ABC is slandering my friend, John O'Neill

[Pab Sungenis]

I was in the newsroom at WMGM-TV when the towers were hit, and one of the people on the air as they fell.

I was working with my friends Don Williams, Barbara Altman, and Jeff Whittaker. A ragtag army of broadcasters, it fell to us to keep a frightened and confused audience informed of the latest information: which flights had crashed where, and who they could contact to find out if their loved ones had crashed into the towers. And where they could find a local prayer service.

Don, whose politics are as far away from mine as possible, yet I have always considered a great friend, confided to me seconds after the second plane hit "this is war. This is Bin Laden."

As a recent refugee from the talk show production field (my "promotion" to the newsroom from producing the radio side of the operation's morning show had come only the day before), I was the most qualified to co-ordinate everything and keep things flowing. It fell to me to do all the research, call the people who had information we needed, and send people out into the field. Armed with a cell phone number, I kept trying unsuccessfully to fulfill one constant demand from Don:

"Get me John O'Neill!"

* * *

My first meeting with John O'Neill was working as Don's producer in the months after the Embassy bombings, the first time most Americans heard the name "Osama bin Laden." Don had John on as a guest, positioning him as an expert in terrorism. John always gave the most engaging interviews, and was one of the most informative, and likeable, guests I have ever seen in talk radio. He was intelligent, decisive, friendly, and more than can be said for most people on either side of the microphone in broadcasting, he knew what he was talking about.

Based upon the scenes and plot descriptions that have been leaked, I can safely say that John O'Neill was nothing like Harvey Keitel's portrayal of him in ABC's miniseries "The Path to 9/11." Keitel presents O'Neill as an FBI version of his notorious "Bad Lieutenant" character: a loose cannon, breaking the rules as he sees fit, and just this side of incompetence, who only gets his man because he never gives up.

Nothing could be further from the truth. John O'Neill was outspoken, yes, but never set out to deliberately anger people. He was a brilliant tactician, who saw the hunt for Bin Laden (who he had always known was a threat) not so much as a cat and mouse game as a game of chess.

When the USS Cole was bombed, John was the first person Don called, and he gladly sat for an interview. He never complained about being hampered by the Clinton Administration, or not having the tools and funding he needed. When the mikes were closed, and the news was running, Don asked how the hunt was going. John's response, off the air, was "he (bin Laden) just made a big mistake. Within a year, I'll have him."

That wouldn't happen, because a year later, John O'Neill was dead.

* * *

After the Bush Administration took over, John's interviews became shorter, and his tone of voice became angrier. He confided in us that the new Administration didn't see terrorism as a high priority, and his efforts were being hampered at every turn. We didn't have John on at all in July or August of 2001, while Don and the rest of the talk show world were obsessing about Gary Condit and other minutiae. Yet, when the planes hit the towers, putting things back in perspective for millions of Americans, John was the first person we tried to reach. We knew we couldn't get him to sit for a full interview, but maybe he could give us a scoop or two. He never answered his cell phone that morning and afternoon. It wasn't until Thursday of that week that we found out why.

Don was interviewing a local spokesman for the FBI on the air, getting the latest information our as fast as possible. Right towards the end of the interview, Don said (and I will never forget the words that passed through my headphones) "I'm sure you and my friend John O'Neill have had your hands full the past few days with the manhunt."

The silence coming down the phone line was deafening. "Don, I thought you heard. John left the FBI. He started his new job this week as the head of security for the World Trade Center. He's one of the people missing."

Don, ever the professional, only allowed about two seconds of dead air before he recovered enough to say, through tears and a choked up voice, "we'll be right back."

I cried too, and I'm crying now typing this. It was hard to believe such a good man, who was fighting the good fight, was gone.

* * *

What aggravates me the most about the ABC miniseries is not how they've attacked their critics, how they've distorted Clinton's anti-terrorism efforts (and the Republicans' efforts to block them), or how they build Bush up to be a hero instead of a bumbling incompetant who was too busy playing golf and clearing brush to read a briefing entitled "Bin Laden Determined To Strike Within U.S." and sat for seven minutes after he knew the nation was under attack to be whisked away and make the command decisions.

It's how they portray John O'Neill.

The man on the screen is not the man I knew. He's not the man Don Williams interviewed countless times. He's not the man we both wept for, for a few seconds at least, over the air.

ABC, you are slandering my friend. That, alone, gives me reason to hate you for allowing these lies to go forward.

[wakeme2008]

1. this pisses me off

John O'Neill could have stopped 9-11 if it wasn't for the FBI chair warmers in DC. I was hoping that a good picture of him would come out of this sorry movie. But it looks like I am wrong. :grr:

[Monkeyman]

4. I say send this report to ABC and ask then are you safe yet

Under Bush LOL http://www.democraicleader.house.gov/pdf/RS911.pdf

[Pab Sungenis]

5. I gave a shorter version in my complaint E-Mail to Disney already.

I doubt they care. This "docudrama" is all about the agenda.

[gully]

2. This belongs on top.

Recommended.

Thank you for sharing.

[bahrbearian]

3. Once again you amaze me ? K&R

[Pab Sungenis]

7. What can I say?

I was in the right job at the right time. That morning we found out John was dead, I went up and gave my notice to the General Manager. He understood. I just couldn't stay in the news room any longer.

[lala_rawraw]

29. but it also takes courage to say this

and it must be difficult to say because of the friendship as well... i cried reading this. i always thought John took that job because he knew that the plan was to take down the towers and he wanted to make sure he was there to stop it. my best friend michael, who emotionally died on that day, was sitting at his desk as the first plane hit and watched it hit from his office at south T. what he told me in great detail later was that many people began to head down out of S T, which was the second to be hit and the first to fall, as soon as the plane hit the north t. he said it was very quiet and orderly and that people were well on their way to possible get the most of them out, until they got to a 30 something floor (i forget which one). then security stepped in and forced people back upstairs. Mike said he would not go and was told he would be arrested. so he said "fine, fucking arrest me, downstairs" and kept moving, but said that others began to turn back at the security guys insistence. as he got lower, he met more guys like that. he did not know if they were building security or police or what, as they were in jacket/ties, but that they were very aggressively forcing people back. mike ran the last few flights to get out of the building and away from the security guys. when he got out of the courtyard and somewhere near liberty one, his building (the second to be hit while, by the way he was inside), collapsed. i had always wondered if John was evacuating people in the north tower while the security idiots were forcing them back in in the south tower.

i don't think John would have been forcing them back... i think he would have known that the north hit was no accident, where as the security guys would be unfamiliar and do what seemed logical, that is, keep people from stepping out into falling debris.

what was strange though is Mike said they all had walkies, so one would think that at some point (he never told me what he experienced with South was struck actually), they would have told people forget plan a, get going... but that is not what happened, because Mike was still coming down and inside when the second plane hit, that much he said and he said that he continued past the 30th to keep being pushed to going back.

i lived on Broad at the time and was not home, but when we were allowed back to our buildings (with passes by the way), i heard the same stories from the people who came out of those towers... in my building it was mostly wall street folks and people working in the towers. my neighbors from directly across the hall, a couple, never came home... but others I talked to that were at work that day, said they too kept going despite being told to go back or they would be arrested and they too said that many people turned back when the security folks told them to. it breaks my heart to this day.

[bahrbearian]

47. These strories need to make the MSM, why is it not being told?

[question everything]

53. Yes, I remember reading about this at the time

Do not remember whether it was the magazines or the daily papers, but distinctly remember - and how I reacted - when I read that people were told to go back to their offices. Nothing about "forcing them" - how can you force someone from leaving a building? but about that directive, and how many accepted it.

[flyarm]

6. I am so sorry pabsungenis...it so breaks my heart...

it was also my co-workers who were killed on those planes..and my neighbors son who died in the wtc that my airline crashed into and killed..and many people from my hometown who died on that day..

and i will tell you this ..without hesitation or one bit of doubt..it was Little lord pissy pants in our white house that failed John O'Neil, and my co-workers and my neighbors son..and the people from my hometown of Middletown NJ..

it was not Clinton who failed them..it was the fucker in this white house now that failed them..either LIHOP or MIHOP..i don't decide which..i can't go there..but what i know is..with over 50 warnings this white house never sent a warning to airline crew through the state dept ..and my co-workers were unarmed with no knowledge of any problems and all airline /faa/state dept terror procedures were NOT followed or carried out in any way!


i will never be happy until those in this white house are held accountable for negligent homicide! at the least...

fly

from a now retired flight crew of American Airlines NYC based..2001 flight attendant of the year for the NYbase of American Airlines.

[Pab Sungenis]

10. I'm so sorry, too.

Thank you for sharing your remembrances.

If anything should be broadcast on 9/11, it should be stories like yours, remembering the innocent victims. No finger pointing, no blame, just putting faces to the statistics.

[aquart]

55. I am so sorry.

I flew AA roundtrip cross country that August, returning almost two weeks before 9/11. I kept wondering if the flight crew who were so kind to me were on one of those planes.

[Janice325]

Thanks for sharing such a touching remembrance.

k&r
Wasn't it mentioned somewhere on DU waaay back that one of the Bush Crime Family (Marvin perhaps?) had something to do with the security at one of the buildings hit on 9/11? (That question in no way is intended to question the dedication of your friend John O'Neill. It just seems to me that this vile family has "tentacles" everywhere.)

[Pab Sungenis]

13. I heard that, too.

Each building had its own supervisor; that big an operation needed hundreds of people.

John wasn't on the job long enough to have had much say in hiring or firing, or structure. But he did his job that day, and died doing it, as did hundreds of others.

And some people, like firefighters and police, are still dying from it after breathing toxic air. But they did their duties.

[truedelphi]

37. Marvin Bush owned the security firm

that handled the security at the Towers - if my memory serves me tonight

[_dynamicdems]

8. I'm through with ABC and Disney.

They are dishonoring Walt Disney's name too. I don't know what party Mr. Disney belonged to, but I believed he was an honorable man and this is frankly disgusting.

:kick:

[Pab Sungenis]

14. Disney was a Goldwater Republican.

...but he was also a civil libertarian. Except for his propaganda efforts in World War II (for obvious reasons), he kept his politics out of most of his product.

[juajen]

26. Walt Disney might have been a republican, I can't remember

However, he was a conservationist and environmentalist. I know, because I worked for a man who was his good friend. My boss was a board member and past president of The National Wildlife Federation, along with Walt Disney. They wrote each other regularly. They also talked on the phone a lot and saw each other around three times a year.

I guess, like a lot of us, he had his very good side and a side of him we might not agree with. He was a good man, as was my former friend and boss.

[itcfish]

32. Walt Disney

was a fascist and a FBI informer.

[Hissyspit]

9. As I pointed out in another thread, in a clip from "Path To 9/11"

Keitel's John O'Neill character is seen to be saying something to the effect of "This administration (Clinton) sees terrorism as purely a law-and-order (or enforceemnt) matter. Period."

This does not sound like anything John O'Neill would have said from what I have read about him and saw in the Frontline special. And it does not sound like anything anyone would have said during the Clinton administration, because it is POST-9/11 SPEAK. And the way it is presented in the movie it comes across blatantly as a right-wing talking point.

I too get sick to my stomach, pabsungenus, to see what they have done.

I have felt a kinship with O'Neill ever since I first found out about him and what he did and tried to do. A month exactly before the attacks, I stood in the plaza at his WTC complex, that he tried so hard to protect, and turned to my companion and said: "They will try to do it again." "They won't use truck bombs because it didn't work the first time." This was the weekend of Bush's vacation. This was the weekend after the receipt of PDB: 'Bin Laden Determined to Strike in the U.S.'

The same feeling in my stomach occurred listening to Condoleeza Rice: No one could have predicted that they would try to use planes as bombs.

And then they used it to sell a war.

"The Path To 9/11" is not fiction - that disparages what good fiction can be. What "The Path To 9/11" is is garbage.

[rosesaylavee]

22. The law and order remark sounds like

something that John Kerry has been saying this past year - that we don't need another gargantuan behemoth of a department like Homeland Security - we need to address terror like any other crime. And I think he's right.

If I had to guess, this bit of the film is set up to "frame" the issue for the fall election - with the slant being that anyone who says such a dastardly thing must be nuts and could allow another 9/11 to happen.

Terra Terra folks.

[Imagevision]

11. "The Path to 9/11," which was written by a right-wing activist

Bush Obstructs Investigation Into 9-11 Attack
http://www.interventionmag.com/cms/modules.php?file=article&name=News&op=modload&sid=447

[ms liberty]

12. Thank you for this post...K&R n/t

[flyarm]

15. PLEASE SEND THIS TO EVERYONE IN YOUR EMAIL LIST!!

please pass this along to everyone you know! CNN - President wants Senate to hurry with new laws - July 30, 1996

http://www.cnn.com/US/9607/30/clinton.terrorism/

"We need to keep this country together right now. We need to focus on this terrorism issue," Clinton said during a White House news conference.

But while the president pushed for quick legislation, Republican lawmakers hardened their stance against some of the proposed anti-terrorism measures.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, emerged from the meeting and said, "These are very controversial provisions that the White House wants. Some they're not going to get."

Hatch called Clinton's proposed study of taggants -- chemical markers in explosives that could help track terrorists -- "a phony issue."

"If they want to, they can study the thing" already, Hatch asserted. He also said he had some problems with the president's proposals to expand wiretapping.
( ahhh clinton was trying to do it legally through congress..unlike bush who did it illegally and ignored congress..but the repukes under clinton would not expand wiretapping!..hypocrites wouldn't you say?? legal no ,.illegal..well the repubs look the other way!)

[tinfoilinfor2005]

45. Thank you flyarm! Great find!

I did just that...emailed to all my list, and I will catch grief before the day is over because some are republicans. But this is a very important article that must be distributed before this disastrous ABC debacle airs.

I strongly urge you to start a separate thread with this information.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

46. K & R

Thanks for sharing this important time in your life. Please keep emailing this to anyone who might listen.

On edit: Sorry, I meant this post for the OP.:blush:

[Catrina]

16. Frontline did a special on John O'Neill

frontline: the man who knew | PBS

When the Twin Towers fell on Sept. 11, 2001, among the thousands killed was the one man who may have known more about Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda than any other person in America: John O'Neill.

www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/knew

I am sorry for your loss, pabsungenis. I can't imagine how you must have felt that day. Even for those of us who did not know him personally, his death was tragic. For this country, who knows how much of a loss we suffered when he died.


I have read that this mockudrama portrays John O'Neill as being prevented from going back to Yemin by a Clinton Ambassador. What I remember was that it a was Bush appointee who refused to grant him a visa to return to Yemin, something he had promised the families of those sailors who died in the terror attack there. He quit on Bush's watch, because his efforts to go after terrorists were constantly blocked.

He always believed, from what I've read, that the WTC would be hit again. As for the Ambassador who supposedly prevented his return to Yemin, I did read a rebuttal of that today. Another lie uncovered in this disgraceful movie.

Thanks for telling us your personal story regarding John O'Neill. I hope his family speaks out also.

[bklyncowgirl]

17. Thank you for defending a friend who can't defend himself.

This revision of recent history is despicable.

[Pab Sungenis]

18. Wow. My first time on the front page in three years.

Thank you, everyone. I want people to know what John O'Neill was really like.

[Straight Shooter]

24. My condolences for your loss. For every American's loss.

I first learned of John O'Neill through the Internet. I watched and absorbed the Frontline documentary online.

After I watched it, I actually did research to see if John was on the floor where the plane hit. That's how high my suspicions were that O'Neill was a threat to the bush administration. He wasn't on the same floor, but of course too high up to escape.

They were out to get him, one way or another, and it is one of the greatest ironic tragedies and miscarriages of justice, ever, that the most capable man in the fight against terrorism lost his life due to the criminal negligence of the least capable man in the fight against terrorism.

If he were my friend, if I knew him personally, I would never stop crying either.

:hug:

[shireen]

19. my deepest condolences

this ABC fiasco must feel like an overwhelming avalanche of pain and anger. Those bastards are really rubbing salt into still unhealed wounds. My deepest condolences to you, flyarm, and others who lost family and friends that horrible day.

You had the privilege of knowing an extraordinary human being. Thank you for sharing your memories with us.

[DianaForRussFeingold]

20. R&R Another Slandered Hero!Hmmm... Perhaps, He Knew Too Much!

:patriot: I too am typing through my tears! John O'Neil like Valerie plame and her husband Joe Wilson are IMO are the real key, at getting at the escalating lies of 911! frontline: the man who knew. FBI Special Agent John O'Neill was the FBI's leading expert on Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden :patriot: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/knew/

[Kurovski]

21. John O'Neill deserves better.

He is another casualty of this administration's wretchedness.

I'm so sorry for your personal loss, and our country loses when a man like Mr. O'Neill is taken too soon.

[AZBlue]

23. Thank you for sharing this.

I'm sorry for your loss - and for the loss to all of us. I always had great respect for John O'Neill and now that respect has grown even more. I'm so sorry he's one of those that fell that day.

[happydreams]

25. A Man Who Knew Too Much.

He was murdered on 9/11 IMHO.

[jarnocan]

56. Who killed John O'Neill? and related information/actions re:911

http://whokilledjohnoneill.com/ Video-some interesting details, some I had not known.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/929981172?ltl=1141667399 related action http://www.st911.org/ related site with information

ACTION PAGE: http://www.usalone.com/stacey/pnum493.php

Quote:
"The Path To 9/11" report it is rife with lies and distortions with the purpose of wrongly blaming the 9/11 catastrophe entirely onDemocrats.
Despite cosmetic edits one right-wing blogger was assured, "The
message of the Clinton admin failures remains fully intact." ....
Who was it who sat there with a stupid look on his face reading a children's
book while America was under attack? ...

Since the broadcast represents nothing more than a FREE multi-million dollar
political advertisement (as betrayed by being previewed only to extreme right
wingers), and a deceptive and slanderous one at that, ABC/Disney should be
ordered to cease and desist, and the F.E.C. should step in and enforce that.

The one click form below will send your personal message to the F.E.C., ABC and
Disney, with the subject "Stop ABC/Disney From Tampering With Our Election
Discourse." At the same time you can send your personal comments only as a
letter to the editor of your nearest local daily newspaper if you like.

ACTION PAGE: http://www.usalone.com/stacey/pnum493.php

[happydreams]

57. Good info, thanks.

O'Neil said that the main obstruction to catching terrorists was oil interests.

[wellstone dem]

27. Obermann now has FBI agent criticizing portrayal of o'neil

Tom Nicolleti

[wiley]

28. Thanks for this. Sincerely.

[Canukican]

30. I saw a documentary on John O'Neill

It broke my heart to read your post about John O'Neill. I saw a documentary that followed all his efforts to capture OBL, as well as all the disparagement he endured from the filthy suits at the FBI and elsewhere. He was the one who knew every move OBL made and every time he was on the verge of capturing the bastard, he was blocked by jealous, small-minded, filth. There is no other word for these cretins who destroyed his life. He was forced out of the FBI.

I have thought about him so often since seeing this documentary--as I understand it, the documentary is one of many that was not shown in the USA, only here in Canada.

He was truly one of the good ones.

[RFKHumphreyObama]

31. Thank you so very much for sharing this Pabsugenis

Your post profoundly moved, touched and saddened me. I'm close to tears as I read it

Words are inadequate to convey how very, very, very sorry for your loss -I can only offer my deepest, sincere and most profound sympathies, condolences, thoughts and prayers to you and to all of those who lost a loved one or a friend on that very tragic day five years ago. From everything I've read about John O'Neil, he sounds like a man of honor, courage integrity and who had a deep, sincere and profound commitment to America's national security and to fighting terrorism worldwide. You were privileged and fortunate to have known him

Those opportunists at the ABC and at Disney -as well as the producers of the show -wouldn't know honesty and integrity if it hit them in the face. I'm sorry that you are having to endure seeing your friend being put through such character assassination and slander -they do a great disservice to the American nation and to the world through their heartlessness and callousness

Once again, I'm sorry my friend :hug:

[DallasNE]

33. Some Good May Come Of This

At least, let's hope so.

By that I mean we may actually now get a compare and contrast of the record between the approach of the Clinton and Bush administrations in fighting terrorism before the 9/11 attacks.

Tom Kean is not coming off well in this either. On CNN tonight he blamed Clinton for the 1993 WTC attack that happened less than one month after he took office while also assigning primary blame to Clinton for the 9/11 attack even though that was nearly nine months after Bush took office.

Also lost in the current debate is how Bush responded to the recommendation of the Hart-Rudman report. Rather than being focused on bin Laden and al Qaeda Bush was focused on ways to take out Saddam. Former Treasury Secretay O'Neill confirmed that. Bush took his eye off the ball and still didn't catch on when he received the Aug. 6, 2001 PDB stating "bin Laden determined to strike inside US".

Living in Nebraska had me far from the action and that was the attraction for Bush as well when he held up in the bomb-proof bunker at Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha.

When my work friend alerted me to check out CNN on the internet on 9/11 showing the first tower hit I turned to him and simply said "bin Laden". He nodded in agreement. I even said "they better be getting the people out of the second tower". So Bush not only wasted 7 minutes reading a book about goats to school kids, he wasted the time between when the first tower was hit and the second tower was hit. If it was obvious to a computer geek sitting in Omaha, Nebraska what was going on then surely the President of the United States should have known a lot more on what was going on.

And sorry about the loss of a friend. John O'Neill was indeed a hero. The nation misses him as well, though not on the same personal level as you.

[TankLV]

50. Keeting, Roberts - repuke hacks and apologists first and foremost.

Don't ever forget that Roberts, over the objections of the panel, and contrary to the official AGREED UPON report, inserted crap into the final printing that shifted blame from bush* to Clinton officials.

Never, ever, forget that.

[lisainmilo]

34. The Republicans will stop short of nothing!!!

They are cold hearted and out for themselves. Greedy to no end whatever the cost. I just went to my first protest today. Bush in KC for Talents $1000.00 plate dinner. They have no moral conscience!
We have to get the truth out there!!! We have too!

I am so very sorry for the slander and for your loss of you friend.
Sincerely, Lisa

[ninkasi]

35. It's bad enough that they lie about the living

like Clinton, but to lie and smear a man who can't speak in his own defense, and from everything I had ever learned about him was a decent, honorable, and very dedicated man. That's about as low as you can get.

[truedelphi]

36. Hey Pabsungenis

Thankyou for taking the time to share this. ANd sorry for the loss of your friend.

i only knew O'Neill through the Frontline program "The Man Who Knew Too Much"(it was still running about a year ago on the Web) He seemed so very admirable; also his fiance was a shining glitter of a person herself. The irony that he was killed inside the Towers on the very first day of his job on the security force there was one brutal irony.

[mmonk]

38. Thank you for sharing that. I know it's frustrating.

The All Bush Cronies network needs to be exposed as to what it is. To make a film that serves a political agenda at this time and slanders good people in its "liberties" at story telling is immoral and dark.

[midnight]

39. Thanks for speaking up for this man ,your friend,

who seems to have been silenced. I became aware of him only after 9-11. I came to the internet looking for reasons to what was going on, and I found a piece by Greg Palast. He indicated that John knew too much. I was sad to hear of this wonderful man being taken from us so tragically. I have since read, on the internet, was that a Bush was in charge of security weeks before 9-11 and shut a few floors down. Apparently this was never done before, and is considered suspicious.

[Wretched Refuse]

40. The long and winding Path to 9/11

Well, could not we go further back in our time machine and ask:
What the hell did George Bush I do to stop Osama? I mean why not do that? He had the whole middle east in his grubby little hands back in 1991, so why not take Osama out right then either?

Now HERE is a concept for y'all,

It has struck me that this "non-issue" (really if you think about all the treason this admin is doing, this is a non-issue) is REALLY the DLC re-asserting itself as the controller of ALL things Democrat.
I mean it is all a Clinton (+administration) face saving thing that now supposedly ALL god Dems come to the aid of their "fearless leader." Well, it really is sapping our "momentum" on other more important issues, and the corporate controlled DLC KNOWS THAT.

So, I have stayed outside the blogosphere on this one, except for the few phone calls to ABC radio to gnash my teeth on the air, with the likes of Levin (the Zionist) and the new idiot (Jerry) last night taking over Laura Ingram's 8-10 slot in the NY ABC market.

Screw Disney and ABC, they were the next to fall to the nazis after Fox anyway, everyone knew that. I believe that ABC is also stirring the pot to get all good Dems back into the DLC fold, as Hilary was starting to get REALLY antsy at the calls to debate Tasini and with Lamont, and the Screw the DLC push happening as of late, I feel this is the motive for the over-hype of this non-issue.

This all just another Corporate-control of our sense of "what is important."

[Gman]

41. I'm not sure when I first became aware of John O'Neill but

I knew who he was right after 9/11. I used to wonder after 9/11 how his story could have been so buried considering he appeared to be the man that was closest on OBL tail. In the months that passed it became very obvious why O'Neill's story was buried.

Thanks for the personal touch.

[ShortnFiery]

42. ABC is Dead to me! eom

[OzarkDem]

43. Thanks for your post

I recall first learning about O Neil in the days just after the 9-11 attacks from someone who posted over on the Bartcop forum. Whoever it was who started the Remember John ONeil web site began reconstructing his work and recent problems with fighting terrorism at the FBI. IIRC, that site and Palasts were the first ones to begin revealing the information about suspicious activities and missed opportunities leading up to the attacks and the negligence of the Bush administration.

Its probably for that reason that conservatives chose to target him and distort his work and image in this ridiculous film. He was important; he was a key to unravelling the mystery of what led to that day and that has continued to be a threat to those who wished to exploit the tragedy and cover their tracks.

But just as important as the work of John ONeil has been the commitment of his friends and supporters to keep his work in the public eye and carry on his mission. Most of us would not know as much about 9-11 and Bush without all the hard work of all of Johns friends. You all deserve a big thank you and the fact that neo-cons felt threatened enough to target him in their attempt to re-write history is a credit to you all.

Thank you!

[DoYouEverWonder]

44. I hope these bastards

are all convicted of multiple felonies some day for their collusion and cooperation with the criminals in the WH.

Hang in there.

[bluerum]

48. Damn these bushite bastards. nt

[me b zola]

49. Thank you for your touching post, for sharing your memories with us

I first became aware of John O'Neil from the PBS/Frontline documentary, The Man Who Knew. I have been haunted since with the thought that he knew too much. Thank you for speaking out for someone who is no longer here to speak for themselves.

[Eurobabe]

51. I am still haunted by that Frontline piece on John O'Neill

It aired about 2 years ago. That was an amazing piece.

I don't have to worry about boycotting ABC, because I don't watch US TV anymore. They're dead to me anyhow, the bastards.

[question everything]

52. Keitel was on Blitzer yesterday, expressing his doubts about the character

From Lawrence Wright's "The Looming Tower"

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/question%20everything/36

FBI official John O'Neill, Mr. Wright says, who "cut a memorable figure. Darkly handsome, with slicked-back hair... O'Neill talked tough in a New Jersey accent that many loved to imitate." Mr. O'Neill, a born networker, after long days on the job could often be found at Elaine's, the Manhattan watering hole, hanging out with visiting overseas law-enforcement officials, making him "perhaps the most widely known policeman in the world." The schmoozing had a purpose: to garner intelligence about the al Qaeda network.

When al Qaeda bombed the USS Cole in Yemen in October 2000, killing 17 American sailors, Mr. O'Neill led the investigation. His inquiry was so aggressive that it earned him the enmity of the U.S. ambassador in Yemen, Barbara Bodine, who in an unusual move banned him from the country. Historians will record that the Cole attack was al Qaeda's warm-up for the 9/11 attacks.

Unfortunately, as Mr. Wright documents, leads that might have uncovered the 9/11 plot generated by the CIA in the course of the Cole investigation were not shared with the FBI because of a legal/bureaucratic wall between the two agencies. (The wall has been largely dismantled by the Patriot Act.) Mr. O'Neill would not live to discover this infuriating fact. Bin Laden's American nemesis died on Sept. 11, 2001, in the World Trade Center, where he had started his job as head of security two weeks earlier. His story is the most poignant, and frustrating, of many in this immaculately crafted, unsettling book.

[gulliver]

54. This ought to be posted on HuffPo too ...

... and other sites to extend its reach. It should be seen by as many people as possible, IMO.

[Pab Sungenis]

61. People may feel free to crosspost and redistribute it.

Thank you for the kind words.

[happydreams]

58. Maybe John O'Neill's family should join Clinton in his lawsuit!

Turn this into a legal and public relations nightmare for ABC.

[RestoreGore]

59. John O'Neill Was A Good Man

Thank you for writing this post. I have read about John O'Neill's fruitless efforts in tracking down Al Qaeda in having to deal with brick walls in the State Dept. and elsewhere and with being told to quell his pursuit of Bin Laden by the Bush administration. He left the FBI in disgust and died in the WTC on 9.11 a hero. I agree that to portray him as a man who was not totally dedicated to his job is a damned disgrace. For those who have not read this book, read, Forbidden Truth. John O'Neill knew all too well what it was all about. How sad and tragic that he is not here to defend himself today against this slanderous depiction of his character.

[RestoreGore]

60. And I'm sorry, I wanted to add...

I am so very sorry for your loss. I too lost people I knew in the towers that day, and those are the stories we must remember on 9.11. Not these contrived pieces of BS that are simply used as political fodder in an election year. SHAME ON ABC and all involved in this project. I will never have any association with any of their companies in any way ever again. It is the least I can do to honor the memory of Mr. O"Neill and all of those lost that day.

[Dinger]

62. My Condolences, And I Will Honor Your Friend By Never Giving Up

:hug:

[sakabatou]

63. ABC = Another Bullshit Company

[leesa]

64. O'Neill's story is so important. Whoever did 9-11 knew enough to

make sure O'Neill was in that building that day too.

[catzies]

65. With condolences and respect for your loss, I'd like to add another

article to this so that others who are reading and learning may know even more.

It's from the New Yorker, 1/14/02, and is still available on the web.

http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?020114fa_FACT1

[Pab Sungenis]

66. Thank you.

I can't believe they let that crap air.

[Blue_Tires]

67. TTT n/t

[TayTay]

68. I am so sorry for your loss. It was America's loss too!

I saw the documentary about John O'Neill on Frontline (Available online at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/knew/view/ )

There is nothing no place in hell hot enought to put the bastards who would defame and lie about the dead like this for mean political reasons. I am so sorry you had to go through this.