“Everything changed after 9/11.” Bush has said it 1000 times. "Baloney," my Dad would have said.
**It's not new--but with the insult of recent speech attacks, there's something worth noting. Bush is at 44% in a new poll, but Democrats are giving Republicans and Bush a pass on his pre-9/11 inaction against the terrorism threat and in doing so allowing Democrats to be seen as weak on defense! But times have changed, my friends!**
Now Bush says: "Even BEFORE 9/11 the evil, 'Islamofascists' were attacking us, over and over. The World Trade Center, 'the Cole'....they've been at this for decades! They attacked us BEFORE!"
Gorette: "Okay, wait. Wait a dang minute, Mr. Bush. You're telling me now, Mr. Bush, that they attacked us BEFORE 9/11? They did? Well, then, when you came into office in January, 2001, what did you Republicans do to stop them. I mean BEFORE 9/11?
Gorette's Diary:
DEMOCRATS MUST ASK REPUBLICANS: What did YOU do BEFORE 9/11? Because there is no, repeat, NO good answer to this question and it calls their competence into question. Bush continues to repeat "9/11, 9/11" because he does not want people to think about his PRE-9/11 failures.
FREE PASS. They got a pass from Democrats in the previous campaigns because of the intimidation environment wherein all were afraid of being attacked as unpatriotic if they brought this up. Now we can talk about it forcefully, and tell the true story for even they have admitted and broadcast the FACT that everything did not change on one day but was a build up over time that they ignored to our peril.
Now that we know they were planning Iraq instead of protecting Americans, now that the evidence from key players is in, let's say so loudly, Democrats! Dems can't just hang back. They need to speak out!
Larry Wilkerson, the former top aide to Colin Powell, told me: "I don't think there's a soul in the administration, except for Vice President Dick Cheney, who believes that crap about Islamofascism." Why don't Democrats ridicule this specific sort of fear-mongering?http://www.truthout.org/...
While whipping up furor and fear over "Islamofascism," Bush now talks about pre-9/11 terrorist attacks around the world, including the Cole bombing and the 1993 World Trade bombings. Did they respond to the Cole bombing? “They attacked our people!!” he shrieks, leaning over the lectern.
WHAT REPUBLICANS & BUSH DID TO FIGHT TERRORISM PRE-9/11
BUSH ALERTED BY CLINTON TO TERRORISM THREAT.
Not until the end of his term in office did President Clinton find out–with some degree of certainty—that al Qaida had been responsible for the Cole attack. Just two months until Bush’s inauguration, he thought it best to leave the retaliation to the incoming administration, telling them in detail--in no uncertain terms during the transfer of power--all about the grave danger al Qaida posed to the US. He warned that terrorism was and must remain the top priority for the security of the American people.
BUSH KNEW ABOUT COLE & AL QAIDA.
Bush knew about the attacks before he took office, knew al Qaida was responsible. He had been briefed on classified information such as the investigation and proof that the Cole attack was from al Qaida. He was warned that this should be his first priority. Good.
And he regards Islamofascism as the major crisis of the 21st century. And he says, "My biggest duty is the protection of the American people. It is my sworn duty. I take that very seriously."
LOGICAL, DUTIFUL RESPONSE?
Realizing the implications of al Qaida's responsibity for the World Trade attack of 1993, and now the Cole too, he plans a big attack on al Qaida. He comes into office and declares this to be his top priority. He has meeting after meeting with his cabinet about al Qaida and the dangers of terrorism! He has his staff and the military draw up plans to take out bin Laden and to attack al Qaida. He is such a macho military guy that he's going to attack them wherever they are! He and Dick and Condi and Rummy all get together all the time, and Stephen Hadley too, and Richard Clark of course, the all-time White House expert on terrorism who served the first Bush President! Right? (If only!)
NO PLAN, NO RETALIATION ORDERED.
What did they come up with? You got it. Not a blasted thing. Zip. Nothing at all in this Attack on Civilization! They did none of those things! Only one cabinet level meeting about terrorism in the first eight months of office. You mean they did not retaliate for the Cole bombings that killed Americans? No? Not even that? No.
OH, CONDI! Condi did not answer the letters, the memos from the NSC staff about terrorism needing attention. Did not answer the letters from Richard Clark saying that something was being planned and they should meet and take some action! This was major and they needed to do something! No answer. Just a demotion for Richard Clark. No speeches or mentions of terrorism from her. No, sir.
Wait a minute. Didn't I hear the president say in the last few days--about 50 times--that this was the "Fight for Civilization?" The "Ideological Clash of the 21st century?" Yes? He did say that? Yes, the "calling of our generation."
BUSH NEEDED TO GO FISHING!
Bush can be implored to take action against the threats to American citizens, in the Homeland, for God's sake, but if they are into vacations and fall wardrobe shopping, and planning for a war in Iraq then all the king's horses and all the king's men can't get them to focus on the threat at hand, the great 21st century threat of "Islamofascism," of #*!^ing civilization!
SACRED DUTY OF PRESIDENT.
It was the sacred duty of the president and all his men and women to protect the people of this great country, he says? Guess August vacation is more sacred. Repeated urgent warnings from Clinton, Clark and others? Eh! Republicans disregarded the fateful alert of the PDB telling them that terrorists wanted to fly airplanes into buildings.
REPUBLICANS SOFT ON TERRORISM.
Before leaving for August Republicans did nothing. Republicans take office, swear to protect us and then slack off. Whatever. "Let's get down to Crawford and shoot us some bass!"
Despite the string of terror attacks that had taken place over the past decade and a half. Despite civilization and all that stuff we need to be so afraid of right now nothing was done. Those Republicans have some nerve to paint Democrats as soft on terrorism!
Paul Sperry writes:
“Who blew off bin Laden?” … http://www.antiwar.com/...
Rice insists al-Qaeda was priority No. 1, but a speech she'd planned to deliver on Sept. 11, 2001, contained no mention of al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden or Islamic terrorists. The focus of the policy speech, before the neocon School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, was missile defense, and not of the passenger airliner variety.
PRIORITY IRAQ.
From 1993 all the way through 2001 Condi never spoke about al Qaida in any speech although she spoke about Iraq 1000 times. Guess we know why Bush wanted her around.
ONE.
Of 100 cabinet meetings held from the start of his term, before 9/11, only one was on terrorism. Only one.
WHY? IRAQ.
If, as Bush tells us, the great Islamo-fascism terror threat had been out there for years, why for all intents and purposes were they just out to lunch on this for the first nine months of his administration? Why, Bush, did you do nothing about any of it? Was Bush asleep? Was Condi? And George Tenant and Colin Powell and Donald Rumsfeld? Why did they not listen to Richard Clark and his staff? What were they doing in the White House pre-9/11? The great threat did not seem to matter to them. Not a bit.
Sperry: And the same misguided set of priorities were in place over at the Pentagon in the run-up to 9/11....Al-Qaeda hardly registered on their radar screen, either – even though the attack on the Cole was arguably an act of war. Al-Qaeda killed 17 U.S. sailors and injured more than 30 while nearly sinking a Navy destroyer anchored in the port of Aden, Yemen. Yet there was no response from the Pentagon at all.
"Secretary Rumsfeld did not order the preparation of any new military plans against either al-Qaeda or the Taliban before 9/11," states a staff report released by the 9/11 Commission in 2004.
Instead they were drawing up plans to attack Iraq. Iraq? Yes, Iraq. Could not be bothered with anything so trivial as retaliation against terror attack on Cole during the great ATTACK on CIVILIZATION! We all know what that has led to.
Me, I can't help myself: "Mr. Bush, you are full of baloney. I'm not sure what your problem is, but just shut up. Stop making war upon war upon war! Stop killing people by proxy! I'd much rather you were not "protecting" me and my family anymore! Why don't you resign. Go fish, sir, and shut up, sir! You have done enough damage! It's the only way we'll have any chance to stop the wars."