I’d like to know why, exactly, in his professional judgment, Gen. Hayden believes that the illegal NSA domestic spying without a warrant could have detected 9/11 hijackers.
"Had this program been in effect prior to 9/11, it is my professional judgment that we would have detected some of the al-Qaida operatives in the United States," Hayden said.
I mean, as long as we’re asking questions and all. Especially since Hayden failed to mention that we already knew about some of the hijackers being here in the US prior to 9/11 occurring — I’d like to know how this NSA program would have done a better job at letting us know the hijackers were here…so we could continue to not intercept them and not prevent the hijackings from occurring, just like we failed to do on 9/11.
And then there is this question: what, exactly, have we been doing with the illegal NSA domestic spying program without getting the required, lawful warrants?
This isn’t a drift net where we’re soaking up everyone’s communications. We’re going after very specific communications that our professional judgment tells us we have reason to believe are those associated with people who want to kill Americans. That’s what we’re doing.
That’s just not enough of an answer. And I expect someone to be asking for more. A whole lot more.
UPDATE: Crooks and Liars has the Hoekstra video clip from Fox News Sunday up, questioning the choice of Hayden for DCI.
Related posts:
- Some Real-World Health Care Reform Questions
- Brennan Provides Gonzales-Like Obfuscation on Illegal Surveillance Program
- Joe Courtney Blows Off Questions About Where He Stands on Public Option
- Torture’s Very Answerable Questions
- When and To What Degree Was John Ashcroft Read Into the Illegal Surveillance Program?
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FTIZZZ or something
Frist!
But seriously, the problem with this guy is hie’s military and he’s under Darth Negroponte’s sway. Increasing military control of our society under Bush is ominous and needs to be stopped.
EPU’d
NY Daily news has more on Hookergate.
http://www.nydailynews.com/fro…..1086c.html
Sorry if it has been posted before, looked new to me.
These filthy lying fascists invoking 9/11 for their fascism makes me physically ill. And worse how they get away with it. Every 9/11 death is on Bush and Cheney’s hands, every single one. How these stone evil bastards can live with themselves is totally beyond all fathoming.
Frist!
piehole, fitz police here…step out of the car, please :)
Can we start a big roots project push on Hayden asap?
We have great materials in the posts about him to give us talking points that should have some traction.
In the up-is-down black-is-white World according to BushCo, John Negroponte is one of the restrained and rational grownups. Go figure . . .
of course we can expect a lot of BS during the confirmation process . . . if hayden is not just appointed during recess . . .
B&S = B&S ( bait and switch ) in fact heokstra has already started it . . . . a lot of wingnuts will have reservations and questions about hayden . . . they will control the ‘debate’ than they will pull a lindsey graham / arlen specter. toe teh line for chimpy.
they have raised this b&s to an art form. remember scAlito’s confirmation . . . artistry.
siun, we may not have to – Specter will have to put up or shut up with Hayden front and center – Hoekstra (House Chair Intel Comm) came out against the appt this morning – Of Course there’s always Patsy Roberts . . .
Fitzeroonie! – I don’t have a freakin clue if there is a civil war going on in the Gulf but I know in my waters that there is a civil war going on in this new Reich.
It’s between the honest ‘ Wermacht soldier’s’ and the ‘ Waffen SS’ deaths-head Nazi fanatic’s who will die in the ditch for Mein Fuhrer.
It’s been raging for years now and the rats are eating their own while screaming out for yet more human sacrifice. Great cups of stone are overflowing with blood and black foul smelling smoke blots out the sun. Things look bleak as only a handful of brave interlopers can kidnap the Emperor and stop the slaughter. The suspense is terrible – I hope it lasts.
Sorry if this has already been posted. New Jason Leopold.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/050706Z.shtml
Was not the NSA responsable, before 9/11 to listen to the world communications outside the USA ? Why didn’t they have a OBL module in place before 9/11 ? By the way 9/11 took place under Bush’s watch, and Cheney’s, and Condy’s watch too… and Rumpsf too with all that Able Danger stuff…
Can we start a big roots project push on Hayden asap?
yes, Yes, YES!!!
This is ABSOLUTELY what needs to be done — the ScAlito Netroots Action, Part Deux: Hayden enabler’s feet to the fire.
the chatterboxes have already set in motion the meme that some dems will bitch and moan about hayden, but that fredo welcomes the fight over the nomination cause it provides the opportunity to highlight the repugs dominance on national security issues. Any of the current gop dissent will disappear within a couple of days, and everyone will quickly fall in line.
Well it won’t be Feinstein. After her appearance on This Week, I’ll be surprised if she doesn’t run over and kiss his stars.
BTW, its the Intel Committee that has jurisdiction over this nominee, right? Just asking cuz I keep hearing that Specter wants to use this ‘as a vehicle’ for his so-called oversight on the warrantless wiretapping. Is he on Intel? Cuz if not I think he’s just shit outta luck.
Hayden admitted they had intercepts from 2 of the hijackers but they did not translate them until September 12th.
>>>>>
06/19/2002 – Updated 11:55 PM ET
Heard 9/10: ‘Tomorrow is Zero Hour’
By John Diamond and Kathy Kiely, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Conversations intercepted the day before Sept. 11 caught al-Qaeda operatives boasting in Arabic, “The match begins tomorrow” and “Tomorrow is Zero Hour.” But U.S. intelligence didn’t translate them until Sept. 12, congressional and administration sources disclosed Wednesday. The failure of the National Security Agency to translate the conversations until the day after the terrorist attacks became the focus of an eight-hour closed hearing on Capitol Hill. Air Force Lt. Gen. Michael Hayden, head of the NSA, and CIA Director George Tenet told a House-Senate investigative committee that the intercepted communications were too vague to be of use, according to officials familiar with their testimony.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/w…..y-usat.htm
TROLL
RH: I’ve edited this comment. I will NOT tolerate statements of this kind, against Jews or any other ethnicity. Period.
bkny, Repugs’ dominance on nat’l security?
They can’t dominate a damn hit on a guy in Kurdish territory (Zarqawi?) making ricin. Actually they could have done it, they CHOSE not to, and they’re tough on national security? Buncha poseur assholes.
We don’t need or want types like F Braun here at FDL. Check his website if you wonder why.
And here I thought only South American dictatorships consolidated so much power in the military. You know, just in case the untrustworthy voters fail to pick the right candidates. If this were Chile, Henry Kissinger would be proud.
Christy, those are good questions, but to answer them we’d have to reveal our sources and methods to the enemy, who would use them to take away our freedoms.
Oh, that hurt! I need to get one of those autoranging irony meters with the infinite scale.
Quite serious about this: someone should ask Gen. William Odom his opinion about what Hayden did to NSA. Hayden’s whole history at NSA should be a good indicator of his future performance at CIA.
Be prepared to watch CIA getting dismantled and outsourced out of existence while Hayden soft-soaps the hell out of congress. It’s what he does best.
dratty @ 9:20 am (#14) – I didn’t think the question of “jurisdiction” was that formal. I suspect that if Specter wanted to have hearings on some aspect of this appointment, he could. He’d risk pissing off his leaders, which is probably why he won’t do it, but are there any senate rules that say he can’t?
shorter Hayden
“Had this pig been born with wings prior to 9/11, it is my professional judgment that we would have detected some of the al-Qaida operatives in the United States,”.
these clowns couldn’t catch their asses with both hands.
Once again, their fish tales just don’t add up. ….7.5lb perch…..that pig won’t fly!!!
p.s. – look where the “biggest” perch was caught. guess it’s true what they say about Texass.
Semblance at 19 — I’m already on it. Thanks for the heads up, though.
Margot#17: granted, the numbers are evening out; but it’s still perceived that it’s a republican issue. And, perception is everything.
It’s right to be concerned about GW Clusterfuck’s political appointees. As his “ETD” (estimated time to destruction) becomes less and less- he will be appointing people to serve out a couple of months of hell. He’ll have to raise the pay.
Someone who is willing to proffer his “professional judgment” on whimsical theories should not be taken seriously. It sounds like the General was lobbying for a plum appointment from the Administration…and it now looks like he got it.
Rwcole:
What is your ETD for Shrub? I think he’ll serve out his term because the Dems are too afraid to impeach.
rusty,
I think he caught a bluegill off the side of the boat with an unbaited hook. I did that when I was four. It was pretty cool. (When I was four.)
Am I Dreaming (great handle) 21 – got EPU’d, but I’m with Billmon on Goss yesterday – CIA is dead.
He’s put up some good stuff since then too
http://billmon.org/
Isn’t Hayden Cheney and Rumsfeld’s choice all the way? Given their credibility at the moment, that fact needs a lot more light shined on it.
A little bit unrelated, but you might want to check out http://www.yafll.com .
gotta go do stuff again, but must say – professor rat, I heart every word you’ve written on these boards today – (I also love your great handle)
Questions for General Hayden Turgidson:
Why did the CIA over-rule the US Consulate in Saudi Arabia, and give visas to the 9/11 hijackers — after the Consulate had denied them?
Why has there been no investigation into the CIA connected flight school in Florida, where some of the 9/11 hijackers trained?
There are many other questions — illegal NSA domestic spying, the 4th Amendment, and all that — and we need to let our elected representatives know they will pay a price for rubber stamping General Hayden. Even though he will probably be confirmed in the end, every embarrassing question that is asked is a blow against the Bush Dictatorship.
Mad Cow Morning News — what did Porter Goss do as a CIA agent?
http://madcowprod.com/
Mad Cow Archives
http://www.madcowprod.com/archive.html
Was CIA Running Terrorist Flight School?
http://www.madcowprod.com/issue07.html
Does EVERY frigging picture of The Deciderer In Action simply HAVE to have some banner with a thematic slogan?
Hayden should be required, under oath- even if it does not actually matter to this man– for accountability purposes, to finally answer, “Has the Bush administration used the NSA to acquire information on its political opponents and opposition? Has the Cheney administration used the NSA to acquire information on political opponents and opposition? Have individuals on the White House Staff used the NSA to acquire information on political opponents and opposition?”
sonate–oh sure- he serve out his sentence. It’s too amusing watching him suffer to let him go early.
Christy -
if you read the Dana Priest article about Goss on Saturday – apparently one of his more egregious failings was his mishandling of relationships to Foreign Intel Heads and sourcing – so here’s a quote just for you from his confirmation hearings -
SEN. SAXBY CHAMBLISS: “He has an unparalleled relationship with the intelligence community around the world, not because he’s a good guy, but because they respect him for the work that he has done. “
OT, but its all connected, really. Canada under the astute leadership of Bush clone, Harper (and the prerequisite complicit media) is amping up right wing styled Iran rhetoric. Check out http://www.yahoo.ca main page.
Am I Dreaming says: “Be prepared to watch CIA getting dismantled and outsourced out of existence…”
May 7th, 2006 at 9:30 am
Although it is possible that we could see some diminution of its influence, how could anyone completely dismantle the Central Intelligence Agency without Congressional approval? (No, I haven’t had an opportunity to look at the legislation that established the CIA.)
OT and posted on the thread below:
For Chicago FDLers:
Rep Murtha is speaking in Evanston (with Jan Schakowsky) at Norris Center on the Northwestern campus today. The doors open at 2:15. The event is free. It should last about 2 hours.
Norris Center is the student center and is located just off Sheridan road near the lake.
I’m just hoping someone might be able to get in a question (it’s a townhall meeting) re:Hayden and the other military types who are heading up so many bureaus in DC
Comment # 35 awaiting moderation — three links to madcowprod.com, and questions for General Turgidson . . .
Stephen Parrish, CPA-
CIA legislation? Since when did silly little annoyances like laws ever impede BushCo? Laws are useful to the extent they force OTHERS to do what BUSH wants, otherwise they can just be ignored.
Question:
Last year I read somewhere that the CIA was in the process of undermining the Bush administration in a “bloodless coup”. I don’t know whereI read it, but it was on the internets…. Did anyone else ever see that?
35 BobbyG says:
Does EVERY frigging picture of The Deciderer In Action simply HAVE to have some banner with a thematic slogan?
Yes. otherwise no one would know what the hell he was talking about and neither would he.
Leslie -
I’d like to see the total tab for Bush photo op banners. I could probably retire on the sum.
From Frank Rich, behind the wall in today’s NYT:
“Two of the F.B.I. bosses who repeatedly squelched Moussaoui search warrants in August 2001 remained at the F.B.I. as he went to trail. The genuinely significant 9/11 figures in American custody, like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, cannot be prosecuted because their first-hand acounts of our ‘interrogation techniques’ at Guantanamo and our ‘black sites’ are bound to ignite more terrorists. Meanwhile, the American leaders who devote every waking moment to defending their indefensible decisions in Iraq have squandered the energy, the armed forces and the international good will needed to fight the war that began on 9/11 and that, in out own State Department’s words, is ’still in the first phase.’”
The bottom line is that we have an Administration with:
a National Security Council that ignored a memo saying “OBL plans to attack America;”
a WH staff that recklessly or maliciously outted a CIA operative investigating Iranian WMD, and is still covering that up;
an FBI that didn’t properly investigate those who attacked us;
a CIA that was first compromised by torture/rendition authorizations and since has been demoralized and dissemated by political purges;
a Sec of DoD that has weakened the military and gotten it bogged down in the wrong war with the wrong enemy;
a former leader of NSA who has undermined the legality of NSA operations;
and an Attorney General who can’t seem to find a copy of the Constitution that tells all these people there’s a legal way to do their jobs.
In short, we have an Administration that has hurt every agency charged with protecting national security, but that now tells us to trust them while they rearrange the political leadership of these same agencies so they can pursue . . . what ends? and to cover up . . . which crimes and investigations?
There is much to answer for here, but it can’t possibly be covered by asking just General Hayden to explain how all of this happened on George Bush’s watch.
OK, so Porter went to a few parties too many with the wrong people. Stupid. If he thought he wasn’t being tailed, he’s a total moron and a fool. He was likely handing out contracts to his cronies, lalala. The real question for me is, what did Porty get in return? I don’t know. But it must have been worth it.
In order to scam another run-up to another pre-emptive war with Iran, Bush, Rummy, and Deadeye need to fix some more intelligence. Enter General Kiss-Ass. This guy has already dispensed with the 4th amendment just to have a seat at the breakfast table with Chimpy, so he’s in pretty deep. Anybody who would just carry out all that NSA bullshit is a total whore, and George and Cheney know it. So out goes Porter and in comes Hayden. He won’t question any of the cooked intel and he won’t screw up any of their “investigations.” Presto! No more leaks! Pat Roberts must be high with happiness. Hayden will be sure to ramp up the spying, and he’ll also come in handy when the Plame case heats up. And for some reason, Bush is up to the fight. Just trot Abu Gharib Gonzales out there again to speak in tongue about unitary executive, blah, blah, blah. Mission Accomplished.
Something specific happened to provoke Porty. Either Negroponte flashed some bizarre photos or documents or maybe he just
said, your work sucks. The really interesting thing is that you mean to tell me these guys had no succession plan? That’s just ridiculous. Have you read the text of the last OBL threat? He’s freakin’ pissed off. Hayden is there to go under deep cover.
Watch out for the switcheroo! There’s something fishy about the Hayden buzz.
As Papa John Phillips said:
“Monday, Monday…”
peace,
jim
via an EPU’d post, linked to the Mahablog:
http://www.mahablog.com/?p=680
Nedra Picker, AP:
“You can’t have the military control most of the major aspects of intelligence,†said Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, who is on the Senate Intelligence Committee. The CIA “is a civilian agency and is meant to be a civilian agency,†she said on ABC’s “This Week.â€
A second committee member, GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, added, “I think the fact that he is a part of the military today would be the major problem.â€
Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., mentioned fears the CIA would “just be gobbled up by the Defense Department†if Hayden were to take over. …
The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee [that would be Arlen Specter] said he would view a Hayden nomination as a way to get information from the Bush administration about its secretive domestic surveillance program, undertaken by the NSA when Hayden led that agency.
NY Times/IHT quotes Nancy Pelosi:
“There’s a power struggle going on between the Department of Defense and the entire rest of the intelligence community,†she said, “so I don’t see how you have a four-star general heading up the C.I.A.†She said that she had “serious concerns†about General Hayden, at least in this position.
What Harry (12) said.
On 17-OCT-2002, in testimony before the Joint Committee of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, then DIRNSA Lt. Gen. Michael Hayden said:
So what was it, then — failure of imagination? Hubris? Something else?
Perhaps a failure of leadership in NSA?
Hayden makes the point that there were (30) warnings during the summer of ‘01 that something big was going to happen; why was he not “hair on fire” like DCI Tenet, who clearly believed the warnings, as did Richard Clarke? Was NSA the biggest stumbling block to convincing the White House about the imminence of a terrorist attack?
Was that problem actually fixed, even though it appears that Hayden knew they were short BEFORE 9/11? If he couldn’t fix this problem in NSA, why should the American public believe he could fix it at the CIA — or at a minimum, not make matters worse?
SecDef Rumsfeld drew a LOT of fire for his proposed Office of Strategic Influence, which was terminated (if in name only) because the American public was highly skeptical about the reach of such a program. The American public voiced even greater concern about the NSA’s “domestic wiretapping” aimed at American targets, but the DIRNSA did not downscope the program in response; this failure to acknowledge such concerns and respond appropriately has since underpinned the call for a presidential censure, making it all too clear how the American people felt about this encroachment on liberty in the name of security. If Hayden is unresponsive and willing to jeopardize the legitimacy of the presidency as DIRNSA, what reasons do the American public have to believe Hayden would do anything differenly as DCI?
And finally, in the same testimony, Hayden makes it clear that NSA is a SIGINT operation; what makes his extensive background at all effective as a leader for a HUMINT operation? Data is far more malleable than humans, their culture and politics, after all. Speaking strictly as a hiring manager reviewing an applicant’s credentials, why would I and the the rest of the American public not want to look at other, better qualified and more successful candidates for this extremely important role?
Hoekstra is going to get a piece of my mind tomorrow. So is Levin.
[Emphasis mine in all bold face above.]
Seems like he likes to use the phrase “professional judgement” a lot. It’s basically another version of “just trust me.”
The whole translation taking place on September 12th meme is just completely ridiculous. Was that supposed to be a coincidence? Please! They don’t have time to translate all this stuff but the salient translation pops up the day AFTER the attack? Are they just playing this for the drama? We are being played.
sonate (#29):
let him stay there. he will continue to prove what a total failure he is. i think feingold was right. censure is the ticket. then let him squirm and pout for the rest of his tenure just like the small-time fratboy he has never stopped being. it should set things up better for ‘08. all of this conjecture predicated on the democrats taking the house, or at least the senate.
‘06 (NOW!) is the key that unlocks that creaky closet door.
BobbyG 46
That is a great question. I think every time he has a photo-op, standing in front of a thousanad identical signs sying OBEY AND BE FREE or IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH or whatever, a reporter should ask a) how much the little signs cost, and b) if taxpayers paid for them.
I bet that’s not a question to which there is a good, ready answer.
jim preston — wouldn’t doubt it. Sounds likely to me.
FYI
C&L has a video up of Rep. Hoekstra, Chair of the House Intel Comm., on Faux News with Chris Wallace (geez his dad must suffer like Bush 41), who said in no uncertain terms that Turgidson was a bad choice because he’s Rummy’s water carrier & that BushCo is basically out to gut the CIA and move all intel gathering and analysis to the DoD.
These guys are the Terminators.
cleter -
Didja know that Bush is the first President in U.S. history to have the annual federal budget hardcopy document festooned with gauzy photos of His Serene Deciderer self — about 30 pages worth — posing at venues all around the nation to show us all the Hard Work?
46 BobbyG says:
May 7th, 2006 at 9:56 am
Or would you prefer to have the funds needed to pay for the Vice President’s doctors and pay for his other medical expenses? How many organizations in this country possess the financial resources to cover those expenses? Is the cost of that perquisite one of the reasons why he might be trying to remain in office?
I apologize…no open thread in sight…but…
What is wrong with her?
Right…now call me back when you get around to issuing a correction on your ridiculous column months ago on Jack Abramoff…
Hmmm…foreshadowing a change of heart after those nasty liberals, Columbo’s, and accuracy police called you all of those bad names…
As she said in her original atrocity…
jim preston, jane hamsher — assuming this is a Kerik-move — throwing a body out in front of the train to make the subsequent and real nominee look much better — who’s the so-called backup?
Think Negroponte would say, “Hey, let’s downsize a layer of bureaucracy and save the taxpayers money by letting me assume all DCI duties?”
That’d be my pick on the board if we were betting.
amilius (#36). YES! this question must be asked over and over. who was the guy who quit the NSA a few months ago? maybe he, or somebody like him could provide the skinny on that. some of us on the left tend to think the CIA and the NSA are all immoral and cynical. well, they’re not. mcgovern, larry johnson and valerie plame have shown that. there are decent, honest people there. let’s find a good source. it’s doable.
Rayne — thanks for the Hayden testimony/link. He told them where to look, and they still haven’t.
Here are the 17 who voted against Goss to head CIA (77-17) sorry kids, Feingold voted to appoint,
Christy’s senator Rockfeller was particularly exorcised over his ‘partisan predilections’
Bingaman (D-NM)
Byrd (D-WV)
Clinton (D-NY)
Conrad (D-ND)
Corzine (D-NJ)
Dodd (D-CT)
Durbin (D-IL)
Harkin (D-IA)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Reed (D-RI)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sarbanes (D-MD)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Wyden (D-OR)
“Had this program been in effect prior to 9/11, it is my professional judgment that we would have detected some of the al-Qaida operatives in the United States,” Hayden said.
Oh Jesus freaking Christ! We DID detect the damn operatives. We even knew they were in flight school, but the administration was soft-pedaling going after its Saudi friends. And remember that FBI agent who couldn’t get his (her?) superiors to listen?!?
Hayden is the last straw, or would be, if we had any hope of a “last straw” situation.
justmy2 #60 – wrt Howell, thinkprogress has Mara Liasson repeating the “Abramoff gave money to Democrats, too” line this morning.
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/…..off-false/
scarecrow (63) — there’s a lot more smoking guns and dead bodies in that same pile if you care to look. FAS.org has earned a special place in my heart for their work on compiling a repository outside the government’s servers; I don’t like to go to .gov sources if I can help it. Kitty away this link: http://fas.org/irp/congress/ — for future use.
So this might be a Kerik/Harriet move? And we might have a Chertoff/Alito in the wings? Oh God help us!
So, Bush has issued another “Bring it On” challenge on this nomination, thinking that the GOP can score points on national security…
If I were in charge of coordinating the Dems’ message, I think I would highlight the fact that the president’s priority seems to be (once again) in scoring political points, as opposed to actually doing what is best for the country’s security.
And then I would highlight for the American people how the Bush appointees have systematically undermined and devalued the effectiveness of the agencies to which they have been appointed. I think it would be an eye opener, and would tend to give little comfort to anyone in the Hayden nomination.
I would like to see agency insiders assess the effect of the changes that have been undertaken and the changes yet to be implemented. Goss apparently wanted more human intelligence, and Negroponte wants to go techno. In that sense, the architect of the NSA spying program would be perfect, but the intransigence in fully briefing Congress, and their willful ignorance of FISA, should be a bright red flag. I’m still not convinced that those like Dianne Feinstein have been completely briefed, and I don’t know why anyone would ever feel confident that the agency had given full disclosure, given the Bush administration’s track record.
I hope the Dems rise to the challenge the president has issued, and I hope they can do it in a way that shows, once and for all, that we are deeply concerned about the nation’s security, but we also believe we can address those concerns while complying with the law.
cbl (64) — thank you for that, I need to re-thank my senators in MI for their vote on Goss, tell them they certainly look prescient in light of the on-going discoveries related to “Hooker-gate”.
And it’ll certainly be important to contact them both about the impending vote, no matter who may get the formal nod this week.
BobbyG
How much did the MISSION ACCOMPLISHED banner cost? How much body armor would that have paid for?
Crap in the budget doesn’t just happen by accident. Things don’t just magically appear like Easter eggs. Every item in there represents a conscious choice. Somebody decided to dramatically boost the fascist banner budget. Somebody decided not to dramatically boost the body armor budget.
Damnit! It IS a drift net…but it’s a drift net that checks the content of the net–looking for the selected fish–before keeping them for later processing.
We’ve looked at all this on FDL before. NSA is (probably) sucking up *everything* and using content filters to narrow down the electronic communications that are worthy of a closer look. The hardware and software exists that allows for a system of layered content filtering, and interception is in place today.
So maybe the General is correct: with that system in place, they MIGHT have identified comms between the 9/11 bad guys and prevented 9/11…BUT only IF we as a people throw Amendment IV of the Constitution….and IF the NSA was willing to give the info to the FBI…and IF the FBI was willing to use the info to investigate the suspected people (which they DID NOT DO with information they DID have).
Our challenge as a country is to determine if we are willing to let go of our RIGHTS, how’s it go again? Oh, yeah, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
In my mind, if you take the clear statements made by the leaders of our country over the last five years about supporting terrorism according to our political statements and beliefs, if you take the evident secret NSA electronic “drift nets”, if you take the clear intent–and action–to hold people in secret prisons without charges for questionable and/or political reasons; then I am convinced we are at the cusp, maybe over the cusp, into totalitarian leadership.
So what’s to prevent our so-called leaders from finding a legal opinion that due to the unrest and reported terror threats during wartime, we must postpone elections this year, and that action is supported by the congressional vote on Iraq action? (And so on)
I think Meirs & Kerik were the Deciderator’s own picks; you’re giving them way too much credit than they deserve with this theory of a devious fallback stratergy.
They really thought they could push those hacks through, since they got nearly every other outrage through, too.
Ditto Turgidson. They think they can still get what they want.
Am I the only one who, horrible as it seems, thinks this administration knew 9/11 was imminent and let it happen because that was the big opening they needed? This Hayden nomination and the thread here convinces me.
BobbyG 46, It would be funny (and effective?) to have the dems run the midterms as a referendum on Clusterfuck, and in ads have pictures of him with those retarded backdrop thingies saying things like “impeachment” “incompetent” “rubberstamp” “lying to the american people” or whatever, you fill in the blank.
Is it possible that Hayden was chosen to be in place for plans related to Iran?
From the article linked below:
…Bolton said he believed the resolution would move to a vote next week with or without support from Moscow and Beijing.
…
The United States is backing attempts by Britain and France to draw up a U.N. resolution that would declare Iran in violation of international law if it does not suspend uranium enrichment a process that can produce fuel for nuclear reactors to generate electricity or, if sufficiently processed, the materials for atomic weapons.
http://abcnews.go.com/Internat…..id=1933623
Rayne — thanks for FAS link. Standing back from this, it’s hard for me to see the General as much more than the “good soldier.” He warned in his testimony that there was more technical capability than had been publicized, and he asked Congress to think about the ConLaw implications. Not being a ConLawyer himself, he may honestly believe that since he would “target” only the bad guys, that that’s “reasonable” under 4th Amendment and if the “highest” attorneys in the land tell him the guidelines for selecting targets are equivalent to “probably clause,” who is he to question that? Beyond that, I would not expect anyone knowledgeable about NSA operations to be anything more than enigmatic and circumspect in public testimony.
He strikes me as competent — which I would never accuse Myers of being. So I don’t see Hayden as a stalking horse for someone worse. For this crowd, he may be “cleanest” guy they could find, who is still “good soldier” enough to follow his Commander in Chief. And if the all important analysis of intelligence is moving to Negroponte (or to Rummy), he can at least manage the acquisition of intelligence.
My point is that Hayden is not the problem, even though he will be the focus.
Meta—-interesting. So maybe Goss wouldn’t ‘fix’ the intel for Iran…and so he’s out…and it’s easy since there are probably pictures…and now we install someone who is more than willing to fix up whatever intel the boss wants, ’cause he’s a true beliver. Huh.
Remember, too, the terrorists hate us for our freedoms. So, I guess that means W thinks it is his responsibilty to strip us of our freedoms since he obviously can’t stop the terrorists.
Rayne, right back at ya for the FAS link !
been doing lots of reading/googling since story broke Friday – and my overall inmpressions thus far -
billmon and others saying Bush has FEMA’d the CIA are right on
with help from over his head Goss, and his four little goons who came over with him from House – chasing off serious spooks, guys who got it right on Iraq, etc
Rumsfield has been very busy setting up both in house and our of house Intel entities – with everyone’s favorite S. Cambone , chief engineer (Pincus wrote this morning, that suddenly Congress wants oversight, lol)
those reporting actual facts continue to conclude this is to be a steel cage death match between Negroponte and Rumsfield (keep thinking of the image from the desert at the beginning of The Exorcist where the two wild dogs fight it out at the base of the Idol)
and I know Hayden will come down to Patsy Roberts Intel Comm., but am encouraged by the likes of both Hoekstra and (egad!) Chambliss expressing concern about the nominee
Is anybody going to cover the speech that Porter Goss is giving at Tiffen Univertsity commencement this afternoon? It might be interesting to know what he will say.
Sorry, “probably clause” in #77 should have been “probable cause.” IANAconL either.
opp99 – Agree completely.
Why not tie Bush around the necks of every GOP congressperson running for office? They have been rubberstamping him for 5 years. I think it would work.
And many others on FDL and elsewhere agree that a simple “had enough” message will work powerfully, especially when coupled with positions on campaign finance reform, government transparency, lobbying reform, and investigations of the corruption of the Delay era.
Is a good soldier willing to fix the intel to fit the requirements? Is he willing to break the law, or at least the intent of the law, in order to obey a command? My lifer Marine officer uncle, WWII and Korean decorated hero who refused command in Vietnam on grounds that the war was immoral, illegal, and predicated on a lie, is surely turning over in his grave.
Hey it figures. Hayden’s leadership failure prior to 9/11 warrants a promotion to CIA director. Hayden owes his fourth star to Bush, since FISA avoidance waranted a “nice job Brownie”, so here’s your fourth. “Brownie” is an apt way to call Bremer, Tenant, and Franks, since they got their “deserved ” medal of freedom for presiding over the greatest fiasco in our nation’s history. WTF, one would think 9/11 never happened with the way this messianic buffoon in the WH operates. Expect Rove and Liddy to be next in line for either a pardon, or medal of freedom.
#74
You are not alone.
You have, however, been recently abandoned…
I am writing a paper and would like a clarification:
Is the U.S. at war with Iraq? or just in Iraq?
I read the statements by Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rummy, Pace etc., and no one says that we are at war with Iraq. They continue to call it the Iraqi war, the war on terror, fighting the insurgents, etc. But does anyone know if there is an official stance of what we are doing there?
Didn’t the thief-in-chief himself state that the failure of 9-11 was not in the “datapoints” but in their apparent inability to “connect the dots”?
If so, why is the moron’s appointee trying to creat more “datapoints” and not concentrating on “connecting the dots”?
William E. Jackson, Jr. has a good post up on HuffPo on Hayden. I think his first line is a keeper!
>>>>>>
A Martian nerd of a figure, Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden, is likely to be nominated to be the new director of the CIA. The former director of the National Security Agency, and now deputy to the director of national intelligence (DNI), has been the most out-front and aggressive defender of the NSA’s domestic surveillance program. He was NSA director when the spying program was launched in 2001. On January 23, 2006, in an appearance before the National Press Club, Hayden acted out an alarming ignorance of the Fourth Amendment.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…..20532.html
kirby (#74):
given the preposterousness of the rest of this administration, the answer is no. they were blindsided as a result of their willful, arrogant stupidity.
When the 9/11 Commission proposed the new National Intelligence agency, the idea was to make sure all of the US govt’s intelligence came together — as though the problem was the left ear not knowing what the right ear heard. There was certaintly some of that. But the Iraq disaster was more about political manipulation of intelligence. What the country needed was assurance that the intelligence services would be both effective in gathering intelligence, and smart in analyzing it AND that the analysis and choice of intelligence would be independent of political manipulation. This last goal wasn’t recognized, and still seems to be lost in the shuffle of deck chairs.
IMO, the problem with Hayden is not that he is military per se, or that he would side with Negroponte vs Rummy, or vice versa, but that he may not be strong/independent enough to make sure the intelligence isn’t “fixed around the policy.” If Congress can’t get a straight answer to that question, he shouldn’t be confirmed.
Feingold voted for Goss?- impeach him- run a true progressive against him- kick his ass out of congress!
Doublethink:
“the act of holding two contradictory beliefs simultaneously and fervently believing both.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doublethink
Half explains the medals and stars and such.
The other half is marketing: proclaim the lie, wrap it in the flag, and dare anyone to challenge it ’cause you will swiftboat ‘em as unAmerican, supporting the enemy. These guys are damned good at this shit.
curios in central texas -
“Is it possible that Hayden was chosen to be in place for plans related to Iran? “
Hayden is supposed to be Negroponte’s man and Negroponte is said t/b against Iran
my gut (fwiw) is saying Negroponte has been busy positioning himself as Bush’s main squeeze – Rover,Cheney increasingly on the ropes – Rummy called out by his own Generals – I see him fashioning a synthesis between Rove and steadying influence of James Baker – yes, a wild ass guess, but a solid record of machiavellian machinations that indicatets capability
there’s an interesting thread at col. pat lang’s blog about this. worth giving a look — and the commentary is not reassuring:
http://turcopolier.typepad.com…..l#comments
marksb says:
May 7th, 2006 at 10:49 am
Let me suggest this: as all of us at FDL try to keep up with news about the Bush Administration, how many displays of passive-aggressive behavior do you see? Start at the top and work down from there…
op99 #75
I’ve retouched the picture on the top to read “incompetent” rather than “won’t back down.”
I can email it to you if you want.
rw@92~
So too, did Barak (I want everyone to like me so I can run for higher office)Obama. Look at the names that are missing from the voted against Goss. Frankly, I’d be surprised if this nomination – if Hayden actually is the nomination – were rejected. (My fantasies notwithstanding.)
The evil Bush tentacles have reached into one of our only remaining allies once again. After a nasty call from Bush to his lapdog, British PM Tony Blair, Jack Straw was removed from his job as the British Foreign Minister. Straw’s crime: opposing U.S. intentions on attacking Iran. This president is not only the most powerfull man on the planet, he’s also the most dangerous. I would think the time has arrived for a hugh push for impeachment. Bush is power-drunk, sick and scared. A most volatile recipe for disaster. I would think letters, emails, phone calls, money, and anything else directed toward impeachment is now called for. It just could be a matter of survival. George Bush is stubborn to the point of stupidity, and thinks he’s on a mission from God to bring on Armageddon. Action on this president’s removal is imperative and critical. I don’t think we can wait until ‘08.
Didn’t see Pelosi this morning on MTP and gotta say from the posts here I’m glad I didn’t – would have had to throw heavy things at the TV.
It seems obvious that even though chimpy’s poll numbers have provided a wee bit of progress with the media, they are still under the control of the WH and the GOP – Timmeh showed his stripes again today.
Which makes me think – Nancy should have stopped the interview and asked Timmeh if his questions were written by the WH or the RNC – obvious RW talking points and Timmeh was obviously under orders. Why not bring that out? If dems keep the talking heads who are actually operatives back on their heels, defending themselves against what they’re obviously guilty of, at the very least they’ll get some big cheers from the dem base – and make the MSM think a little bit before they march ahead for Bush.
That worked for Barbara Boxer a few months ago on CNN when she suggested the “anchor” should go on the WH payroll if all she was going to do was defend them instead of conduct a real interview – had the redheaded Bushie doll spitting and backpedaling like crazy. She had to come out and say on live TV that “I am not on the WH payroll. No one at CNN is on the WH payroll.” I thought that was amazing!
If we (dems – the ones that get on TV) don’t start constantly challenging the media on air, they will keep bullying us and repeating the RW line – and we lose.
With this Hayden nomination I’m more convinced than ever that the rightwing has absolutely no intention of losing in the midterms or 2008 – and that they have plans in place to do whatever it takes. Everybody can point to tanking poll numbers and talk about “lame duck” ad nauseum but BushCo (Cheney) is busy busy busy consolidating power in the executive, flouting laws unimpeded, and doing whatever he wants – he is no lame duck – he is making himself more powerful every single day and no small inconvenience like an election is going to stop the RW from retaining omnipotence.
I am frankly scared to death about what these fascists will do to hold onto all the power. It will be as horrible and deadly and devastating as it needs to be, I’m afraid.
cbl says:
May 7th, 2006 at 10:56 am
I have read somewhere that James Baker has been working quietly behind the scenes in recent weeks.
dead last says:
May 7th, 2006 at 10:44 am
Is the U.S. at war with Iraq? or just in Iraq?
Depends on the question being asked and the answer you want to arrive at. It’s a wonderfully nebulous issue.
Tecnically, of course, the answer’s no – no congressional Declaration of War has been issued.
dead last ~ there was no declaration of war against Iraq.
OT – Faux news reports: letter from OBL calls for assassination of Pakistani Prez
angie (#89):
ah, yes. the bland face. don’t remember if it was elie wiesel or someone else who pointed out that evil often has adeceptively mundane appearance…………
complicity. nasty enabler………
meta @ 10:03 am (#53) – It’s possible that they bumped the priority for doing that translation after the attacks happened. At that point, they should have been looking around for as-yet unturned stones, and may have found that tape in the queue.
oh good grief! W. on Merkel:
>>>>
“She spoke of her childhood, of her father who was a pastor, of the (communist youth group) young pioneers, of her school life. And I have to say I got a glimpse into her soul, into how she feels,” he said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/200…..el_soul_dc
Why does the banner up top say “won’t back down”? Is Bush nominating Tom Petty to be Secretary of Rock or something?
everhopeful, I agree no one should ever underestimate GW’s stamina —
I agree with your comment pasted below:
…Everybody can point to tanking poll numbers and talk about “lame duck†ad nauseum but BushCo (Cheney) is busy busy busy consolidating power in the executive, flouting laws unimpeded, and doing whatever he wants – he is no lame duck – he is making himself more powerful every single day…
and there’s really no limit to the harm he can and will continue to do. He must be removed from office.
the Preznit is supposed to be protecting us from terrorists but his spy agencies, particularly the CIA, seem to be all fucked up. What’s up with that? First we have 9/11 and then Iraq and now hookers … damn !!! That boy caint seem to do nothing right…
What has Israel got – constitutionally fourth ammendment wise? Anybody know? Whatever it is, I’d bet that’s where the neocons are looking to take US. Likely to be a very watered down (read: gutted) version of this right. They’ve been ratcheting up this idea to the rubes that they (we) gotta give up our rights for security. The Ben Franklin quote should be broadcast far and wide, but it won’t be. It isn’t a popular idea. Right, Media Pundits?
TPM update:
Newsweek has now positively identified the CIA party-attender “Nine Fingers” as Brant Bassett, ex-CIA official and former Goss Hill staffer.
Stephen (41): Hayden gutted virtually all in-house R&D and much of the operational side of NSA. All in the name of outsourcing.
NSA is a shell of its former self in terms of capabilities. A similar evisceration appears to be taking place at CIA. Hayden could be just the man to finish the job of hollowing it out, even though it will still be left standing in some form.
And from Dead Eye the diplomat:
>>>>>
SHANNON, Ireland – Vice President
Dick Cheney, wrapping up an overseas trip that produced sparks in Moscow, defended his criticism of Russian President
Vladimir Putin as measured in tone. “It’s more important that you have open, honest, frank discussions about your views,” Cheney said Sunday.
“None of us wants to see Russia as an enemy,” Cheney told reporters aboard Air Force Two on his way home after stops in Lithuania, Kazakhstan and Croatia.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200…..mYw–
Chimpy – “Of course Guantanamo is a delicate issue for people. I would like to close the camp and
executeput the prisoners on trial,” Bush said in comments to German television to be broadcast on Sunday night.dead last 88 –
Technically, no war, but a Congressionally authorized “use of military force”.
If you google for authorizations to use military force post 2001 you will likely find two – first the authorization for Afghanistan that is phrased in terms of authorizing force against terrorists behind 9/11 or those who support them (paraphrased) and which ithe AUMF being used to support domestic spying, suspension of the 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th amendments, rendition etc, and then you get the lesser sister/bigger bang authorization for Iraq.
twolf1– nicely done…
negroponte:
he’s the new cheney (if not now, in four or five years……….).
meanwhile, where’s that snake, eliott abrahms?
and dougie feith?
I got’cher photo-op banner right HERE:
http://www.bgladd.com/wewontfindbinladen.JPG
everhopeful #101,
LOL Yes! that was great about the WH payroll, but I think you meant Pelosi, here’s the clip to enjoy:
Nancy Pelosi Slaps down Kyra Phillips
Nancy:”Myra…Myra….Myra, Kyra, if you want to make a case for the White House you should go on their payroll.”
http://www.crooksandliars.com/…..html#a4861
Plano tex says:
May 7th, 2006 at 11:10 am
Many threads ago, Israel’s constitution was one of the subjects in some posts on one of the threads. Without recourse to what I looked up then (Wikipedia and/or Google), I think Israel’s constitution is unwritten.
Shez #121 – ah, my bad – yes it was Nancy – thanks so much – and thanks for the link to the clip – loved seeing it again!
Now why couldn’t Nancy do the same thing to Timmeh?
marksb@ 73 -
Agreed. What I’m curious about is what the “special intelligence” (what the international banking transaction tracking was called during he Iran-Contra timeframe) showed prior to 9/11. Seems that it may or may not have been in-place and may or may not have had all the dots.
Recall that a lot of informal money transfer systems were shut down right after 9/11. I think it was Hayden’s organization that left that gaping hole open.
OT – and if it has already been said elsewhere I apologize bc I am not caught up and probably will just have to skip to now without getting caught up.
BARBARO!!!!!!!!!!!!
MATZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s hard to come down to NSA muck and Bush mire after BARBARO.
Israel, like the U.K., has no witten constitution
Unwritten constitution? Now that’s just plain lazy.
Queen Elizabeth prefers it that way !
Bobby 120 – what’s more thrilling than truth. that should be freeway blogged from sea to shining sea.
from wiki:
Constitution and legal system
Israel has not completed a written constitution. Its government functions according to the laws of the Knesset, especially the “Basic Laws of Israel” (currently there are 14). These are slated to become the foundation of a future official constitution. In mid-2003, the Knesset’s Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee began drafting an official constitution. The effort is still underway as of early 2006.
curious in central Texas #76
I think you have a good point. There is one thing all of these guys (Negroponte, Bolton, Wolfowitz, Cheney) have in common is their disregard for constitutional proprieties in carrying out a given policy objective.
I told this story a couple of weeks ago, but it needs retelling. General Wesley Clark told an audience in L.A. at the University of Judeaism lecture series that he had been shown a plan back in 2002 showing Bush’s war plan (to bring peace and democracy) in the middle east. (Andrew Jackson would have been impressed.) The plan? Take out dictators and/or bring western values/democracy to the following contries in the following order:
1st Iraq
2nd Syria
3rd Lebanon
4th Sudan
5th Lybia
6th (I don’t recall)
7th Iran
Bush is already using Syria for outsourcing of torture, so they are “off the radar.” Lebanon has been again neutralized, Sudan is being monitored by George Clooney (Bush cold care less about the genocide), Lybia has capitulated and now is a friend a la Pakistan. So, Bush is close to another ‘mission accomplished.’ Iran knows all of this, and they are playing a high-stakes game of chicken. Their hope is for regional support from the grassroots.
The CEO-NEO-CONs play king of the hill with real bullets.
Sharkbabe 129 -
Yes, indeed. You got that right.
BobbyG – I love it! Sending it to family and friends around the country now…
Later, y’all. I gotta go do my thing where I impersonate a basketball player.
shoephone -
Click on my name link. Send that one too.
BobbyG – Absolutely I will.
New thread upstairs. Everybody get your tackle boxes ready.
interesting theory –
http://www.mahablog.com/2006/0…..bout-karl/
Was It About Karl?
All we know for sure is that we don’t know for sure why Goss resigned. If the only reason for the resignation is Goss’s poor job performance — which is not usually a firing offense among the Bushies — why so abrupt?
The two reasons Bushies lose their jobs is (1) they’ve become — or are about to become — a political liability, or (2) they spoke out against the White House Official Version of Reality. We have to assume Goss was about to become a political liability and had to be bounced asap.
One other possibility is that Negroponte wants something from the CIA he wasn’t getting, And it’s something he wants right now. Time is of the essence. Here’s a wild card thought — could this something have to do with building a legal defense for Karl Rove’s role in Plamegate? Conventional wisdom says that if Rove’s going to be indicted, it’s going to happen within the next week or two. That’s just seat-of-the-pants speculation, of course. But Dick Cheney’s running battle with the CIA is at the heart of the Plame mess, and part of Goss’s mission was to bring the agency to heel.
I saw Pelosi and really didn’t think she did that badly. And I’m hardly one of her fans. Russert’s questions toward the end were so clearly badgering that anyone remotely open-minded could see it. No doubt there were folks cheering him on for hammering on her, but what he did was pretty transparent; I’m sure lots of viewers caught on to it.
My advise to folks who get attacked like this is to just break out and laugh and say something like “Tim, your head looks about to explode. You’re really feeling your Wheaties today.”
BobbyG~
That’s a perfect phto. I too ams ending it round to friends and family. I loved it and the truth it protrays.
I’m closing for the day(time). I’m going to the Murtha Townhall meeting.
Just found this NYT article on Hayden at the Seattle Times entitled “New CIA chief to trim agency role”:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.c…..den07.html
This tidbit was in Sunday’s WaPo by David Ignatius; another example of the politicization of the CIA; I hope that Feingold asks Hayden about it. I sent it to him, just in case.
In 2004 the CIA station chief in Baghdad was sending warnings every 60 days, in special messages known as “AARDWOLF” cables, about the deteriorating situation. This candid and largely correct reporting is said to have angered White House officials, who complained that the Baghdad chief was defeatist and not a team player. At the end of his tour, he was punished with a poor assignment.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..01660.html
This notion that revealing the existence of the NSA illegal wiretapping program helps terrorists is without merit.
The existence of FISA was not secret. The fact that you can get retroactive arrents was not secret. The fact that FISA nearly always approves those warrents was not secret.
So basically those defending the illegal wiretapping are saying that Osama that thought he was in the clear as long as Bush had to go to a court that almost never turns him down, or because Bush could spy and get the warrent later.
But now that Bush is bypasing FISA, it’s THAT that’s got Osama worried.
How lame an excuse.
I’m curious as to why there is no wall between the domestic intel and the claven. It should be a relatively simple procedure to have this database sealed off and totally encrypted with the strongest ‘ need-to-know’ restricted access available.
This is the way a lot of DNA forensic labs work now as the police stuffed up so many cases. It’s almost an autonomous and independent operation to have a DNA sample logged and tested. You could have counter-espionage periodically release ‘ Barium’ intelligence and see where that led also if there were any ‘ Gossling’s’ running around.
It has to be asked whether ‘My least favourite Martian’ is using the mystique of intelligence to cover for a massive power grab by a Nixonian style (mal)administration.
Also as he does not know the 4th ammendment maybe he oughta be reminded that ‘ just-obeying-orders’ is no excuse.
As far as I’m concerned a rollback of this insult to the constitution is not nearly enough because it does not cover all the domestic spying that’s done from sites in the UK, NZ and Au as well as Canada – the ECHELEON programs.
The only spying that should be going on is under specific warrants as per the Forth ammendment and on all elected representatives whose lives should be an open book at all times and whose bathrooms and bedrooms must be fitted with webcams ported directly to the internet.
If they have nothing to fear…
This prudent prophylactic measure could also apply to all public servants above base grade pay levels.
( PS I heart Sharkbabe… and all young women really who are brave enough to make love with men old enough to be their fathers and whose testes are shrinking and waistlines expanding – thanks you from the heart of my bottom )
Hayden will be a recess appointment if BushCo can’t ram his nomination through Congress.
And as far as “intelligence gaps” before 9/11, the only “intelligence gap” was between the ears of BushCo.
When I read that a field FBI agent had desperately sought and requested 70 (repeat 70) times in the weeks before 9/11 for approval from FBI headquarters to search through the personal effects of the al Qaeda guy arrested at a mid-West flight school, but was turned down each time, then I knew where the pre-9/11 intelligence failures occurred…BushCo.
BushCo could have easily turned to the FISA court for whatever was required to check the guy out. In fact, per FISA statutory requirements, BushCo could have conducted a warrantless search of this guy’s personal effects and then gone to the FISA court in the allotted time to get a retroactive search warrant.
BushCo, as well as Gen. Hayden, dropped the ball. And they know it. They downgraded the religious terrorism threat to a much lower priority than the previous administration, Clinton/Gore, had accorded the threat.
In other words, if a President Gore had been in the White House, with somewhat the same top-notch counter-terrorism intelligence officials in place who had already thwarted a number of al Qaeda attacks on U.S. soil (after the first 1993 WTC attack), then 9/11 wouldn’t have happened, in my view.
BushCo screwed up, and American citizens died. It’s as simple as that.
So, I wasn’t surprised when the horror of Hurricane Katrina happened.
BushCo Must Go!!!!!
Not just four own safety, but for the safety of our children, and the safety of children around the world.
BushCo Must Go!!!!!
This nominaton is going to make Russ Feingold look like a genius. He wanted to investigate Snoop-gate, and now he will get to do it. It will not be pretty for Hayden, nor for that matter, for BushCo.
Visit the Schapira blog: What we know so far …
“… and tell ’em Big Mitch sent ya!â€