WP/Milbank-Allen: Bush Gave No Sign of Worry In August 2001

[kskiska]

Sunday, April 11, 2004; Page A01

CRAWFORD, Tex., April 10 -- President Bush was in an expansive mood on Aug. 7, 2001, when he ran into reporters while playing golf at the Ridgewood Country Club in Waco, Tex.

The day before, the president had received an intelligence briefing warning "Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US." But he seemed carefree as he spoke about the books he was reading, the work he was doing on his nearby ranch, his love of hot-weather jogging, his golf game and his 55th birthday.

"No mulligans, except on the first tee," he said to laughter. "That's just to loosen up. You see, most people get to hit practice balls, but as you know, I'm walking out here, I'm fixing to go hit. Tight back, older guy -- I hit the speed limit on July 6th."

(snip)

But if top officials were at battle stations, there was no sign of it on the surface. Bush spent most of August 2001 on his ranch here. His staff said at the time that by far the biggest issue on his agenda was his decision on federal funding of stem cell research, followed by education, immigration and the Social Security "lockbox."

(snip)

During that month, Bush's top aides were concentrating on the president's political standing: His approval rating had slipped, his relations with Congress were tense, and Democrats had regained control of the Senate. The only time Bush mentioned terrorism publicly that month was in the context of violence in Israel.

In public, Bush often engaged in playful banter. Reporters teased him about his golf game and whether he would take an afternoon nap. Bush teased them about their suffering in the Texas heat. "I know a lot of you wish you were in the East Coast, lounging on the beaches, sucking in the salt air, but when you're from Texas -- and love Texas -- this is where you come home," he said.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2676-2004Apr10.html

[Corgigal]

1. Of course he wasn't

his ass was covered. The rest of America was left out to bleed.

[Beetwasher]

2. He Was On Vacation When He Should Have Been Working on URGENT

matters. Sound familiar? He's doing it again...

[WhereIsMyFreedom]

3. There's that approval rating again

During that month, Bush's top aides were concentrating on the president's political standing: His approval rating had slipped, his relations with Congress were tense, and Democrats had regained control of the Senate.

Now of course, I'm not suggesting anything...<cough>LIHOP<cough>

[ramapo]

4. This article portrays Bush as a lazy idiot

I'm just mad as hell after reading this plus I'm halfway through the Susskind book detailing Bush's complete disengagement.

Bush makes Reagan at his worst look good.

I'd say Bush should resign but then Cheney would really get to play president.

You'd think Bush would be embarrassed at his own stupidity.

[kskiska]

8. Read the Dean book. Cheney would never survive.

Dickie is sicker than they let on. For one thing, the shelf life of his bypass is 20 years, and that 20 years is up during the 2004 campaign. With each heart attack, heart muscle cells were destroyed. His last procedure, the implanting of the pacemaker-like device was a last ditch effort to keep this guy going. He's gone underground for good reason.

[hippiechick]

21. he's not embarrassed at his stupidity ...

...because he's not stupid. He's a sociopathic, lazy, evil fuck who thinks its funny that the rest of the world 'misunderestimates' him while he and his cronies rape the US treasury and decimate other countries for sport.

Think of a grown up 'Steph' in the 80's movie Pretty In Pink.


:hippie:

[TahitiNut]

22. Yes, he's a pathological narcissist.

His Narcissistic Personality Disorder is what makes him controllable -- his handlers manage his narcissistic 'supply.' He gets his rocks off by feeding on people's reactions. Killing is a logical extenison of this. It's no accident that the death penalty got attention on his "watch" nor is it an accident that so many 'evil doers' are dying - even women and children. He's in Hog Heaven with a cabal of handlers that mange this supply. Including Laura and the twins, they're enablers of the penultimate Front Man.

[diamond14]

5. bush* was real happy....he KNEW that he was about to win the 'trifecta'

and that the entire PNAC plan would be put into play...making him and all his war-profittering 'friends' into multi-millionaires...

bush* would subsequently fly around the USA to reTHUGlican campaign fundraisers and many times... joke about his winning the 'trifecta' when the Twin Towers collapsed....

[qanda]

6. If it wasn't so sad

I guess it would be funny.

[bvar22]

7. What!! bush worry?

None of the warnings said anything about Al Qaeda attacking Crawford!

[goforit]

9. And this is the guy Rethuglicans think can protect them???

I think the GOP's reality is knocking at their door.

They just need to open the door.

Hello!!!!!!

[milkyway]

10. 13 days before 9/11: "I will not permit any course that leaves America

undefended"--bush speaking to the American Legion.

This quote needs to get heavy play. It's an "Al Gore said he invented the Internet" kind of quote that can get permanently attached to him. It really sums up everything you need to know about bush.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

11. Of course not! He knew what the plan was and he knew it would work.

[VolcanoJen]

12. That's a pretty huge news story.

It's the first time, in my memory, that prominent Washington journalists have begun to question the character of the President in the months leading up to September 11.

I think this is quite a breakthrough, really.

[Stephanie]

26. I agree. Now I want them to look at WHY they took month-long vacations

Clarke says he put all agencies on alert in July. Reporters were notified at the last minute that Bush would be moving out to Crawford for the month. Cheney quietly slipped away to Wyoming for all of August. Ashcroft was flying private jets.

WHAT did they know in JULY, and did that information cause them to get OUT of DC for their own safety? Who made the decision to send bush & Cheney on a MONTH-long vacations?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

During the spring as initial policy debtes in the Administration begain, I e-mailed Condi Rice and NSDC STaff colleagues that al Queda was trying to kill Americans, to have hundreds of dead in the streets of America. During the first week in July I convened the CSG and asked each agency to consider itself on full alert. I asked the CSG agencies to cancel summer vacations and official travel for the counterterrorism response staffs. Each agency should report anything unusual, even if a sparrow should fall from a tree. I asked FBI to send another warning to the 18,000 police departments, State to alert the embassies, and the Defense Department to go to Threat Condition Delta. The Navy moved ships out of Bahrain.

- Richard Clarke, Against All Enemies, p. 236

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Secrets of September 11

April 30 (2003) — Even as White House political aides plot a 2004 campaign plan designed to capitalize on the emotions and issues raised by the September 11 terror attacks, administration officials are waging a behind-the-scenes battle to restrict public disclosure of key events relating to the attacks.

<snip>

Some sources who have read the still-secret congressional report say some sections would not play quite so neatly into White House plans. One portion deals extensively with the stream of U.S. intelligence-agency reports in the summer of 2001 suggesting that Al Qaeda was planning an upcoming attack against the United States—and implicitly raises questions about how Bush and his top aides responded. One such CIA briefing, in July 2001, was particularly chilling and prophetic. It predicted that Osama bin Laden was about to launch a terrorist strike “in the coming weeks,” the congressional investigators found. The intelligence briefing went on to say: “The attack will be spectacular and designed to inflict mass casualties against U.S. facilities or interests. Attack preparations have been made. Attack will occur with little or no warning.”

The substance of that intelligence report was first disclosed at a public hearing last September by staff director Hill. But at the last minute, Hill was blocked from saying precisely who within the Bush White House got the briefing when CIA director Tenet classified the names of the recipients. (One source says the recipients of the briefing included Bush himself.) As a result, Hill was only able to say the briefing was given to “senior government officials.”

www.msnbc.com/news/907379.asp?0cv=KA01

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Occulus]

27. "Mission Accomplished"

really ought to read "Missing Accomplice," don't you think?

[wildwww2]

13. A billionaire has to worry about what? Bu$h never worked a day in

his pampered life for anything. So his court appointed ass is supposed to care about 3000 people murdered under his watch? He could not even let the votes be counted when he knew Al Gore beat him at the polls. I just can`t see him or his crooked brother worrying or caring at all about anyone who is not a wealthy elitist as themselves. I may be stupid but I`m not that stupid.
Peace
Wildman
Al Gore is My President

[KayLaw]

19. Your post makes me sad

If only Al Gore had been in the White House where he belonged...

[Manix]

14. Wake up America!!.......Impeach this useless son of a bitch.

[Eurobabe]

24. understatement...

connect the dots to the dolt! doesn't/can't read, spends 500 days of his prenitzy on vacay, how many of the other days were spent raising re-selection funds??? Lies, misleads, starts unnecessary wars, exploits the environment, is hated by the world.

How much more convincing do the people need?

[Eye and Monkey]

15. "seemed carefree as he spoke about the books he was reading"

Perhaps that should have been taken as a clue that he was lying through his teeth. Bush would never admit that he was reading "The Hungry Caterpillar".

[xchrom]

16. it's frustrating to be ahead of the curve

when it comes to something like the kind of threat shrub poses to the country, isn't it?
do you think these reporters slap themselves on the foreheads and go ''doh''?

[Lucille]

17. What, me worry?

[JNelson6563]

18. Cause he's steady. Like a rock....

only dumber. ;-)

Julie

[dbt]

20. The Sorry Little Shit was quite busy, though.

His staff said at the time that by far the biggest issue on his agenda was his decision on federal funding of stem cell research, followed by education, immigration and the Social Security "lockbox."

Notice how he's succeeded in killing every one of those programs?

:freak:
dbt

[Eurobabe]

23. hmmmm thinking about that social security lockbox

making plans for raiding it?

T-R-I-F-E-C-T-A coming baby...

[RamboLiberal]

25. But Rice and Hughes briefed him on the Chandra Levy affair

Bush did mention Rice at the session -- but only to say that she and White House counselor Karen Hughes had "briefed" him on the Chandra Levy matter after the two aides watched then-Rep. Gary A. Condit's television interview about the missing intern.

Oh, that was F'ing important. So comforting to know Rice was on top of that threat to National Security! On that alone I call for her resignation!

There should also be mass resignation in the news media. I remember that summer that was all they talked about 24/7. And they haven't improved much.

[gulliver]

28. And Bush hid what he had known after 9/11.

There has been a cover-up of incompetence.