Hard Rain Journal 10-6-06: 911 Widows Speak Out on Woodward Revelation of the Bush-Cheney Insecurity Team's Failure to Heed Intelligence Agency Warnings
By Richard Power
The Republican leadership's failure to act on evidence and allegations concerning Rep. Mark Foley (R-FLA), i.e., that he was leading a secret life as a sexual predator trolling for teenage boys on Capitol Hill, should be enough to bring down the House, and it probably will (if the mid-term election is not de-railed or stolen), BUT...
Can't you see how you are being played by Bush-Cheney and their enablers in the Congress and the news media?
Do not let Condileeza Rice escape out the back door while you are calling for Dennis Hasert's political hide at the front door.
As a follow-up to yesterday's post, GS(3) Thunderbolt 10-5-06: Simple Arithmetic of Anguish -- 7/10 + 8/6 = 9/11, here is an excellent piece from Raw Story's Larisa Alexandrovna along with the full 10-5-06 statement of four activist 911 widows (Lorie Van Auken, Mindy Kleinberg, Patty Cazaza and Monica Gabrielle).
Please read this post and share it with others. The world can't wait...
In an October 5th response to recent news of yet another pre-September 11th warning that was ignored by senior Bush administration officials, four widows who lost their husbands during the terrorist attcks have issued a statement about what they see as the failure of White House officials to act upon warnings that Al Qaeda was planning a strike on the United States.
Lorie Van Auken, Mindy Kleinberg, and Patty Cazaza – who are among the four widows from New Jersey known as the Jersey Girls (the fourth, Monica Gabrielle, is not a member of the group) – have issued a compilation of pre-9/11 terrorism warnings that they believe paints a disturbing picture of a negligent Presidency.
They also address the latest revelation from Watergate reporter Bob Woodward that then-National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice was warned of a possible attack on July 10, 2001 by then-CIA Director George Tenet...Larisa Alexandrovna, 9/11 widows blast Bush Administration over Rice, Tenet meeting, Raw Story, 10-6-06
Statement Regarding al Qaeda Threats
October 5, 2006
Astonishingly, five years post 9/11 the public is made aware about an urgent July 10, 2001 meeting that took place between former CIA Director George Tenet and then, National Security Advisor, Condoleezza Rice. This information comes from Bob Woodward's newly released book, "State of Denial"ќ.
Despite this Administration's rhetoric that they had "no warnings"ќ leading up to 9/11, it has become abundantly clear, that key Administration officials were made aware of the vast array of Al Qaeda threats and warnings that existed in years prior, and more importantly, in the weeks leading up to September 11, 2001.
When we add the July 10, 2001 meeting to the plethora of other clear warnings that our government had, a very concise view of the al Qaeda threat emerges. Those other warnings include, but are not limited to:
* Warnings from leaders of other nations and foreign intelligence apparatus' of terrorist threats
* June 30, 2001 Senior Executive Intelligence Briefing (SEIB) entitled "bin Laden Threats Are Real"
* The threat of President Bush's assassination at the G-8 Summit by al Qaeda in July of 2001 – using aircraft to dive bomb the summit building
* July 2001 Phoenix memo, which told of potential terrorists taking flight lessons
* 52 FAA warnings – five of which mentioned al Qaeda's training for hijacking
* August 6, 2001 Presidential Daily Brief entitled "bin Laden Determined to Strike in US"
* National Intelligence Estimate (NIE)entitled "Islamist Extremists Learn to Fly"
* Intelligence agency heads describing themselves with their "hair on fire” to characterize the imminent nature of the threats they were intercepting from Al Qaeda and their sense of urgency in relating them to the Bush Administration
* The arrest of Zacharias Moussaoui in August of 2001
* FBI Agent Harry Samit's 70 unsuccessful attempts to get a FISA Warrant to examine Moussaoui's belongings
Aside from scheduling a National Security Council meeting on September 4, 2001, two months after the July 10 "connect the dots" briefing from CIA director, George Tenet, the abundance of post 9/11 reports and commissions found no evidence of any action taken by appropriate officials. The 9/11 Commission itself concluded that in spite of an unprecedented attack threat in the months before 9/11, US "domestic agencies never mobilized in response to the threat. They did not have direction, and did not have a plan to institute. The borders were not hardened. Transportation systems were not fortified. Electronic surveillance was not targeted against a domestic threat. State and local law enforcement were not marshaled to augment the FBI's efforts. The public was not warned."
While certain members of the 9/11 Commission recalled a January 28, 2004 closed session meeting with former CIA Director, George Tenet, where this urgent July 10, 2001 meeting was discussed, this meeting was not referenced in the Commission's final report.
In the transcript testimony, the former CIA Director described the non-routine meeting that he and Cofer Black called for with then National Security Advisor, Condoleeza Rice as one of the "starkest warnings"ќ ever given by the CIA to the White House on Al Qaeda.
To our continued dismay, both the Bush Administration and the 9/11 Commission have consistently failed to give a complete and honest accounting to the American public with regard to their actions and inactions leading up to the devastation of September 11, 2001.
The inexcusable result of this less than truthful accounting has resulted in America making important national security decisions and passing legislation using the 9/11 Commission's conclusions and recommendations. Chillingly, these decisions appear to be based upon an unclear combination of partial truths mixed with distortions and omissions of important facts.
Incredibly, five years post 9/11 we have come full circle. In spite of all the clear warnings that our government received, why did those in power fail to invoke any defensive measures to protect our nation from the attacks of September 11, 2001?
We demand the immediate declassification and release of these latest documents and transcripts. The American public has the right to know what their government did or did not do to protect us from terrorist actions.
Finally, instead of reorganizing an entire intelligence community because they "weren't sharing information", and rather than telling us that "9/11 was a failure of imagination", what we needed was for the 9/11 Commission to state the truth and hold those responsible to account. The most effective change for America would be to have a National Security Council that understands that it is their job to translate vital information into action.
Remember the simple arithmetic of anguish -- 7/10 + 8/6 = 9/11.
SOME RELATED POSTS:
GS(3) Thunderbolt 10-5-06: Simple Arithmetic of Anguish -- 7/10 + 8/6 = 9/11
Words of Power #28: On 9/11/06, Ask Yourself "Is This My Country?"
Hard Rain Journal Weekend Edition (9/9-9/10): Five Years into the Era of the National Insecurity State, Some Context & Continuity
Hard Rain Journal 9-7-06: While ABC Catapults the Propaganda, Bush’s “Key Ally” Makes Peace with Al Qaeda
Hard Rain Journal 9-3-06: Remember, Remember the First Week of September
Hard Rain Journal 8-22-06: The Central Theme of Future Historians will be Betrayal, Just Ask Judge Anna Diggs Taylor, Spike Lee & Valerie Plame Wilson
Hard Rain Journal 7-25-06: As the Next Bait & Switch Get Pulled, Remember Osama Bin Laden & the Child Brides of Afghanistan
Hard Rain Journal 7-5-06: Al Qaeda Endorsed Bush-Cheney in 2004, But US Mainstream News Media Chose to Ignore It
Hard Rain Journal 6-19-06: Coulter, Beck and The Death of The News
Hard Rain Journal 6-15-06: Foreign Affairs survey of 100 US policy leaders grades Bush-Cheney "failed" at 1.8 out of 10
Hard Rain Journal 6-14-06: Wrongly Premised “War on Terrorism” has Increased Danger from Terrorism, and Ignored Greater Risks
Words of Power #23: A Reality Check, What A Real World War on Terrorism Would Look Like, and a US Mid-Term Election Strategy
Words of Power #21: Judith Miller, Ken Lay, Florida, 9/11 and The Return of The Forbidden Truths?
Words of Power #15: Bring Me the Head of Osama, Nero Fiddles while the Planet Burns, Religion as the Crystal Meth of the People, & The Democrats' Plan
Words of Power #13: What You Need To Know About The Port Security Scandal
Words of Power #21: Judith Miller, Ken Lay, Florida, 9/11 and The Return of The Forbidden Truths?
Richard Power is the founder of GS(3) Intelligence and http://www.wordsofpower.net. His work focuses on the inter-related issues of security, sustainability and spirit, and how to overcome the challenges of terrorism, cyber crime, global warming, health emergencies, natural disasters, etc. You can reach him via e-mail: richardpower@wordsofpower.net. For more information, go to www.wordsofpower.net
Condoleeza Rice, Mark Foley, Foley, Bob Woodward, 911, Cheney, Bush, Dennis Hastert, Patty Cazaza, Mindy Kleinberg, Lorie Van Auken, Monica Gabrielle, Larisa Alexandrovna