Newsweek: Some 9/11 commission members "flat out dont believe" Cheney

[joanne]

Good article.

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040620/nysu011a_1.html

[gandalf]

1. They have every reason

As far as I remember, up to now, in none of the previous hearings such an order was mentioned (especially not in the hearing on 05/23/03 with dealt with air defense).

(edited, I misunderstood the article at first)

[joanne]

2. Yes, but finally

the mainstream media is calling Dumbya and Cheney on their LIES. It says a LOT when the commission that Dumbya himself picked do not believe Cheney, and probably not Dumbya either.

[indie_voter]

4. Unfortunately too many DO believe the link

I agree, there are far more important questions to resolve. However if the only thing we get out of this is the debunking of the Iraq - al Qaeda link, I for one will be happy.

This is the last fig leaf this admin has to rationalize this war. If the majority of the public wakes up and realizes they were "mislead" (aka lied to) * is in deep trouble.

[gandalf]

7. yes, right.

It's indeed important to debunk this lie.

(sorry I had to change my post. I posted before I read the article...)

[cspiguy]

11. if it were true, it would (to me) justify the war - so the people have to

be informed before november.

[mzmolly]

3. snip here...

NEWSWEEK: Some 9/11 Commission Staffers 'Flat Out Didn't Believe' Cheney Called Bush to Get His Sign Off On Shoot-Down Order of U.S. Airliners ~ Sunday June 20, 10:32 am ET

"NEW YORK, June 20 /PRNewswire/ -- The question of whether Vice President Dick Cheney followed proper procedures in ordering the shoot-down of U.S. airliners on September 11 is one of many new issues raised in the remarkably detailed, chilling account laid out in dramatic presentations last week by the 9-11 commission. Newsweek has learned that some on the commission staff were, in fact, highly skeptical of the vice president's account and made their views clearer in an earlier draft of their staff report, Washington Bureau Chief Daniel Klaidman and Senior Editor Michael Hirsh report in the June 28 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday, June 21).
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040620/NYSU006 )
The commission's detailed report notes that after two planes had crashed into the World Trade Center and combat patrols were in the air, a military aide asked for shoot-down authority, telling Cheney that a fourth plane was "80 miles out" from Washington. Cheney didn't flinch, the report said. "In about the time it takes a batter to decide to swing," he gave the order to shoot it down, telling others the president had "signed off on that concept" during a brief phone chat. When the plane was 60 miles out, Cheney was again informed and again he ordered: take it out.

But according to one knowledgeable source, some staffers "flat out didn't believe the call ever took place." Both Cheney and the president testified to the commission that the phone call took place. When the early draft conveying that skepticism was circulated to the administration, it provoked an angry reaction. In a letter from White House lawyers last Tuesday and a series of phone calls, the White House vigorously lobbied the commission to change the language in its report. "We didn't think it was written in a way that clearly reflected the accounting the president and vice president had given to the commission," White House spokesman Dan Bartlett tells Newsweek. Ultimately the chairman and vice chair of the commission, former New Jersey governor Thomas Kean and former Rep. Lee Hamilton -- both of whom have sought mightily to appear nonpartisan -- agreed to remove some of the offending language. The report "was watered down," groused one staffer."

[joanne]

6. Well if Newsweek, NYT and MANY others continue to write this

Maybe enough Americans will wake up and realize how badly they were LIED to by the Bush cartel.

[amber dog democrat]

8. Wouldn't that call have been recorded

or at least logged into record? I know you can back date log entries or falsify records, but it would take some doing, and there would be witnesses who would need to be compelled to follow along.

I was skeptical about this event, and even it Cheney did make the authorization, my guess is that he exceeded his authority, but given that the Chimperor is such a sock puppet, the order might well have come from Cheney anyway - or at least originated with him.

The emperor has no clothes.

[grasswire]

9. but...

...if Cheney gave the shoot-down order, why was the plane allowed to crash into the Pentagon?

Huh?

And why is there no real inquiry into the flight in Pennsylvania?

[Estel]

17. Because Cheney didn't give the order until

after all four planes had crashed. In addition, when military planes were put into the air, the ones out of Langley did not head toward DC or Baltimore, but went east over the ocean. By the time anyone realized a plane was over DC, it was too late. Within two minutes it crashed into the Pentagon. Screw-ups galore.

[Scairp]

12. Is anyone surprised?

We all knew this is the way it would be. The (supposedly) bi-partisan commission tries to actually tell the truth about a particular episode on 9/11, which of course, is damaging to Dick and Shrubya, and with a little pressure, they whitewash it away. This report (and the commission for that matter) is just one step up from being completely worthless in determining how these attacks happened and how the aftermath has been handled by the administration.

[Justitia]

23. unfortunately, no

and it is a huge let down to be right (that this is simply a "whitewash commission").

Although I hoped beyond hope that they would sink some serious teeth into this investigation, I couldn't deceive myself enough early on to convince myself it would bear out anything worthwhile.

What a waste.

[mhr]

5. Wonder Why This Is Listed Under Financial News, To Bury It?

eom

[LifeDuringWartime]

13. absolutely

nothing financial about it

[Cocoa]

10. would I lie to you?

Would I say something that wasn't true,
I'm asking you, sugar, would I lie to you?

[Monte Carlo]

14. All the lying might have something to do with it.

Maybe I'm just crazy, but the secrecy, the victimization, the everything has just worn thin.

[k in IA]

15. What authority does the VP have if the Prez has not been incapacitated?

Where is the VP's authority listed above the military if the Prez is still the C in C?

[joanne]

16. Good question!

Of course, Chimpy thought it more important to stay in a classroom and read about goats while America was under attack and thousands were dying.

There are just SO MANY unanswered questions about 9/11. And the fact that NO ONE HAS EVER BEEN HELD TO ACCOUNT AT ALL.

Absolutely no one.

[truthspeaker]

18. legally, NONE

[MallRat]

19. NEW MEME: CHENEY PULLED A "HAIG."

Cheney assumed Presidential authority that HE DID NOT LEGALLY HAVE.

I think Congressional censure is in order.

-MR

[IkeWarnedUs]

20. Direct link to the Newsweek article

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5251871/site/newsweek/

(because Yahoo stories are not available for very long)

[joanne]

21. Thanks. I like the title of the article

"Who was really in charge"?

Obviously NOT Dumbya.

[Spazito]

22. It continues to amaze me that cheney and bush seem to think...

"because I said so" equates to irrefutable proof.