Did Bush pursue Al Qaeda before 9-11 ??? ...

[Trajan]

An old news story .... from: http://dir.salon.com/politics/feature/2001/09/12/bush/index.html


"We predicted it"

A bipartisan commission warned the White House and Congress that a bloody attack on U.S. soil could be imminent. Why didn't anyone listen?

By Jake Tapper
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September 12, 2001 | WASHINGTON -- They went to great pains not to sound as though they were telling the president "We told you so."

But on Wednesday, two former senators, the bipartisan co-chairs of a Defense Department-chartered commission on national security, spoke with something between frustration and regret about how White House officials failed to embrace any of the recommendations to prevent acts of domestic terrorism delivered earlier this year.

Bush administration officials told former Sens. Gary Hart, D-Colo., and Warren Rudman, R-N.H., that they preferred instead to put aside the recommendations issued in the January report by the U.S. Commission on National Security/21st Century. Instead, the White House announced in May that it would have Vice President Dick Cheney study the potential problem of domestic terrorism -- which the bipartisan group had already spent two and a half years studying -- while assigning responsibility for dealing with the issue to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, headed by former Bush campaign manager Joe Allbaugh.

The Hart-Rudman Commission had specifically recommended that the issue of terrorism was such a threat it needed far more than FEMA's attention.

-snip-

Really: ... there is SO much out there that supports Clarke's assertions, .. and DIRECTLY refutes the WH rebuttals ....

[yardwork]

1. I remember this.

It was swept under the rug at the time.

[Webster Green]

2. Bush was pretending to clear brush......

on his pretend ranch.

[underpants]

3. No and that is the point of this whole Clarke thing

They calim W wanted to stop "Swatting at flies" (notice how MANLY he sounds)and take out alQaeda all together but of course did zero nada zip about it until a "policy review" was completed. In other words it was part of the erase/ignore anything Clinton related. Hard to do when someone has been in office for 8 years and has been receiving information that you have not no matter how many old guys you have sitting around and calling old friends still in government.

ON EDIT-Yes HArt Rudman tried to tell them this was coming.

[chookie]

7. Instead of "swatting flies"

Yes yes, this is what they are saying -- but the truth of the matter was, there was very little discussion of terrorism publically. The priority that they chose was reviving Star Wars and other missile defence systems. Was this their "mousetrap?" What the hell did any of that have to do with terrorism?

And if they were so damned focused on the Al Qaeda threat, WHY did they marginalize and finally demote Clarke, who was also very passionate about confronting the Al Qaeda threat head on. Seems they's think he was the kinds guy to have on the team. Condi condescendingly is saying that terrorism was discussed on a daily basis with great intensity, but that Clarke simply wasn't allowed by the "grownups" to participate. (ooops) I think it is obvious that he just wasn't telling them what they wanted to hear, so he had to go.

Sorry smirky -- but fighting terrorism is ALL about swatting flies.

Israel has one of the best armies on the planet, and they have to "swat flies" all the time. Boy -- a lot of flies are going to swarm over the dead body of the slain leader of Hamas.

Looks like there are going to be LOTS more flies to swat in the future.

[proud patriot]

4. after 911 bush took steps reccomended to him before he took office

because before 911 the top priority was to undo
everything "Clinton"

[skypilot]

5. Or as Al Franken called it...

..."Operation Ignore".

[gibbyman]

6. From : SirGriffletNY

When the world trade center was attacked in 1993 President Clinton was in office less time than Bush was when 9/11 occurred. He did not blame the 1st Bush administration. Clinton passed the first of America's anti-terrorist legislation, captured, tired and convicted those responsible. Many plots were foiled during Clinton's years as President most notably the "BOINJINKA PLOT" and the "MILLENNIUM PLOT." In August 1998 when US Embassies in Africa were bombed by al Qaeda, Clinton ordered cruise missile attacks against al Qaeda bases in Afghanistan. Something for which republicans criticized him. Russia, France, Germany, England, Spain and many other nations and individuals warned the Bush administration about forthcoming attacks. We even had one of the hijackers in custody (Zacarias Moussaui). We either did or should have known who these people were and what they wanted to do we already knew where they wanted to strike. The Israeli's even had two intelligence crews filming the action on 9/11. While we were being attacked by commercial jets the only person with the authority to have them shot down continued to read a goat story to school children rather than take immediate command and action. Now he wants to tout his actions that day as "leadership". No one may have been able to prevent the first WTC hit after the plane left the ground. There is however no reason that once attacked the other planes which we knew were hijacked should have reached their targets. The President dropped the ball. Many people will say well "how was he supposed to know" I say it was his job to know. Now that the truth is coming out we should learn from it and make sure that those who failed us do not get that opportunity again.