Richard Clarke's testimony backs up Michael Moore on the flights...

[Spazito]

Moore is absolutely correct that the bin Ladens and the Saudis flew during the embargo. Richard Clarke's testimony before the 9/11 testimony states that:

MR. KEAN: Senator Gorton?

MR. GORTON: One more question on that subject. When the approvals were finally made, and when the flight left, was the flight embargo still in effect or were we flying -- or was that over? We were flying once again?

MR. CLARKE: No, sir. No, Senator. The reason that a decision was needed was because the flight embargo -- the grounding was still in effect.

Here is the link for those who wish to check it out. Please use this testimony to refute the only argument that the right wingers seem to have re Moore's movie and it's accuracy.

Edited to fix link: This one works, I believe:

http://www.9-11commission.gov/archive/hearing8/9-11Commission_Hearing_2004-03-24.htm#clarke

[librechik]

1. Thanks Spazito!

WE know what to do...

To the watercoolers, Comrades!

seems like every RW dingbat with an IQ of 90 still knows the "Richard Clarke ordered the flights after the embargo talking point."

[porphyrian]

2. Isn't This One of the Facts Critics Are Calling "Sketchy?" - n/t

[BlueEyedSon]

3. While the timing may be in question

(24 hours either way makes a difference in the seriousness of the allegations), what is not in question is that these Saudi nationals and Bin Laden relatives were not detained and/or questioned.

[theboss]

4. Where this gets sketchy is Clarke says it was his call

In other words Clarke - who is now considered one of the good days - takes full responsibility for an act that Moore uses to discredit Bush.

[fob]

5. I didn't get that from Clarke's comments. I understood him to mean

that he was the guy who carried out the order, not that he initiated the bin laden round up and off-haul. It was more like someone sent the round-up in motion and at some point someone needed to make a call to those that needed the permission to fly on and Clarke was tasked to do it and did so.

[napi21]

6. You are correct. Clarke issued the final order AFTER

he got approval from the WH, FBI, and FAA. This is yet another instance where the Pubs are using PART of the truth. It's SOP with them. ANY circumstance can be verified or debunked that way.

[ewagner]

7. I watched Clarke's testimony

and thought he dodged the question about where the initial request came from. I think he said he "didn't recall if the request came from WH Chief of Staff or State Department. But he did say that the FBI said that they had no interest (or perhaps no FURTHER interest) in the subjects on the plane.

Does anyone have a link to the transcript?

[Spazito]

8. From Mr. Clarke's testimony, the request was made from either...

the State Department or the White House, that is the key issue, imo.

His testimony:

MR. ROEMER: I've been very impressed with your memory, sitting through all these interviews that the 9/11 Commission has conducted with you. I press you again to try to recall how this request originated, who might have passed this on to you at the White House Situation Room, or who might have originated that request for the United States government to fly out -- how many people on this plane?

MR. CLARKE: I don't know.

MR. ROEMER: We don't know how many people were on a plane that flew out of this country. Who gave the final approval, then, to say "Yes, you're clear to go, it's all right with the United States government to go to Saudi Arabia"?

MR. CLARKE: I believe after the FBI came back and said it was all right with them, we ran it through the decision process for all of these decisions that we were making in those hours, which was the Interagency Crisis Management Group on the video conference.

I was making -- or coordinating a lot of decisions on 9/11 in the days immediately after. And I would love to be able to tell you who did it, who brought this proposal to me, but I don't know. The two -- since you press me, the two possibilities that are most likely are either the Department of State of the White House Chief of Staff's Office. But I don't know.

MR. ROEMER: Thank you.