THEY KNEW: Tenet reveals late August '01 meeting w/Bush, Rummy, Condi, Gens. Meyers/Pace

[leveymg]

George Tenet's new book, At the Center of the Storm, reveals something extremely important about events in the final weeks before 9/11. For the first time, the former CIA Director admits he flew to Crawford in late August, just weeks before the attack by al-Qaeda cells known to be in the U.S., and briefed President George W. Bush personally about the threat.

This briefing followed a CIA PDB read to the President on August 6 in a meeting with Harriet Miers, then the President's lawyer, and an emergency meeting between Tenet and Condi Rice on July 10 on the same subject.

It also reveals that in order to cover up the last meeting, Tenet committed perjury before the 9/11 Commission when he denied meeting with Bush in the month before the attack. According to the White House website, Bush met in Crawford with Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, National Security Advisor Condi Rice, and the present and former Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Generals Meyers and Pace, on August 24, 2001. Actually, this is not the first time Tenet has referenced that meeting. During April 2003 testimony before the Commission, Tenet "misspoke" and let it slip that he had met with the President in the weeks leading up to 9/11.

The corporate media virtually ignored a couple wire service reports about Tenet's revelation, and practically no one followed-up on it, except two bloggers, one of whom was me.

Here's the relevant extract from Tenet's book: http://www.consortiumnews.com/2007/050607.html

“A few weeks after the Aug. 6 PDB was delivered, I followed it to Crawford to make sure the President stayed current on events,” Tenet wrote in his memoir, At the Center of the Storm. “This was my first visit to the ranch. I remember the President graciously driving me around the spread in his pickup and my trying to make small talk about the flora and the fauna, none of which were native to Queens,”

And, here's the article that I published nearly three years ago: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0406/S00098.htm

UQ Wire: Tenet Lied Under Oath To 9/11 Commission
Wednesday, 9 June 2004, 1:37 pm
Press Release: www.UnansweredQuestions.org

Distribution via the Unanswered Questions Wire
Sign up for the wire at:
http://www.unansweredquestions.org/headlines.php
Unanswered Questions : Thinking for ourselves.
NEWS RELEASE ----- NEWS RELEASE ----- NEWS RELEASE ----


TENET LIED UNDER OATH TO 9/11 COMMISSION ABOUT 8/24/01 MEETING WITH PRESIDENT - AGENCY COMPOUNDS MISREPRESENTATION

* CIA Statement Omits Key Date From List of Bush-DCI Meetings in Weeks Before 9/11
* What Did Bush, Tenet, Rumsfeld and Gen. Myers Talk About in Crawford, TX Three Weeks Before the Attacks - One Day After the Flt. 77 Hijackers Were Watchlisted by the CIA?
From Mark G. Levy
Washington, DC, June 7, 2004 - Former CIA Director George Tenet committed perjury in his April 14 testimony before the 9/11 Commission when he claimed he had not met with President Bush in the month before the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. That misrepresentation in Tenet's testimony was noted within hours by Agence France-Presse.

The following day, AP reported the CIA issued what was described as a correction after the Director "misspoke." The Agency asserted that its records showed Tenet meeting with Bush on August 17 and 31, and then on at least six occasions in September prior to Tuesday, the 11th.

However, that CIA announcement omits mention of the visit that then DCI Tenet apparently made to the President's Crawford, Texas ranch on August 24. The White House website on August 25 quotes a remark made by George W. Bush that he met with Tenet the previous day.

In a verbatim transcript, the President is quoted during an impromptu walking tour of Bush's Crawford, TX ranch that he had met the day before with CIA Director and newly appointed members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and National Security Advisor Rice were also present at a Presidential press conference in Crawford on the 24th, according to the White House press notice issued that day. In the August 25 transcript, the President Bush states to reporters and visitors:

THE PRESIDENT: " . . . Yesterday, we spent -- well, they arrived at 10:00 a.m. It took a while to get the press conference. We got back here at about 11:30 a.m. and met until 5:15 p.m. I think they left. That's the longest meeting I've had in a long time, on a very important subject . . .

Q When you have those business meetings, like the Joint Chiefs briefing, do you like to keep it separate from the living quarters on the ranch?

THE PRESIDENT: Actually, you know, what we call the governor's house, the place where you all came out during the -- that's where we went. Condi and Karen Hughes stayed there. And right across the street from that is a -- it's a nice looking government doublewide. (Laughter.) And that's where the mil aide, the nurse, the WHCA head, the doc, they stay.

The CIA briefings, I have on our porch, the end of our porch looking out over the lake. When Tenet came up, that's where we visited, out there.

You know, everybody wants to see the ranch, which I'm proud to show it off. So George Tenet and I -- yesterday, we piled in the new nominees for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the Vice Chairman and their wives and went right up the canyon. "http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/08/20010825-2.html>

The "very important subject" discussed for almost six hours by Bush with his core national security team would likely have been the CIA's action the day before placing four wanted Al-Qaeda terrorists on the "watchlist" of persons to be detained if located in the US. On August 23 the Agency sent "cables to the State Department, the FBI, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, requesting that 'four bin Laden related individuals' including Almidhar and Alhazmi, be placed on the watchlist." (Washington Post, A8, September 21, 2002) Two of those - Khalid Almidhar and Nawaf Alhazmi - subsequently led the hijacking of American Airlines Flight 77 that slammed into the Pentagon.

The pair had been the subject of CIA-directed surveillance since at least late 1999, when they were followed by the CIA to an Al-Qaeda planning session in Kuala Lumpur, at which they were observed meeting with a ranking terrorist operations director and Mohamed Atta's roommate, Ramzi Binalshibh, who subsequently wired money to them from Germany. Binalshibh also sent funds to Zacarias Moussaoui, who in October 2000 stayed at the same Al-Qaeda safehouse in Malaysia while on his way to the United States. On August 15, Moussaoui was arrested by the FBI at a Minnesota flight school.

If Tenet did not take the opportunity to discuss these events with the President, he committed one of the worst acts of derelection of duty in CIA history. Former DCI George Tenet is generally held to be a thorough and responsible intelligence executive. It is simply implausible that Tenet and Bush did not discuss the 9/11 hijackers when they met in Crawford on August 24.

A special prosecutor needs to be appointed to investigate CIA Director Tenet's apparent perjury on April 14 and the Agency's material misrepresentation of fact in its statement the next day. The former CIA Director and the President need to reveal publicly, and under oath, what was discussed at their numerous meetings in the weeks before 9/11, and why this has been concealed.


ATTACHMENTS

1. Agence France-Presse report reprint (April 15, 2004)

INTERNATIONALTERROR-TENET-CIA CIA says Tenet did meet with Bush in August 2001

WASHINGTON, April 15 (AFP) The CIA today said that its director, George Tenet, personally briefed President George W. Bush in August 2001, countering a statement Tenet made to the commission investigating the September 11 attacks. "We looked at his schedule," a CIA spokeswoman told AFP. "Mr. Tenet did fly down to Texas and briefed the president on August 17." He also briefed Bush on August 31 in Washington, she added. Tenet briefed Bush at least six times in the first eight days of September 2001, as well, the spokeswoman said. And "the whole time that President Bush was in Texas," vacationing on his ranch, he had a senior CIA analyst with him and received a daily report from the CIA, she said. Tenet yesterday told the commission he did not meet with Bush in August 2001. "I didn't see the president. I was not in briefings with him during this time. He was on vacation; I was here" in Washington, he said. "In this time period, I'm not talking to him," Tenet added, noting that they had not even spoken by phone at the time. The month before the attacks has come under particular scrutiny after the inquiry discovered that Bush received a briefing on August 6, 2001 about al-Qaeda activities in the United States.

2. AP Wire Reprint (April 15, 2004)

KHOU.com Houston, TX

Tenet misspoke about not meeting Bush in August 2001

Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. - CIA Director George Tenet misspoke Wednesday when he told a federal panel reviewing the Sept. 11 attacks that he did not meet with President Bush in August 2001. Under questioning by commissioner Tim Roemer, Tenet said he never spoke with Bush during the month before the attacks, a period marked by concern over possible terrorist strike. "He was on vacation and I was here," Tenet said, although he added that he could have picked up the phone and called the president at any time if he had felt the need to communicate with him. In fact, Tenet flew to Texas to brief Bush on Aug. 17, 2001, and briefed the president again on Aug. 31 when Bush returned to Washington, a spokesman for Tenet said later in the day. During the first eight days of September, Tenet briefed Bush at least six times, the spokesman said.

Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Further Sources:

For more information, go to: http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0310/S00257 <...>

For a more general introduction: http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/02/09/26_failed.html

Acknowledgments and Notes on Sources:

1. The existence of the 8/25/01 White House press notice was first publicly noted by Michael Wright, whose cooperation is appeciated. His writings on 9/11-related topics are available at: http://www.jerrypippin.com/Wright_OP.htm

2. The AFP and AP wire stories appear in secondary outlets. The news accounts reprinted above are believed to be accurate, but others may wish to verify the veracity of the information by communication with the originating news agencies and their sources. Reproduction herein of those materials is covered by the Fair Use Doctrine, Title 17, Chap. 1, Sec. 107; this press release may be reproduced in whole or part.

3. No endorsement is made here of any conclusions, positions, or statements that other parties might have previously expressed about the facts referenced in this story. The opinions expressed above are solely those of the author.


************

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. "read to the president" "READ TO THE PRESIDENT?"

He has his handlers reading memos to him?

This is sick, but somehow not unexpected.



I am sure that Tenet's erroneous recollection was plain error, and not some Rovian attempt to muddy waters. Really. I do. Honestly. Trust me. I mean it. cross my heart. I really really really really really really mean it this time, as it were. frankly. Frankly, frankly, as it were. If i may.

[underpants]

5. Not only did the read the executive summary to him

to which Bush is reported to have dismissingly said "Okay you've covered your a** now" not only that but veteran CIA and NSA people were shocked that the PDB was only 1 1/2 pages. Suskind talks about this in the O'Neill book-O'Neill and Greenspan were both initial staffers in the OMB and they prepared "Brandeis briefs" for Nixon which were expected to be at least 10 pages and completely cover an issue from every angle politically as well as matters of policy. O'Neill couldn't believe that the PDB (which is the situation report for the entire planet) could be 1 1/2 pages or only cover on issue as the August 6th one did.

[robertpaulsen]

26. Doesn't surprise me O'Neill was shocked PDB was 1 1/2 pages. It probably wasn't.

8/6/01 PDB -- Was It Really *11* Pages??
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=1388317

[underpants]

29. Thanks for the correction

:hi:

[OzarkDem]

54. Tweety keeps blaming Tenet

Time and again in interviews yesterday, last night and again tonight, Tweety keeps trying to blame Tenet for Bush's ignorance "why didn't you do more to convince him?".

Tweety is looking like an ass.

[petgoat]

69. Probably trying to provoke Tenet into saying something against Bush. nt

[Divine Discontent]

66. who was the one who read him that daily briefing...

that person should come out on the msnbc countdown show and say that bush was heavily warned with a direct memo to his office that I read to him, and he yelled at me, "ok, you've covered your ass now"...

www.cafepress.com/warisprofitable <<-- check it out, top '08 stuff

[Kikosexy2]

83. They knew..

and let it happen...without 9/11...they would have been a lame duck administration (not that they are now)...but they benefitted greatly from this tragedy...especially the Pentagon...treasonous scumbags they are...

[leveymg]

43. Here's a photo of the 08/06/2001 PDB briefing

[kimmerspixelated]

88. Seriously, who wears black in August in Texas?

....apparently Harriete Myers!!!!

[knitter4democracy]

46. I picked up on that, too.

Seriously? He's got that big of a comprehension problem? Man. Scary. It explains so much . . .

[WorseBeforeBetter]

80. It looks as if he's struggling with the page numbering...

let alone comprehension of the material. Dear God please, make it stop!!

[EFerrari]

2. I remember that. And so, the medal. n/t

[leveymg]

11. Check. That and the "slam dunk"

Time for Tenet to be a mensch and tell us the straight story.

[EFerrari]

15. I don't think he could do that with a drafting table and a T square.

But, even his mendacity is valuable because liars usually give up more information than they think they do.

[leveymg]

19. Particularly, passive-aggressive liars who want everyone to like them.

such as George Tenet, a very insecure man. No one who wasn't completely conflicted about his own actions, identity and beliefs could possibly have continued the charade this long while giving out so many clues.

Tenet, who really wasn't qualified for the job, wasn't Clinton's first-pick for CIA Director. Anthony Lake was, and he was scuttled. David Boren, Tenet's patron, had something big to hold over Clinton.

[EFerrari]

20. Wow, you're right about Tenet. Exactly right. I don't know

who Boren is.

Okay, I looked him up but it didn't help much But, that's the thing that has always driven me nuts about Clinton -- not what he does on his own time but his constant handing of the big stick to his competitors.

[KittyWampus]

73. Who is David Boren? I am intrigued by your post.

[glitch]

25. Once you've identified them as liars they are transparent. And there ain't no going back. nt

[leveymg]

30. That's right. Tenet was boxed-in to defending the Admin's lies about 9/11

and by the Agency's own law-breaking in the case.

In summer 2001, Tenet and his deputies at CIA Counter-Terrorism Center had for years been running a massively illegal warrantless domestic surveillance operation. It was part of several overlapping counter-terror, counterproliferation, and counter-corruption cases being run within the U.S. by the Agency and DIA, in itself a major no-no, and a violation of the CIA Charter.

The Agency had also cut O'Neill and his FBI gumshoes out of the loop, and by that late date there was nothing but Hell to pay if Tenet made a stink about Bush's order to shut down much of the domestic al-Qaeda surveillance operation -- including Able Danger and Operation Catchers Mitt (GOOGLE both of them) -- until after the Administration's own brand-new Counter-Terrorism program could be rolled out at the scheduled September 12th Principals Meeting. Like everything else, BushCo made this decision on political grounds.

So, late in the summer of 2001, the DCI assumed the CYA position, and waited and hoped for the best.

Instead, it was the worst that happened.

If Tenet had immediately splilled his guts about the events that led up to 9/11, history might have treated him somewhat more kindly. Now, I just wish that Tenet can come to grips with it, and come clean. Give him Immunity, if that's what it takes.

[Old and In the Way]

37. That's my take, too, Mark.

Tenet was supremely compromised on 9/11. He knew that this administration had purposely ignored the warnings. What I didn't know was their planned 9/12 rollout. Was there an a priori document that shows this?

I could never understand why they didn't blame Tenet outright...or simply ask him to resign after 9/11. I assumed he had incriminating evidence. What I don't understand is why he stayed on to be the fall guy on the next disaster - the Iraqi War. You'd think he'd have had enough after the 9/11 attack. Instead, he gets blamed again and then gets a Medal of Freedom to replace his personal integrity, as his usefulness has reached his expiration date.

[leveymg]

41. The source for the 9/12 roll-out is Clarke's book.

I'd have to go back and dig out a cite or link for a specific page reference.

As for after 9/11, it was a Mexican Standoff between Tenet and the White House for who had more incriminating evidence to blackmail the other.

He couldn't resign right away. It would have appeared to be an admission of guilt.

[leveymg]

49. Correction: Principal's Meeting on 09/04/01 followed a week later by a Deputy's Meeting

Upon assuming office, the Bush Administration was given a comprehensive plan prepared by Richard Clarke and his staff for "eliminating thre threat' posed by al-Qaeda. Clarke pushed for a Principals Meeting, but was put off for nine months by Condi and Hadley. Finally, a Principals Meeting was scheduled for the first Tuesday in September with a Deputy's Meeting to follow 7-8 days later.

On September 4, the head of Saudi Intelligence resigned unexpectedly after 24 years in that position, the same day the Head of Pakistan's ISI arrived in DC for high level consultations.

Testimony of Dan Marcus - 9/11 Commission staff member, general counsel: http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB147/index.htm

In December 2000, the CIA developed initiatives -- moving off the Cole now -- based on the assumption that policy and money were no longer constraints. The result was the so-called Blue Sky memo, which we discussed earlier today. This was forwarded to the NSC staff.

As the Clinton administration drew to a close, the NSC counterterrorism staff developed another strategy paper; the first such comprehensive effort since the Delenda plan of 1998. The resulting paper, titled "A Strategy for Eliminating the Threat from the Jihadist Networks of Al Qaida; Status and Prospects," reviewed the threat, the records to date, incorporated the CIA's new ideas from the Blue Sky memo, and posed several near-term policy choices. The goal was to roll back Al Qaida over a period of three to five years, reducing it eventually to a rump group like others formerly feared but now largely defunct terrorist organizations in the 1980s. Quote, "Continued anti-Al Qaida operations at the current level will prevent some attacks, but will not seriously attrite their ability to plan and conduct attacks," Clarke and his staff wrote.

…

Asked by Hadley to offer major initiatives, on January 25, 2001 Clarke forwarded his December 2000 strategy paper and a copy of his 1998 Delenda plan to the new national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice. Clarke laid out a proposed agenda for urgent action by the new Administration: Approval of covert assistance to the Northern Alliance; significantly increase funding; choosing a standard of evidence for attributing responsibility for the Cole and deciding on a response; going forward with new Predator missions in the spring and preparation of an armed version; and more work on terrorist fundraising.

…

Clarke asked on several occasions for early principals meetings on these issues, and was frustrated that no early meeting was scheduled. No principals committee meetings on Al Qaida were held until September 4th, 2001. Rice and Hadley said this was because the deputies committee needed to work through many issues relating to the new policy on Al Qaida. The principals committee did meet frequently before September 11th on other subjects, Rice told us, including Russia, the Persian Gulf and the Middle East peace process. Rice and Hadley told us that, although the Clinton administration had worked very hard on the Al Qaida program, its policies on Al Qaida, quote, "had run out of gas," and they therefore set about developing a new presidential directive and a new, comprehensive policy on terrorism.

Testimony of Richard Clarke, former White House counterterrorism coordinator:

TIMOTHY ROEMER, Commission Member: OK. With my 15 minutes, let's move into the Bush administration.

On January 25th, we've seen a memo that you've written to Dr. Rice urgently asking for a principals' review of Al Qaida. You include helping the Northern Alliance, covert aid, significant new '02 budget authority to help fight Al Qaida and a response to the USS Cole. You attach to this document both the Delenda Plan of 1998 and a strategy paper from December 2000.

Do you get a response to this urgent request for a principals meeting on these? And how does this affect your time frame for dealing with these important issues?

CLARKE: I did get a response, and the response was that in the Bush administration I should, and my committee, counterterrorism security group, should report to the deputies committee, which is a sub-Cabinet level committee, and not to the principals and that, therefore, it was inappropriate for me to be asking for a principals' meeting. Instead, there would be a deputies meeting.

ROEMER: So does this slow the process down to go to the deputies rather than to the principals or a small group as you had previously done?

CLARKE: It slowed it down enormously, by months. First of all, the deputies committee didn't meet urgently in January or February. Then when the deputies committee did meet, it took the issue of Al Qaida as part of a cluster of policy issues, including nuclear proliferation in South Asia, democratization in Pakistan, how to treat the various problems, including narcotics and other problems in Afghanistan, and launched on a series of deputies meetings extending over several months to address Al Qaida in the context of all of those inter-related issues. That process probably ended, I think in July of 2001. So we were ready for a principals meeting in July. But the principals calendar was full and then they went on vacation, many of them in August, so we couldn't meet in August, and therefore the principals met in September.

…

ROEMER: You then wrote a memo on September 4th to Dr. Rice expressing some of these frustrations several months later, if you say the time frame is May or June when you decided to resign. A memo comes out that we have seen on September the 4th. You are blunt in blasting DOD for not willingly using the force and the power. You blast the CIA for blocking Predator. You urge policy-makers to imagine a day after hundreds of Americans lay dead at home or abroad after a terrorist attack and ask themselves what else they could have done. You write this on September the 4th, seven days before September 11th.

CLARKE: That's right.

ROEMER: What else could have been done, Mr. Clarke?

CLARKE: Well, all of the things that we recommended in the plan or strategy -- there's a lot of debate about whether it's a plan or a strategy or a series of options -- but all of the things we recommended back in January were those things on the table in September. They were done. They were done after September 11th. They were all done. I didn't really understand why they couldn't have been done in February.

…

[Old and In the Way]

59. I wonder what he knew and who he told?

"the head of Saudi Intelligence resigned unexpectedly after 24 years in that position"

I'd say that's a little too coincidental to think that he wasn't aware of what was going down. Did he try to warn us? Was his advice ignored? Wonder what George Tenet knows about this?

[EFerrari]

60. I wasn't very attuned that summer but kept hearing of something

about to happen in Saudi Arabia.

In retro, that's just strange.

[EFerrari]

31. That's right. n/t

[aquart]

3. Raise hands who wants his ass in jail.

[ClayZ]

7. Raising hand on the left coast! K and R

[acmavm]

10. Me

[warren pease]

12. Give him full immunity for full disclosure...

I don't care whether Tenet does time or not. I do care, however, that his warnings were consistently ignored or belittled. And surprise, surprise... here comes Sept. 11, all hell breaks loose, Georgie reads to the kiddies, Cheney's running war games in the Pentagon (when he can spare a bit of time from running the world), Osama is declared the intergalactic czar of evil-doers, the war on terror is already on the drawing board, and down comes the federal hammer of repression at home and that famous carpet of bombs in Afghanistan, spilling barrels of blood from innocent and guilty alike, indiscriminately slaughtering everything in the free-fire zones.

Everything BushCo has done, every bit of legitimacy it claims, derives from 9/11. Every violation of the Constitution and international treaties; every one of the over 600,000 civilians murdered in Iraq; every one of the more than 3,300 US troops killed, and tens of thousands more maimed and psychologically crippled for life; every bond floated to fund the Pentagon and enrich the manufacturers of the machinery of mass murder; every incident of torture or special "rendition;" every case of some poor sap doing endless time in the american political gulag... Everything starts with 9/11.

So I want to see these perps, every damned one of these vicious vampires, facing charges of high treason for prior knowledge and/or complicity in the 9/11 attacks. Tenet sounds like he's heading in that direction; let's give him a little shove with a deal for immunity from perjury charges in exchange for his testimony on who knew what about 9/11 and when they knew it.

What's to lose? Best case, we get to see how Condi and Dick and the rest look in orange, shackles clinking as they shuffle down the aisle, heads lowered as they sit through another damning day of testimony detailing their lies and treachery, with a live feed going out to the entire world -- which takes a collective deep breath and nearly weeps with relief that the lethal threat these thieves and murderers have posed for six-plus years is finally neutralized.

Sounds like a plan to me.


wp

[leveymg]

17. "every bit of legitimacy (Bushco) claims, derives from 9/11"

9/11 is the Foundation Myth of the Bush Administration, the Iraq War, and the Global War on Terrorism. Once Joe Six-Pack realizes it was all based on a series of lies, the American People are going to flip-out.

Can 300 million people be considered a mob?

[glitch]

27. {{{{Visualizing a 300 million mob now :) }}}} nt

[Jackpine Radical]

33. I think they qualify as a focus group.

[Beam Me Up]

34. That is exactly right.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=835738&mesg_id=836179

[barbtries]

32. this post should

have its own thread. said so well, and i agree with every word.

[Auggie]

39. I'll second that

[Marie26]

23. Me! nt

[puerco-bellies]

4. Any one remember the date Ashcroft was pulled off of commercial flights?

Due to "unspecific" threats..

[leftchick]

6. July 2001

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

[Stephanie]

22. Ashcroft Flying High

They knew it was coming, so they went on vacation. Out of harm's way.

___________________________________________________


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

Ashcroft Flying High

WASHINGTON, July 26, 2001

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.

A senior official at the CIA said he was unaware of specific threats against any Cabinet member, and Ashcroft himself, in a speech in California, seemed unsure of the nature of the threat.

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

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

The Secrets of September 11
The White House is battling to keep a report on the terror attacks secret. Does the 2004 election have anything to do with it?

April 30 — 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.

****

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.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node...

Summer Spinning
To GOP, Vacation Boosted Bush Agenda; To Democrats, Voters See a Shirk Ethic
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.jacksonholenews.com/Archives/NewsArchive/2001/01081...

News story - Aug. 15, 2001
A Working Vacation
Vice President Cheney plans to fish, travel during month-long valley sojourn.
By Angus M. Thuermer Jr.

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.

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

[NewYorkerfromMass]

42. Ashcroft knew there could be a hijacking

and the truth is he was not a specific target so the CIA source was being truthful in his response to the CBS article. But the intel from the sumer of 2001 specifically cited hijackings as a possible, imminent, AQ action, and that is "the threat" Ashcroft was responding to.

I am linking a post from dailykos citing the NYTimes story from the summer of '05 indicating that the specific threat of airliners as kamikaze weapons was known as early as 1998. It is astounding that the FAA and FBI did not work together to eliminate that possibility.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/9/14/141749/145

This should all be compiled into a bigger thread.

[Stephanie]

90. they had specifically guarded Bush against Al Queda planes-as-weapons in JULY at the G8

He stayed on a Navy ship instead of a hotel in Milan in July due to precisely that threat. THAT is why he left DC for the month of August. I have NO DOUBT. One day, somebody will tell the truth about this.

[Ghost in the Machine]

8. L.I.H.O.P.

What more proof does ANYONE need? I hope this doesn't get kicked to the dungeon...

When can we start allowing LIHOP to become a mainstream message instead of burying it?

[aquart]

14. They absolutely did.

May spiders nest in their ears. May they have boils, piles, shingles, psoriasis, athlete's foot and funguses yet unknown, arthritis, flesh-eating bacteria, and resistant tuberculosis. May their bowels seesaw from diarrhea to constipation and their esophagus rot from acid reflux. May all the diseases that individually might have visited their victims, over time, blossom full-blown in their bodies. May every step be walking on knives no matter how expensive the shoes.

May the evil they've done come back to them, from every place it has gone, from every one it has harmed.

[Ghost in the Machine]

56. you forgot the grand finale...

may the fleas of a thousand camels infest your codpiece!

[KansDem]

16. At the very best...THE VERY BEST...Bush is guilty of incompetence...

The worse: complicity and treason. There's no doubt in my mind Bush knew of the 9/11 attacks before it happened. Just watch the video of when he's told we were under attack: it's all very telling.

What more proof do we need indeed! Something must be done to hold these people accountable, or otherwise it'll just happen again.

[Ghost in the Machine]

57. He may be incompetent at running the Country, tying his shoes, 99% of everything

else he does, but 9/11 wasn't brought about by incompetence. Their (the PNAC'ers) plan went exactly as... well.. planned. PNAC got their New Pearl Harbor. I am firmly in the LIHOP camp, and I have very deep roots in the MIHOP camp. They KNEW dammit! THEY KNEW!!!

They need to be tried for treason AND as war criminals... anything less is unacceptable.

[moodforaday]

50. LIHOP is really incompetence

So suddenly the guys in the boardroom decide Bush is spoiled goods and he takes the fall, while Cheney takes over and Tenet gets to be a hero again for telling "the truth". Meanwhile, Bush's role in 9-11 was limited to reading My Pet Goat for half an hour. That's about the extent of his involvement, in my opinion. That meeting with Tenet and Myers (Myers! this guy is everywhere on and after 9-11) is probably a part of CYA operation, so that Bush alone can take the blame for not acting on the forewarnings. They **made Bush president** because he could be counted on being incompetent in the first place.

[Ghost in the Machine]

58. I really don't know if I agree with you about his extent of involvement

but I understand 100% how you came to this conclusion. I always saw him as just a puppet head for Poppy, who was running things behind the scenes with Rummy & Darth Cheney. They needed a useful idiot that they could dispose of later and it would be no great loss. Gee! DUHbya fits that mould perfectly.

Lately though, I've seen him more as an evil, petulant little fucker. His beady eyes and menacing giggle give him away. He knows what time it is, he knows what's going on. His problem is that he's like the wide receiver running unchallenged toward the goal line and starts long-stepping and celebrating at the 20 yard line.... only to trip over himself and fumble at the 1 yard line. The Nov elections were the 20 yard line. Jan 20, 2007 was when Bush tripped... the fumble isn't far off.

[Old and In the Way]

61. Remember...Poppy spent the night of 9/10 in the WH while W was in Florida.

I've always found that to be very strange coincidence. And the fact that he was planning to meet the bin Laden family on 9/11 for a Carlyle Group board meeting. This close association to the bin Laden's (and W's $50K loan from the family for one of his busted businesses in the 70's) was always way too coincidental. No one in the bin Laden family could have clued us in to what the black sheep Osama was planning?

[Ghost in the Machine]

62. Poppy was still supposed to be able to entertain the Saudi King in the White House

putting on airs of being a king himself. He was just letting his Clown Prince run the Kingdom for a while. Poppy has strange bedfellows, as proven by his association with the Bin Ladens and the Hinckleys...

[Stephanie]

92. and the Reverend Moon

Poppy's a whackjob, if you judge him by the company he keeps.

[pberq]

9. Will we ever find out the truth about 9/11?

A special prosecutor needs to be appointed to investigate CIA Director Tenet's apparent perjury on April 14 and the Agency's material misrepresentation of fact in its statement the next day. The former CIA Director and the President need to reveal publicly, and under oath, what was discussed at their numerous meetings in the weeks before 9/11, and why this has been concealed.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

13. not in our lifetimes.

Pearl Harbor continues to entice conspiracy theories, only because new data bubbles up to this day. AND there are some secrets kept in archive that we won't see.

Hell, there are state secrets our government keeps about WWI, fer xrist's sake.

[mwb970]

70. Someone who knows will eventually talk.

You can't keep something this big totally quiet. There are a lot of people who are very interested in digging out the truth and they are not going to give up.

I honestly believe that Bush and his gang will be unequivocally exposed as treasonous criminals, most likely fairly soon.

[pberq]

93. I hope you're right! - it would be the best thing for this country

[HamdenRice]

18. This is extremely important -- thanks! K&R

It is becoming more and more obvious that the inner circle of this administration had detailed foreknowledge of the attacks of 9/11 and did nothing.

The motive for doing nothing is obvious. I agree Tenet should be given immunity and forced to testify under oath as to the specificity of the warnings that were given to the administration.

[slipslidingaway]

21. Kristin Breitweiser on al Mihdhar and al Hazmi, do not detain???

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1220-22.htm

snip>

"Evidence in the 9/11 Commission's Final Report indicates that there was no "misunderstanding" of the Reno Wall. Quite the opposite from any misunderstanding, evidence from the State Department proves that al Mihdhar was:

....

Page 42 of the Commission's "Terrorist Travel" Supplement states the following:

1. Known by the FBI as an armed and dangerous terrorist participating in terrorist acts,
2. Identified as a potential witness in an FBI investigation, and yet,
3. Inexplicably, a mere 6 days before 9/11, listed and ordered to be an individual not to be detained if caught by government inspectors.


For what FBI investigation was al Mihdhar a potential witness? Why was it first ordered to detain al Mihdhar because he was armed and dangerous and thereafter ordered to not detain him because he was a potential witness in an FBI investigation? Al Mihdhar was "armed and dangerous" and "participating in terrorist acts" that were defined as "airline hijackings" and using "weapons of mass destruction." Who ordered his non-detainment a mere five days before 9/11? Perhaps current Secretary of State Rice (former National Security Advisor on 9/11) or her State Department counsel, Philip Zelikow, (former 9/11 Commission Staff Director) might have some answers?"


Thanks :toast: :toast: :toast:

[glitch]

28. "Who ordered his non-detainment a mere five days before 9/11?" Good question.

Another good one: who ordered the detailed records of anthrax research (who had access to which anthrax strains) destroyed at Ames?

[slipslidingaway]

35. Yes and we are supposed to just ' move forward.' :(( n/t

[leveymg]

40. Non-detention order directly contradicts WaPO and other media reports that stated

that on 8/24 al-Hazmi and al-Midhar (Flt. 77) were placed on a State Department Watch List distributed to INS and other federal agencies, that would have led to their detention had they been located trying to leave the country on an international flight. There's long been a question raised about why these individuals weren't placed on the wanted list or even an FAA advisory, that would have stopped them getting on airplanes.

This is a major unresolved issue.

[leveymg]

36. I think it's time that Kristen's questions were answered.

1. Who ordered the alleged Able Danger special operation to be shut down in May 01? What were the reasons? The individuals involved in the operation have testified that it was not shut down for reasons of posse comitatus. What reasoning was responsible for shutting down a successful surveillance operation on terrorist cells planning terrorist activities within the United States a mere 5 months before 9/11?

2. Was any information gleaned in the alleged Able Danger operation used as the basis for the August 6, 2001 Presidential Daily Briefing that mentioned "patterns of suspicious activities" by sleeper cells within the United States that indicated possible hijackings?

3. Why did the State Department order its agents to "not detain" al Mihdhar on September 5, 2001? Who is responsible for issuing that order?

4. Regarding the State Department entry on September 5, 2001, what FBI investigation was al Mihdhar thought to be a witness in?

5. At what time did the U.S. government have in its possession actionable intelligence regarding the identity of the terrorists who carried out the USS Cole bombing? Was that information gleaned from any alleged Able Danger analysts? When was it shared with the CIA? Was that the information used to justify the alleged "taking out of the cells" in the Able Danger operation between January 01 and May 01? If so, why did certain governmental officials in both the Clinton and Bush Administrations lie to the 9/11 Commission in stating that they did not have in their possession conclusive evidence linking al Qaeda to the bombing of the USS Cole until after the 9/11 attacks?

6. What is the interpretation of "taking out of cells"? Is it merely apprehension and detention or more severely elimination of the cells?

7. What countries were linked to the targets identified in the alleged Able Danger program? Was Iraq one of those countries?

8. Why was the Able Danger chart allegedly destroyed immediately after 9/11 (and prior to your decision to attack Iraq)? Who is responsible for the alleged destruction of this chart and other vital documents relating to this successful, cutting edge program? Who were the Congressional officials and Executive Branch officials present in this meeting? Are any of the targets allegedly contained on the Able Danger chart still within this country and planning or participating in terrorist acts?

9. In March 2001, an internal debate ignited at the Justice Department and the FBI over wiretap surveillance of certain terrorist groups. Prompted by questions from Royce C. Lamberth, the Chief Judge of the FISA court, the Justice Department opened an inquiry into Michael Resnick, an FBI official who coordinated the FISA acts applications. Attorney General John Ashcroft and Robert Mueller (then deputy Attorney General) ordered a full review of all foreign surveillance authorizations.

Justice Department and FBI officials have since acknowledged the existence of this internal investigation, and said that the inquiry forced officials to examine their monitoring of several suspected terrorist groups--including al Qaeda. And while senior FBI and Justice Department officials contend that the internal investigation did not affect their ability to monitor al Qaeda, other officials have acknowledged that the inquiry might have hampered electronic surveillance of terror groups pre-9/11.

[slipslidingaway]

55. Agree but not many are pushing for this and congrats on picking

up on what so many missed.

:applause: :yourock:

[frylock]

24. knr

[Triana]

38. And that is the VERY FIRST thought that entered my mind when I saw 9/11...

...

THEY KNEW

...

And - they DID.

I trust my instincts. This was no exception.

[Disturbed]

44. Will Tenet be charged with Perjury?

I suspect not.

[NoSheep]

85. I trust mine as well. It was too obvious. They had too much to gain.

:kick:

[leveymg]

45. Excellent discussion up at The Hill

This post is particularly on-point, as it seems to confirm that Tenet indeed met with Bush (and the others) in Crawford on 08/24/2001: http://pundits.thehill.com/2007/04/27/chairman-waxman-calls-george-tenet-book-tour-will-be-under-oath/

#25

The question of why didn’t he resign is over shadowed by why didn’t he tell the truth. At the 9/11 hearings on April 14, 2001 he said he had not talked to the president in August 2001. Yet, in his book, we find out he had talked to the president in August, so he clearly lied at the 9/11 hearings. We find out he had flown down to Crawford, Texas for a meeting on August 17, August 24, and had talked again with the president on August 30 or 31 in Washington. But he says in his book he gave a unmistakable warning to Condoleezza Rice on July 10, 2001, that a spectacular attack was just about to take place inside of the US that would result in mass American casualties. So what did he tell the president on August 17, or the 24th. We know that the CIA had issued a world wide alert for Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi on August 23, 2001, just one day before his meeting with the president in Crawford, and clearly the CIA knew that these long time al Qaeda terrorists, who were now known to be in the US, were going to take part in this al Qaeda attack. We know Tenet talked with the president six more times in September before 9/11, so he had plenty of time to tell him about this huge attack. So exactly what did he tell the president on these occasions. The big question is what did the president know and why did he do nothing to save the 3000 people killed on 9/11? Why is this only coming out now, five years after 9/11? For more information, search for “eventson911″.

Comment by rschop — May 3, 2007 @ 7:44 pm

[leveymg]

47. According to Bush, the 8/24 meeting was "the longest meeting I've had in a long time, on a very

important subject." Indeed, it appears it was.

Aside from a discussion of putting al-Hazmi and al-Midhar on the Watch List, there are likely to have been other items for discussion on the agenda that afternoon, and other names discussed. This from Cooperative Research: http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline.jsp?timeline=complete_911_timeline&warning_signs:_specific_cases=foreignIntelligence

August 23, 2001: Mossad Reportedly Gives CIA List of Terrorist Living in US; at Least Four 9/11 Hijackers Named

According to German newspapers, the Mossad gives the CIA a list of 19 terrorists living in the US and say that they appear to be planning to carry out an attack in the near future. It is unknown if these are the 19 9/11 hijackers or if the number is a coincidence. However, four names on the list are known, and these four will be 9/11 hijackers: Nawaf Alhazmi, Khalid Almihdhar, Marwan Alshehhi, and Mohamed Atta. The Mossad appears to have learned about this through its “art student spy ring.” Yet apparently, this warning and list are not treated as particularly urgent by the CIA and the information is not passed on to the FBI. It is unclear whether this warning influenced the decision to add Alhazmi and Almihdhar to a terrorism watch list on this same day, and if so, why only those two. Israel has denied that there were any Mossad agents in the US.

[knitter4democracy]

48. Bring him back before Congress.

He lied, so he needs to be brought back, and this time, he won't get a medal or make money off of it. We need to know everything. Everything!!

[Initech]

51. So if this isn't enough to impeach the bastard, what is???!?!?!

[Rex]

52. Bush Knew!

They're all bastards who don't deserve to go to Hell. To good fer em! I hope they go to a worse place than Hell!

[bunny planet]

53. Perhaps our Henry Waxman should insist that Mr. Tenet testify before his

oversight committee.

[bobthedrummer]

63. Of course. It was LIHOP, not an "intelligence failure". A conspiracy. n/t

[midnight]

67. It kind of looks like it is adding up to that. I don't know why

conspiracy is such a doubtable theory? O well, I have begun to believe in or feel like I've seen it all.

[ProudDad]

64. here's why

Three Texas surgeons were playing golf together and discussing surgeries
they had performed.

One of them said, "I'm the best surgeon in Texas. A concert pianist lost 7
fingers in an accident, I reattached them, and 8 months later he performed
a private concert for the Queen of England."

One of the others said. "That's nothing. A young man lost both arms and
legs in an accident, I reattached them, and 2 years later he won a gold
medal in field events in the Olympics."

The third surgeon said, "You guys are amateurs. Several years ago a cowboy
who was high on cocaine and alcohol rode a horse head-on into a train
traveling 80 miles an hour. All I had left to work with was the horse's
ass and a cowboy hat. Now he's president of the United States."

[EFerrari]

82. LOL!

:rofl:

[ftr23532]

65. K&R!

:kick:&:thumbsup:

[pauldp]

68. Of course they knew. Al Qaeda has always been an intelligence asset since

it was the Mujahedeen. It was probably the most important asset the CIA/MI6 ever created.
It brought down the Soviet Union, and we're to believe they let it slip away.
Western intelligence knew what was up.

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Report_France_warned_CIA_before_911_0416.html

[raccoon]

71. At the very least, those in power should have handled 9/11 better.

The way the official version goes, seems like so many just sat around with their thumbs up their arses.

K&R.

[loudsue]

77. Same thing they did with Katrina...sat around w/ their thumbs up their arses.

It's the way they do devastation in this administration.

:kick::kick::kick:

[Felix Mala]

72. The most incompetent presidency America has known...

They replayed it with Katrina, getting briefed before and then professing that no one could have expected the levies to fail... Let's hope we don't have too many more Presidents like this one.

[flyarm]

74. thank you leveymg ..eom

[bobthedrummer]

75. Kick, against all the lies and perception management-the truth is some LIHOP.

[me b zola]

76. k&r

[nolabels]

78. I keep on finding it strange there is so much information and so little action on them

It also sounds so similar of the Plame smear. Launching different streams of information about the same thing in order to get the public assume a certain belief and position. Same thing goes with Saddam's WMD, the invasion and occupation of Iraq, Hurricane Katrina. The lies or several sets of lies go out to the corporate media to fill a position and or a scenario before it's even investigated.

What people say happened but seems unreasonable should not believed without evidence. Trial lawyers often make quick work of unreliable or known perjurers who assume a witness position. Almost without exception all these people trotted out to give further evidence of the official conspiracy theory and most of them have a vested interest. They have a vested or an even obvious interest in it being kept that way, the way of a official conspiracy theory. It's waved around like it should even be true even to the point of it being rhetorical and everybody knows it to be true.

9/11 and the Evidence
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=125&topic_id=155950

[Beelzebud]

79. Tenet is either a coward or complicit. Neither is good...

[EFerrari]

81. Well, he seems to be both. n/t

[NoSheep]

84. Don't mind me...I'm just a conspiracy theorist.

:sarcasm:

[bpeale]

86. does this mean

that they knew & just let it happen to further their own aims?

[Sander]

87. Of course then knew and let it happen

Read (or get the audio book), "Armed Madhouse" by Greg Palast. Finally the truth about why we went to war in Gulf I and in Gulf II, why we had to get rid of Saddam, and why the traitors in the WH needed an excuse.

It was about the oil. But not the way we thought. It was and is about restricting the flow of oil. And Saddam was not cooperating. Learn about the myth of "peak oil" and the red-lining of the Iraqi oil fields to control the world output and keep the price up. :grr:

[Dinger]

89. I Always Thought The BFEE Did 9-11

And I don't give a shit what anybody says.

[upi402]

91. Seems like IF they were paid from tax revenue and on OUR property

we ought to be able to see the work they did on our taxpayer dime.

"...A special prosecutor needs to be appointed to investigate CIA Director Tenet's apparent perjury on April 14 and the Agency's material misrepresentation of fact in its statement the next day. The former CIA Director and the President need to reveal publicly, and under oath, what was discussed at their numerous meetings in the weeks before 9/11, and why this has been concealed. "