Ashcroft “didn’t want to hear of al Qaeda” in high threat summer of 2001

[Coexist]

From Crooks and Liars

A video reminder of how our Attorney General felt about terrorist threats in the summer of 2001.

Will this tidbit be in ABC's "docudrama"?

<snip>
BEN-VENISTE: And according to the statement that our staff took from you, you said that you would start each meeting discussing either counterterrorism or counterintelligence. At the same time the threat level was going up and was very high. Mr. Watson had come to you and said that the CIA was very concerned that there would be an attack. You said that you told the attorney general this fact repeatedly in these meetings. Is that correct?

PICKARD: I told him at least on two occasions.

BEN-VENISTE: And you told the staff according to this statement that Mr. Ashcroft told you that he did not want to hear about this anymore. Is that correct?

PICKARD: That is correct.

[seabeyond]

1. ashcroft listened enough to quit taking commercial flights n/t

[ixion]

2. see, the problem with that exchange is that it does not talk about

Clinton's penis, which is apparently the reason there is any trouble at all in the world. :eyes:

[Coexist]

3. Ahhh... the mighty Clenis.

Such power it wields.

[rodeodance]

4. Asscroft was distracted by the Justice bare breast--too busy trying to

figure out how to cover it.

[Coexist]

6. well, those "Family Values" people sure do know whats important!

Ugh.
from this:
to this:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/valentine.asp
<snip>
After John Ashcroft, the Attorney General during President George W. Bush's first term, was captured by press cameramen in similar shots, the media reported in January 2002 that Ashcroft had ordered (or approved) the Department of Justice's spending of $8,650 for drapes to hide the two statues because he didn't like being photographed in front of them (or, worse, that Ashcroft was a embarrassingly prudish Philistine who was offended by any representation of nudity). Department of Justice spokespersons maintained that the drapes were used not to hide the statues but to "provide a nice background for television cameras" during formal events; that the purchase had been made by a DoJ staffer on her own initiative to save the $2,000 per event cost of renting them; and that "the attorney general was not even aware of the situation." Critics held that the DoJ's disputing the issue of who actually authorized the purchase of the drapes was a smoke screen (since rental drapes were already being used to cover the statues); that the drapes were left hanging all the time and were not put in place only when televised events were being held in the Great Hall; and that even if Attorney General Ashcroft didn't know about or authorize the purchase, he certainly didn't order the drapes removed, either:

[liberaldemocrat7]

5. Why? Because his Boss the ChimpenFuhrer was dealing

with the Taliban during that period for gas and oil pipelines. The Chimpenfuhrer had invasion plans on the shelf in case the Taliban wouldn't go along. They didn't. Bush pushed and boom, blowback 2 towers and the pentagon exploded.

Now you see why Ashcroft did not want to hear of this.