60 Minutes Sun - Richard Clarke on * WH prior and after 9-11

[RamboLiberal]

And the book is released Monday. Bet this one is hotter than the O'Neill book.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/1998/07/08/60minutes/main13502.shtml

9/11 BEFORE AND AFTER - In an exclusive interview, Richard Clarke, President Bush's former terrorism advisor, reveals what the Bush administration was saying and thinking before, during and after the 9/11 attacks. Lesley Stahl reports.



The second Bush insider (after Paul O'Neill) to discuss the inner workings of the White House, former counterterrorism czar Richard A. Clarke delivers a highly anticipated (and top-secret) political memoir.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=15T9GHWXL0&isbn=0743260244&itm=2

[rumguy]

1. I understand this guy has some damaging info. on the boy king

Anyone know if he's spilling the beans?

[BootinUp]

2. Has he testified before the commission already?

anybody know?

[proud patriot]

3. I look forward to watching this and reading the book

:hi: thanks for the heads up

[Nlighten1]

15. I predict this story will last about a week...

and then it will disappear into the ether...

[RamboLiberal]

16. This is going to be drip, drip, drip

I think. There's a ton of books coming out about this misadministration. Independents and small 'r' republicans have got to start questioning this guy. I hear more and more of these people questioning or saying they won't vote for Bush again.

And we see the rebellion with military families beginning and with some of the troops. There's going to be a lot of them unhappy that their loved ones are in Iraq or being asked to go back to Iraq as this information drips out.

And with hot weather coming on in Iraq, plus that June 30th date, I predict this is going to one long hot summer for AWOL. Too bad it will be our guys and gals and innocent Iraqis who will pay with their blood for that jerk in the WH and his PNAC buddies.

[GregW]

4. I know what he was doing during and after the attacks

and it involved changing his boxers as he ran away in his 747.

Maybe *'s theme song should be "Brave Sir Robin" from Monty Python and the Holy Grail ...

Bravely Robin ran away,
Bravely ran away, away.

When danger reared its ugly head,
he bravely turned his tail and fled.
Yes, brave Sir Robin turned about
And gallantly, he chickened out.

Bravely taking to his feet,
He beat a very brave retreat,
Bravest of the brave, Sir Robin.

[Hamlette]

5. no pre release reviews?

at least I've not seen any. Odd, but not unheard of.

I'd heard he would be critical of Bush. Anyone know?

[RamboLiberal]

9. Today was the first time I saw the bookcover posted

I'm thinking this book may be a big WOW! Clarke has been playing it very close to the vest. I don't even think he's discussed the book even though I've noticed he's been on ABC a lot. The book was mentioned in a article in Time.

I've been checking every day on the book at Amazon and B&N. When I checked when I posted the thread the cover still wasn't posted at Amazon but finally was at B&N.

I'm hoping there's one big revelation that the * administration was negligent in the extreme about 9-11 on the 60 Minutes interview and in the book.

[jmags]

18. Here is the press release from 60 minutes:

Former White House terrorism advisor Richard Clarke tells Lesley Stahl that on September 11, 2001 and the day after - when it was clear Al Qaeda had carried out the terrorist attacks - the Bush administration was considering bombing Iraq in retaliation. Clarke's exclusive interview will be broadcast on 60 MINUTES Sunday March 21 (7:00-8:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.
Clarke was surprised that the attention of administration officials was turning toward Iraq when he expected the focus to be on Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. "They were talking about Iraq on 9/11. They were talking about it on 9/12," says Clarke.

The top counter-terrorism advisor, Clarke was briefing the highest government officials, including President Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, in the aftermath of 9/11. "Rumsfeld was saying we needed to bomb Iraq....We all said, 'but no, no. Al Qaeda is in Afghanistan," recounts Clarke, "and Rumsfeld said, 'There aren't any good targets in Afghanistan and there are lots of good targets in Iraq.' I said, 'Well, there are lots of good targets in lots of places, but Iraq had nothing to do with ,'" he tells Stahl.

Clarke goes on to explain what he believes was the reason for the focus on Iraq. "I think they wanted to believe that there was a connection but the CIA was sitting there, the FBI was sitting there, I was sitting there, saying, 'We've looked at this issue for years. For years we've looked and there's just no connection,'" says Clarke.

Clarke, who advised four presidents, reveals more about the current administration's reaction to terrorism in his new book, "Against All Enemies."

www.talkingpointsmemo.com

[Bandit]

6. Richard A. Clarke delivers a highly anticipated (and top-secret) political

I hope they don't mean "Top Secret" in the government sense. It would not surprise me though because these people use government intelligence as their own campaign material. As far as I'm concerned they are all guilty of Treason.

[Cush]

7. Begala just mentioned it on Crossfire

[RamboLiberal]

8. Please for a cube rat - what did Begala say?

[RobertSeattle]

10. William River Pitt may know...

http://truthout.org/docs_04/010504A.shtml

Throughout the spring and early summer of 2001, intelligence agencies flooded the government with warnings of possible terrorist attacks against American targets, including commercial aircraft, by al Qaeda and other groups. A July 5, 2001 White House gathering of the FAA, the Coast Guard, the FBI, Secret Service and INS had a top counter-terrorism official, Richard Clarke, state that "Something really spectacular is going to happen here, and it's going to happen soon." Donald Kerrick, who is a three-star general, was a deputy National Security Advisor in the late Clinton administration. He stayed on into the Bush administration. When the Bush administration came in, he wrote a memo about terrorism, al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. The memo said, "We will be struck again." As a result of writing that memo, he was not invited to any more meetings.

In a late November truthout interview, former Clinton advisor Sidney Blumenthal said, "Richard Clarke was Director of Counter-Terrorism in the National Security Council. He has since left. Clark urgently tried to draw the attention of the Bush administration to the threat of al Qaeda. Right at the present, the Bush administration is trying to withhold documents from the 9/11 bipartisan commission. I believe one of the things that they do not want to be known is what happened on August 6, 2001. It was on that day that George W. Bush received his last, and one of the few, briefings on terrorism. I believe he told Richard Clarke that he didn't want to be briefed on this again, even though Clarke was panicked about the alarms he was hearing regarding potential attacks. Bush was blithe, indifferent, ultimately irresponsible."

"The public has a right to know what happened on August 6," continued Blumenthal, "what Bush did, what Condi Rice did, what all the rest of them did, and what Richard Clarke's memos and statements were. Then the public will be able to judge exactly what this presidency has done."

[RamboLiberal]

11. Here's some info from book House of Bush, House of Saud

Paraphrasing from where Clarke is referenced.

Under Clinton Richard Clarke in effect became nation's first counterterrorism czar. NSC "threat" meetings were held 3 times a week. Clinton put billions in vaccines and antidotes to bioterrorism attacks.

Unger also blows apart that old saw that Sudan offered bin-Laden to Clinton and was turned down. He was offered to Saudis who wouldn't take him.

Bush thought fighting terror meant an ABM system.

After USS Cole bombing had a proposal for a massive attack on OBL and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, only one problem - a 5-4 SCOTUS decision.

Berger had 10 briefings scheduled for Rice and her group.

Meeting 1/3/2001 1:30PM with Rice and Berger present, Clarke gave them a Powerpoint presentation on his offensive against Al Qaida...Bushies denied getting the briefing. But Slide 14 "Response to al Qaida: Roll Back". Clarke wanted to go after them in Afghanistan and had budgeted the plan at several hundred million. One Bush official later admitted to Time it was "everything we've done since 9/11".

Bushies did nothing with Clarke proposal. They wanted to focus on Iraq.

A memo to Rice from Clarke 1/25/2001: More Islamist terror attacks being set in motion since USS Cole. Already Al-Qaida "sleeper cells" in U.S.

Rice and Hadley did not believe Clarke's strategy would work in battling Al Qaida.

During Clinton administration discussion of terrorism at cabinet meetings was nearly weekly. According to Army Lt. Col Donald Kerrick, who managed NSC staff, Bushies were not focused on terrorism.

Bush didn't back up his tough campaign rhetoric with action.

7/5/01: Clarke assembles a dozen agencies, Coast Guard, FBI, Secret Service, INS, in WH Situation Room. "Something really spectacular is going to happen here and it's going to happen soon." Every rapid-response team is put on shorter alert, vacations are cancelled, non-vital travel is deferred. Highest possible state of readiness against imminent attack.

Not long after according to Time. Bush to Tenet "Give me a sense of what Al Qaida can do inside the U.S."

That infamous PDB from 8/6/01. Ari Fleischer said it was titled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike the U.S." Other sources said it was "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in the U.S."

Under Clinton, Lake and Berger, gave Clarke a "relatively free hand". Bush reined him in. Clarke was one of only 3 WH officials who carried a weapon for protection, a 357 SIG-Sauer. Joke was he might have to use it "for interagency combat."

9/4/01 - In a Principals Committee meeting Clarke finally got to present his strategy. Only Bushies WH 2nd meeting about terrorism. This is out of 90-100 total meetings in * WH on other things. Present is Rice, Tenet, O' Neill, Gen Myers, Wolfowitz. * didn't attend. Goal agreeement on National Security Presidential Directive(NPSD). Clarke's strategy: Arm Northern Alliance, mobilize Uzbekistan, use Predator against OBL.

In the meantime Prince Bandar had become upset with Bush over his siding with Sharon. 8/27/01 he meets with Rice. Tells her, "Starting from today, you're from Uruguay, as they say. You Americans, go your way; I, Saudi Arabia, go my way. From now on, we will protect our national interests, regardless of where America's interests lie in the region." Bandar was instructed to not have any more meetings with U.S. Bush is stunned. Writes a personal message for Bandar to deliver to Abdullah supporting a Palestinian state. Abdullah invites Arafat to come to Riyadh to read it.

9/7/01 - Bandar meets with Rice, Cheney, Powell and Bush. Discussions continue over the weekend. Bush even willing to meet Arafat at U.N. Bandar invited to WH the following Thursday.

9/11/01 - When 3rd plane crashes in to the Pentagon Clarke says "This is Al Qaeda" (I bet he knew it sooner).

That night Bush dictates in to his diary he had to "rely on advice and counsel of Rumsfeld, Shelton, Myers and Tenet". Absent from list, Powell, Rice, Cheney, Clarke.

Shortly afer 9-11 in WH Situation room about Clarke approached about "quickly repatriating the Saudis". He says it can't happen till FBI approves. FBI says it's fine.

9/24 - Bush with Powell and O' Neill announces freezing of 27 individuals or entities funneling money to terrorists. Many had been on Clarke's list long before.

2/21/03 - Clarke resigns. "I already don't miss it. You know that great feeling you get when you stop banging your head against the wall?"

[SammyWinstonJack]

12. LIHOP/MIHOP

:mad:

[RamboLiberal]

13. Drudge has the story

FORMER WHITE HOUSE TERRORISM ADVISOR: BUSH ADMIN WAS DISCUSSING BOMBING IRAQ FOR 9/11 DESPITE KNOWING AL QAEDA WAS TO BLAME
Fri Mar 19 2004 17:49:30 ET

Former White House terrorism advisor Richard Clarke tells Lesley Stahl that on September 11, 2001 and the day after - when it was clear Al Qaeda had carried out the terrorist attacks - the Bush administration was considering bombing Iraq in retaliation. Clarke's exclusive interview will be broadcast on 60 MINUTES Sunday March 21 (7:00-8:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Clarke was surprised that the attention of administration officials was turning toward Iraq when he expected the focus to be on Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. "They were talking about Iraq on 9/11. They were talking about it on 9/12," says Clarke.

The top counter-terrorism advisor, Clarke was briefing the highest government officials, including President Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, in the aftermath of 9/11. "Rumsfeld was saying we needed to bomb Iraq....We all said, 'but no, no. Al Qaeda is in Afghanistan," recounts Clarke, "and Rumsfeld said, 'There aren't any good targets in Afghanistan and there are lots of good targets in Iraq.' I said, 'Well, there are lots of good targets in lots of places, but Iraq had nothing to do with ,'" he tells Stahl.

Clarke goes on to explain what he believes was the reason for the focus on Iraq. "I think they wanted to believe that there was a connection but the CIA was sitting there, the FBI was sitting there, I was sitting there, saying, 'We've looked at this issue for years. For years we've looked and there's just no connection,'" says Clarke.

http://www.drudgereport.com/flash60.htm

It is posted also on LBN.

[RamboLiberal]

14. Now CBS has story posted and they're also posting an excerpt

of the book. Look in left hand column. That isn't working when I posted this.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/19/60minutes/main607356.shtml

[Killarney]

17. Here's an article about it

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040320/wl_nm/iraq_retaliation_dc_1
Ex-Advisor Says Bush Eyed Bombing of Iraq on 9/11
A former White House anti-terrorism advisor says the Bush administration considered bombing Iraq (news - web sites) in retaliation after Sept. 11, 2001 even though it was clear al Qaeda had carried out the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.


Thank God for 60 Minutes. Every once in a while they find their balls while the other media whores are sniveling in the corner and begging Bush for some scraps.