense and its counterparts in the former Soviet Union.

http://www.ndu.edu/inss/symposia/jointops99/miller.html

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http://www.namebase.org/cgi-bin/nb06?_MILLER_FRANKLIN_C

COLLINGSWOOD JAY A

Washington Post 1986-07-27 (16)
COUGHENOUR JOHN

San Antonio Express-News 1998-07-09 (14)
FLETCHER JAMES C

Fitzgerald,F. Way Out There in the Blue. 2000 (243)
FREEMEN (MONTANA)

San Antonio Express-News 1998-07-09 (14)
HARRINGTON ANNE

Miller,J. Engelberg,S. Broad,W. Germs. 2002 (212)
HEILMAN JAMES H

Washington Post 1986-07-27 (16)
HOFFMAN FREDERIC S (RAND CORP)

Fitzgerald,F. Way Out There in the Blue. 2000 (243)
JACOBI DALE

San Antonio Express-News 1998-07-09 (14)
LANDERS RUSSELL

San Antonio Express-News 1998-07-09 (14)
LATHAM DONALD C

Washington Post 1986-07-27 (16)
MATTEUCCI SHERRY SCHEEL

San Antonio Express-News 1998-07-09 (14)
ODOM WILLIAM E

Washington Post 1986-07-27 (16)
PETERSEN DANIEL E JR

San Antonio Express-News 1998-07-09 (14)
POWERS WINSTON D

Washington Post 1986-07-27 (16)
SALVUCCI ANTHONY D

Washington Post 1986-07-27 (16)
SANDAKHCHIEV LEV S

Miller,J. Engelberg,S. Broad,W. Germs. 2002 (211-212)
SAXER RICHARD

Washington Post 1986-07-27 (16)
SCHWEITZER LEROY

San Antonio Express-News 1998-07-09 (14)
WARNKE PAUL C

Washington Post 1986-07-27 (16)
WEBER ANDY

Miller,J. Engelberg,S. Broad,W. Germs. 2002 (211-212)
WELCH LARRY D (GEN)

Washington Post 1986-07-27 (16)

[Media_Lies_Daily]

19. Pure-bred NeoCon...wonder if he's getting a promotion for this?

[xchrom]

9. according to mr miller, clarke did a hell of a job

that day
so the whole point clarke is making is true -- he remembers it pretty damn well -- but is possibly making it a little more melodramatic?
i can live with that. i remember car wrecks being pretty melodramatic -- this was a whole lot bigger than a car wreck.
not to mention bushco had info and time to avoid the collision -- clarke remains untouched.

[Sparky McGruff]

10. The only accurate account was that movie on Showtime...

Or the one that they're going to make, that shows' Bushboy grabbing a M16 and chasing after Osama and Saddam himself, Rambo style. "I regret that I have but one life to live, and that you only have one life to die!" Coming soon to a theater near you.

[The Backlash Cometh]

11. 9/11 wasn't melodramatic. How can you downplay the major events

that happened that day? Shame on Miller. What Clarke did was heroic. He rose to the top when we needed him the most. Just because he wasn't infront of the cameras like Giuliani doesn't make his contribution any less appreciated.

[Jackpine Radical]

12. Only way to get all these contradictory assertions straight...

release all the classified documents that the WH is cherrypicking through. Including the 9/6/01 PDB.

[goforit]

14. This guy has no back up .......his word against others.

101 lying schmucks on the wall....(sing along)
101 lying schmucks ....

You pass one down to kick out of town....
100 lying schmucks on the wall....

100 lying schmucks on the wall....
100 lying schmucks....


You pass one down to kick out of town...
99 lying schmucks on the wall.....

Play it again SAM!!!

[Cocoa]

15. so the Bushies now concede this conversation happened?

The initial defense was to suggest that Clarke dreamed up the whole meeting.

[daleo]

17. Praising with faint damns

If this is the worst that can be said against the book by the Bush administration, then they haven't got much.

[TacticalPeek]

18. LOL!

Faint, UNSWORN damns, at that!

:evilgrin:

[mainer]

21. Oh wow! HUGE discrepancy!

From the article:

"He describes how Mr. Miller came into the room, squeezed Mr. Clarke's bicep, and said, "Guess I'm working for you today. What can I do?"

"I wouldn't say that," Mr. Miller said Monday. "I might say, `How can I help.' "

*******************

This just made me laugh out loud. ("I didn't say 'What can I do'! I said 'How can I help'! Wah wah wah! See, Mommy, that proves Ricky made it all up!")