VIDEO & TRANSCRIPT: Olbermann Look At Bush First Months Leading Up To 9/11

[Hissyspit]

From tonight's (Wednesday) Countdown broadcast. Excellent overview of the Bush administration's failures (deliberate or otherwise) before 9/11. There are things I had forgotten about, so well worth looking at. Rough Transcript at Crooks & Liars site.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/09/27/keith-olbermann-takes-a-look-back-at-bushs-first-months-in-office-leading-up-to-911/



Keith Olbermann takes a “look back” at Bush’s first months in office leading up to 9/11

By: John Amato on Wednesday, September 27th, 2006 at 6:44 PM - PDT
Keith Olbermann responds to Bush’s non-response to Bill Clinton. He goes over his first months in office leading up to 9/11. It’s not a pretty picture.

Video -WMP Video -QT

(rough transcript)

Olbermann: The political debate still raging over Mr. Clinton’s remarks in a Fox News interview Sunday has overshadowed the debate Mr. Clinton suggested the nation ought to have… a discussion of what steps the Bush administration took to get Osama bin Laden or destroy al Qaeda before September 11th.

- snip -

And it is, we suspect, even more rare, to see this tape, of the Bush White House addressing reports of such feelers in February, 2001, after we knew al Qaeda had attacked the Cole:

Q: The Taliban in Afghanistan, they have offered that they are ready to hand over Osama bin Laden to Saudi Arabia if the United States would drop its sanctions, and they have a kind of deal that they want to make with the United States. Do you have any comments?

MR. FLEISCHER: Let me take that and get back to you on that.

There is no record of any subsequent discussion on the matter.

In a recent interview, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice responded to Mr. Clinton by defending the Bush record, and saying, quote,

"We were not left a comprehensive strategy to fight al Qaeda."

Our goal in this report is to rise to Mr. Clinton’s challenge, and assess the record of Mr. Bush’s efforts against al Qaeda in his first eight months in office. We begin with Rice’s denial of a comprehensive Clinton strategy to fight al Qaeda.

On January 25th, five days after Mr. Bush took office, counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke sent Rice a memo, attaching to it a document entitled "Strategy for Eliminating the Threat… of al Qaeda." It was, Clarke wrote, "developed by the last Administration to give to you… diplomatic, economic, military, public diplomacy and intelligence tools."

Clarke’s memo requested a follow-up, cabinet-level meeting to address time-sensitive questions about al Qaeda. But Mr. Bush downgraded counterterrorism from a cabinet-level job, so Clarke now dealt with **deputy** secretaries, instead.

MORE OF TRANSCRIPT AT LINK

[calimary]

1. GREAT thread for bookmarking. AND kicking. AND

recommending.

So I'm doing all three.

A KEEPER!

[Patsy Stone]

2. This was scathing and proves they did NOTHING

NOTHING. No matter what Condi's trying to peddle, I'll believe my own lying eyes -- and the FACTS.

Thanks for posting this. Recommended.

[question everything]

3. Thanks for posting the link K&R

[Hissyspit]

4. Here is the YouTube post, but Crooks And Liars has written transcript.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2238965

[greyl]

5. Kick ass! nt

[Harper_is_Bush]

6. Fantastic job. Factual and devastating to the Bush admin.

Poor Chris Wallace, look what he started.

[Erika]

7. W was relaxing at his estate in Texas

and Condi was probably shoe shopping again.

Good find.

[ClusterFreak]

8. This report quite simply rocks my ass. n/t

[Dem2theMax]

9. Thank you for posting this. I sent it to the a$$hole editor of the

San Diego Union-Tribune. They had a piece called "He said, She said" on the front page this morning. Clinton vs Rice.
Guess who was right and who was wrong in their article? :mad:

I thanked the editor for aiding and abetting the * administration in destroying America. Dared her to print the truth for once.
I won't be holding my breath.

Anyone ready for a Wash. D.C. tea party? :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[Rowdyboy]

10. It was the highlight of my evening....And let me add my reccomendation...

[Hissyspit]

11. .