w's month long vacation before 9-11 keeps coming up again

[mopaul]

and the speculations run rampant. what the hell was he doing for a month before the attack out there on the ranch photo op set? did he really need a vacation after only 8 months on the job? and a whole month? jeez it's good to be da president.

but all day i kept hearing talking heads wonder aloud what the hell hellboy was doing out there in the wilds of texas while them terists was a sneakin' up on us. even if it were an innocent vacation, it makes him look asleep at the wheel and out of it.

[mhr]

1. Condi 9/11 Fundamental Question - Possible Smoking Gun

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x1376472

Fold the following into your question as well.

In the wake of Condi's testimony before the 9/11 commission, there appears to be a fundamental unanswered question.

Condi claimed in sworn testimony that the 8/6/2001 PDB discussing Ben Laden was a historical document.

If that is true, then why were key administration officials, like John Ashcroft, told to fly non-commercial aircraft beginning in July?

Seems that if key officials were considered valuable enough to keep off commercial flights then the PDB was not a historical document but truly a threat document. Hence measures should have been taken to protect all Americans not just key officials.

This strikes some as the fundamental inconsistency and a potential smoking gun.

Do any other DUers have thoughts or feedback on this reasoning?

[Arkana]

4. Look, guys, get off Dubya's back

He didn't get a nap, and he accidentally left his favorite feather pillow and his stuffed bear at home. So stop being mean!

<laced with HEAVY sarcasm>

:evilgrin:

[Must_B_Free]

2. When are you libs gonna figure out that everything is just

coincidence.

AH Hahahaha

It was ice on wings too!

And cars that are turned off start moving by themselves all the time...

And Hatfield and that lady who was suing Bush really did commit suicide because they were depressed...

[skooooo]

3. He was TIRED! Get off his ass already....

damn liberals!

[bedtimeforbonzo]

5. it's not a real vacation

he's busy scheming

[latebloomer]

6. You know he's not the president--

He just plays one on TV!

And the fall season hadn't started yet.

So get off his case!

[Stephanie]

7. Uncle Dick also took a month long vacation.

They wanted to make sure they were safely away from DC while there were threats.

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

During the spring as initial policy debates in the Administration began, 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

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

Summer Spinning
Aug 29, 2001

<snip>

The White House had announced that Bush would stay at his 1,600-acre ranch in Crawford from Aug. 4 through Labor Day on Sept. 3, a 31-day stretch that would have broken a modern record for a presidential vacation, held by Richard M. Nixon for a 30-day trip to San Clemente, Calif., in 1969. News reports played up the record, and a Gallup Poll found that 55 percent of respondents thought Bush's vacation was too long.

The length of the trip revived old questions about Bush's work ethic, and the poll and the news coverage caused consternation in the White House. Aides said they had planned an ambitious schedule for Bush as long ago as late June, but reporters were not told about it, even after they landed here. The White House, suddenly defensive, took every opportunity to show Bush on the go and even created a "Western White House" logo for the briefing room at Crawford Elementary School. Bush revealed that his ranch had new video conferencing equipment for keeping in touch with his national security team.

www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A15957-2001

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

A Working Vacation
Aug. 15, 2001

Vice President Dick Cheney took time off from his month-long working vacation Monday to outline his plans for August in Jackson Hole and to reflect on "an amazing year."

Cheney, who will live at his Teton Pines home about six miles west of Jackson until Labor Day, defended his energy policy, supported a local decision to limit drilling around the Gros Ventre Wilderness, recalled a life of service in Washington and said his health problems are not affecting his ability to fish for trout on his favorite Western waters.

www.jacksonholenews.com/Archives/NewsArchive/2001/010815-News.html

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

Ashcroft Flying High
WASHINGTON, July 26, 2001

(CBS) Fishing rod in hand, Attorney General John Ashcroft left on a weekend trip to Missouri Thursday afternoon aboard a chartered government jet, reports CBS News Correspondent Jim Stewart.

In response to inquiries from CBS News over why Ashcroft was traveling exclusively by leased jet aircraft instead of commercial airlines, the Justice Department cited what it called a "threat assessment" by the FBI, and said Ashcroft has been advised to travel only by private jet for the remainder of his term.

"There was a threat assessment and there are guidelines. He is acting under the guidelines," an FBI spokesman said. Neither the FBI nor the Justice Department, however, would identify what the threat was, when it was detected or who made it.

www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/07/26/national/main303601.shtml

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

[buycitgo]

8. Top Ten Things Overheard During George W. Bush's Vacation

from Aug, 2003

10."This vacation is flying by -- only 33 days left"
9."Dang, Springer's a rerun"
8."These margaritas are weapons of mass destruction"
7."Whoever's in charge really screwed up the economy"
6."My God! Mars is coming right at us!"
5."Don't worry, George. In 17 months, you'll have the longest vacation of your life"
4."Better start making stuff up for the State of the Union Address"
3."I'm itching to declare another war"
2."Proceed with 'Operation Letterman.' Make it look like an accident"
1."Sitting around doing nothing reminds me of being president"

http://pearly-abraham.tripod.com/htmls/con-davetopten.html

[bpilgrim]

9. it was a 'working' vacation that they all took at the sametime *wink*

rummy and dick know a thing or two about folks being RECORDED in the WH :nuke:

peace

[AnnitaR]

10. Bush's vacation days = 500!! More than 40% of his residency!!

Posted about this on another thread http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=1376666&mesg_id=1376666

I'm praying that this vacation thing doesn't die. This is the one thing that is easiest to get the sleeping people in this country to see. I hope everyone keeps talking about it.

[hexola]

11. The vacation was cut short - Bush returned to DC early - WHY?

I wish somebody would clear this up...

http://www.evote.com/index.asp?Page=/news_section/2001-08/08172001Bush.asp

Why did he come back early...? This so suspicious...they had to know something was up...

[OneBlueSky]

12. um . . . Bush is on vacation now . . . should we be worried? . . . eom

.

[milkyway]

13. This might be the thing that beats him in November. People that bust

their butts every day making a living won't like the idea that this child of privilege took a one month vacation after seven months on the job--as President of the United States!

[David Zephyr]

14. And The Following Two Years Trip To the Pig Farm

were imperative to make to create a "pattern" of an August in Waco.

Mopaul, we know why he flew the coop, don't we. He's a chickenshit.

Check out my post, Mopaul, on the use of the word "determined". http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x1376866

[milkyway]

15. Anybody know where bush* was between Texas and Florida? How many days

was he in Washington between 8/6 and 9/11? It seems like he was avoiding D.C. after the PDB of 8/6.

[SoCalDem]

16. George & Condi's Excellent Vacation.. Diary

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x1375262

[Jax]

17. he was LETTING IT HAPPEN ON PURPOSE

I hate him. I hate him.

Jax