I'd say this is worth a Grand Jury...in DC...a few POINTED questions.

[autorank]

A Pretext for War:

9/11, Iraq, and the Abuse of Americas Intelligence Agencies
James Bamford. Anchor Books, 2003

Bamford writes:

Disturbingly, the story that George W. Bush tells of his learning of the attacks cannot possibly be true

...."I saw the airplane hit the tower, the TV was obviously on <at the school>, and I used to fly myself and I said 'There's one terrible pilot.' "

...The problem with the account is there was no video of the first plane hitting the World Trade Center until later in the day. Page. 36

<Bush went into the classroom and read a story.>

...then at one of the most critical moments in American history, the country was essentially leaderless. ..."Really good readers, whew. These must be sixth graders," the president offered. "Thank you all so much for showing me your reading skills. I bet they practice too, don't you? Reading more than they watch TV. Anybody do that, read more than they watch TV." Page 38

[MadMaddie]

1. Michael Moore was right!!

[autorank]

2. Yep, it's stranger than fiction, the fiction that populates *'s mind. n/t

[EST]

3. Again.

That's why the crooks hate him so much. He told the truth.

[Vickers]

4. 'There's one terrible pilot.'

That is one of the dumbest comments ever made by a world leader. It exposes his stupidity more than anything else.

Did *anyone* really think it was a bad pilot?

That's why you know it's a lie.

[leveymg]

5. He was projecting out of his own experience of incompetence

Flying F-102s terrified him. He never really was in control of the thing. Just like playing President.

[Vickers]

6. Seriously, I have my doubts on whether he ever actually soloed

I'd be willing to bet everything I own that he never did.

I do agree that he has never truly been in control, of his life, his emotions, his alcoholism, the Presidency, anything

[xxqqqzme]

7. I doubt he ever solo-ed.

He never talks about it. Pilots I have known love 2 fly. It is like their first true love. They speak of flying w/ affection; sacrifice much 2 own their first plane. I just don't believe he ever flew much, enjoyed it or solo-ed. I know he could never have finished the math even if he hadn't fried half his brain yet.

[autorank]

10. Equally "worser" ... he repeated the claim months later.

It's like his brain was programmed to say just this one thing and he can't stop or maybe
he realized that if he changed his story, he'd be questions as to why he did so.

Stunning, he's been our president five plus years.

[fooj]

14. "programmed" being the operative word, IMO.

Peace.

[autorank]

15. Mon favorite!!! How are you doing???

Let me know.

[ContraBass Black]

13. Most people thought it was an accident until the second one hit.

Then there was no doubt, and the panic started.

[Vickers]

20. Yes, but most people who thought it was an accident felt it

was either an ATC/GCA problem, or an equipment/radar failure, not pilot error.

Pilots simply don't fly in to skyscrapers that far off the flight plan (on clear days).

:thumbsup:

[lumpy]

8. The whole twin towers attack

is fishy. Too many unanswered questions: why were cerain people previously warned not to use commercial flights, delayed response of the Air Force, toppling of the towers accompanyed with several unexplained explosions, hurried examination and removal of tower debris, eyewitness accounts of the Pentagon that don't jibe with official reports, etc.

[autorank]

17. Yep and it's a dead fish...it stinks to high heavens. GIVE US THE TRIUTH

We have a right to know. So much has gone on under the banner of 911.

The book referenced above is simply magnificent. I recommend it highly.

[FULL_METAL_HAT]

9. Booker'im Danno!

President Bush has also been criticized for behaving somewhat bizarrely that day.

As he and the Secret Service got word that a second plane had crashed into the World Trade Center and that three planes had been hijacked, there could have been no possible doubt in their mind that the United States was under terrorist attack . . . The most horrendous attack the United States had ever suffered. And they would have had to assume that one or more of them were heading toward President Bush himself. And so upon learning about this, the Secret Service surely would have whisked him away immediately. In fact, one Secret Service agent on the scene said, “We’re out of here.” But obviously he got overruled because President Bush stayed there. After Andrew Card reported the second crash on the World Trade Center, the president just nodded as if he understood and said, “We’re going to go ahead with the reading lesson.” And he sat there another 15 minutes listening to the children read a story about a pet goat. This was a photo op and when it was over he lingered around talking to the children and talking to the teacher.

Bill Sammon, of the Washington Times, wrote a very pro-Bush book, yet he comments how casual and relaxed the president was given the fact he’d just learned the country was under attack. He said Bush took his own sweet time and in fact called him “Our Dawdler in Chief.” And then the president went on national TV, going forward with an interview that had been planned and announced in advance . . . then they took their regularly scheduled motorcade back to the airport. In other words, (Bush and the Secret Service) showed no fear whatsoever that they would be targeted for attack, which strongly suggests they knew how many aircraft were being hijacked and what their targets were.

Couldn’t it have been that he was trying to project calm in the eye of the storm, that this was Bush projecting Churchillian resolve in the face of calamity?

People who want to believe such things can, of course, imagine such scenarios. But the president in a situation like that does not make the decisions; the Secret Service team makes the decisions. And the guys in the Secret Service are trained to be ready for a catastrophe like this where they make snap decisions and whisk the president to safety immediately. They would have had an escape route planned; they would have had contingencies planned — they always do. It is at least not very plausible to think they would have remained there and endangered the lives of all the children and teachers at that school in order to exude that Churchillian confidence.

[autorank]

11. ;) They knew the school was safe, perhaps ;)

Wonder what the secondary security was like? Don't they always have that. I wonder what
type of access to the school people had during that time? Of course, if they were sure
that the attacks were only on NYC and Virginia, then they could be sure that reading "My
Pet Goat" was a relaxing interlude before a long and strange plane ride...to Omaha???

:wtf: was going on in Omaha?

[FULL_METAL_HAT]

18. ... the wild kingdom!!! ;)

WTF was going on in Omaha?

... the wild kingdom!!! ;)

[Missy Vixen]

12. Let's see here

>"...then at one of the most critical moments in American history, the country was essentially leaderless. ..."<

While thousands of Americans were dying that morning, while (according to Richard Clarke's book "Against All Enemies",) there were still 10 airliners in US airspace with their transponders turned off. While millions watched in shock on their televisions, listened to their car radios, looked at a white-faced friend, co-worker or neighbor relaying news too awful to even contemplate, listened to someone on the telephone, the waste of human skin that is the current leader of the free world sat in an elementary school classroom and ignored his responsibility to you, to me, to all Americans.

It is stunning to me that almost five years after that day, we are no closer to answers than we were on that morning. Our lives will never be the same.

If I find myself this frustrated and angry at the lack of answers and accountability, how must Kristen Breitweiser and the rest of the Jersey Girls feel? How about the family and friends of the 3,000 plus we lost that morning, and the loved ones of the 2300+ troops we've lost since? After all, we went to war to "avenge" those that died on September 11th, didn't we?

Here's another question: Do we really want to know the answers? What if they are as awful as those of us who've read and read and read envision? What do we do then?

Julie

[autorank]

16. "They" can tell me then I'll tell you;)

Sure, "truth is all" as I like to say.

It couldn't be any uglier than Katrina, the ongoing saga. Build bad levees, deny funding(while you buy the state voting machines in an equal amount denied for levees!!!), let people populate the SuperDome which should have blown over in a Category 4 hurricane; let people starve and suffer for four days before you do anything; ship them out; deny them their vote in municipal elections. Damn, now that's ugly.

As a former New Yorker, 911 makes my blood boil and the lack of leadership, so clear, gets me even angrier. Nevertheless, I can deal with the truth. I'm not sure the "usual suspects" can stand a rigorous examination.

I hope something pops this year. It just feels that way. People are talking about it again.

Cheers

[Missy Vixen]

19. Truth is all. I agree.

>It couldn't be any uglier than Katrina, the ongoing saga.<

I think it ranks right up there, though. Let's say our worst nightmares are confirmed. It was MIHOP. It was the * administration trying to get their blank check for War Without End, seizing their oil, and the sacrifice of 2300+ dead and tens of thousands wounded for the hubris and arrogance of those who think we're too stupid to figure it out. What would the average American do if they woke up tomorrow morning to this news?

Unfortunately for all of us, the spinmeisters have taken the teeth out of the Katrina story. I have had people tell me repeatedly (and of course, they get a faceful of facts in response,) that those who died as a result were "lazy", "didn't really want to leave town," "could have driven those school buses if they'd really wanted to," "we're cleaning up New Orleans," etcetera. The average American can't even imagine the scope of the devastation on the Gulf Coast unless they a) lived through it, b) know someone who's living through it, or c) have seen it themselves. Those who don't fit in these three categories believe that those living on the Gulf Coast could have helped themselves if they really, really, REALLY wanted to. I was hopeful that Oprah Winfrey's coverage of the devastation there would make a dent; I don't believe it has. The soccer moms and NASCAR dads of America all know better, even if the video and pictures are right in front of them.

>I hope something pops this year. It just feels that way. People are talking about it again.<

I hope it does, too. At the same time, I still remember how destroyed I felt sitting at my computer reading the "Bush Knew" article from Newsweek last year. I was sobbing. My husband said, "Honey, there's nothing that can be done, even if it is true." I cried again while I listened to Jeanne Meserve's reporting on CNN the first night we heard anything about what had happened on the Gulf Coast.

I want the truth. I know you want the truth. This kind of truth would require a nationwide response, though. We've seen in the past couple of weeks hundreds of thousands of immigrants to our country marching in the streets. How many Americans would it take to march before we could effect change, let alone justice?

Julie