Rice: No Memory of CIA Warning of Attack

[Judi Lynn]

Oct 2, 4:15 AM EDT

Rice: No Memory of CIA Warning of Attack

By ANNE GEARAN
AP Diplomatic Writer

SHANNON, Ireland (AP) -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she cannot recall then-CIA chief George Tenet warning her of an impending al-Qaida attack in the United States, as a new book claims he did two months before the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

"What I am quite certain of is that I would remember if I was told, as this account apparently says, that there was about to be an attack in the United States, and the idea that I would somehow have ignored that I find incomprehensible," Rice said.

Rice was President Bush's national security adviser in 2001, when Bob Woodward's book "State of Denial" outlines a July 10 meeting among Rice, Tenet and the CIA's top counterterror officer.

"I don't know that this meeting took place, but what I really don't know, what I'm quite certain of, is that it was not a meeting in which I was told there was an impending attack and I refused to respond," Rice said.
(snip/...)

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/R/RICE?SITE=AZYUM&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[opihimoimoi]

1. How Convinient this selected amnesia of hers....

[Wise Doubter]

42. Reagan had a bad memory too !!

Remember ? Ha !

Republican ALL need some Ginkgo Biloba

[drone]

68. probably looking out the window

As I recall Carter said he discussed the most important issues with Regan and he just looked un attentive. Maybe she was daydreaming or looking out the window to see if there could be a change in the weather

[opihimoimoi]

Condi has the popular Pub Talent of turning off her hearing when she

wishes to.

A Deaf Ear Syndrome>>>? Bush got it too.

[Kikosexy2]

83. Having ...

a high officials with bad memory lapses is downright scary??? This is someone that supposed to look out for the security of this country and she suddenly has amnesia??....When disaster strikes, ole Condi-Sleazy certainly never forgets to shop for new shoes...

[opihimoimoi]

91. LOL, yup, can't forget to get them SHOES

Obviously, she is a very poor listener....them Pubs are known for not LISTENING....9/11, Katrina are only 2 examples...

The PUBs DON'T LISTEN FOR SHIT....

[calimary]

102. THIS is a good point, also. If she can't remember this, and

woodshed says he's got all these interviews on tape from people saying she did, um - ARE we well-served by as high-level an official as she is - who has these peculiar memory blocks? Ms No-One-Could-Have-Imagined.

The one thing you can say about her is that she's living up to her name - contradicta.

[wakeme2008]

2. But you notice that she does not say it DID NOT TAKE PLACE

Put the bitch under oath.....

[niceypoo]

45. Right, she does not actually deny it....

...she instead uses the old GOP standard "I can't recall". Indeed, put the bitch under oath

[exlrrp]

59. "I don't remember seeing that before"

This is a variation of "I haven't read the report/article/book/etc yet so I can't comment on it" Its what they say when they can't lie.
Its one of their tried and true spin techniques. It passes for a denial but its really not. Later, when confronted by the facts, they just don't say anything.
Yr right--put her under oath. Or better yet, have her explain it under oath before a Congressional comittee--run by Democrats after this election

[IndianaGreen]

86. Excellent legal point! Saying one cannot recall avoids the perjury rap

of denying a known fact.

Condi has never told the truth about anything.

[xxqqqzme]

110. that - 'I don't recall'

bullsh*t became extremely popular during the Watergate hearings - the rethugs own it.

[zonkers]

144. "To be the best of my recollection" - 7 words that can save you from a

a perjury rap. We all should remember them.

[POAS]

3. WHAT????

Rice: "I don't know that this meeting took place, but what I really don't know, what I'm quite certain of, is that it was not a meeting in which I was told there was an impending attack and I refused to respond."

I can't remember the meeting but I remember what agenda was?

They can't even keep their lies straight from the beginning to the end of one sentence.

[OKthatsIT]

50. Pathological liars have a unique problem..keeping track of their lies

Which they always fail in doing. Unless they write it down and keep track of it all. Course, that would spell doom for Bush & Co. Can't have MEMOS, ya know?

[exlrrp]

60. Its why they keep repeating their Talking Points over and over

Easier to remember the lies, kind of like a checklist

[Solly Mack]

4. yeah...yeah.."I can't recall" - first 3 words every crook learns

"I don't know that this meeting took place, but what I really don't know, what I'm quite certain of, is that it was not a meeting in which I was told there was an impending attack and I refused to respond," Rice said."


She may as well of said..."It didn't happen and even if it did, I didn't do it"

which means the meeting took place and she knows it did...

[Lerkfish]

22. that's all reagan said during Iran-contra, only, in HIS case, he might

have been truthful.

[file83]

120. History repeats itself....

...GOP criminal corruption.

[Wretched Refuse]

35. But once again

If someone does not have THE EXACT words that emanated from Tenet's mouth, then the event never took place, or the "I do remmeber that conversation" excuse. They all need to hang.

[Solly Mack]

57. yep...that's another tactic of a liar

[allisonthegreat]

74. I am glad that she is being exposed again

Somebody (not me) could have forgotten since she was being portrayed in the 60 Minute interview is a high priestess of sorts...

[The Backlash Cometh]

5. She's been in denial since 9/11/01.

[DoYouEverWonder]

6. Does she remember

she was the National Security Adviser at the time?

Does she remember that it was her job to read and listen to all the Intel that people like Tenet brought her and to put it all together?

Does she remember that she had more important things to do then to be W's babysitter?

[Kagemusha]

7. She's just parsing. Key word: "impending"

In her world, what Tenet said just wasn't impending at all. It was a possibility, not a certainty sure to happen in the near future. So what was new about that?

[leftchick]

8. LIAR LIAR LIAR

Can't recall means she is lying her ass off.

[indepat]

53. Panties in a wad and pants on fire

[Matilda]

9. The cry of crooked politicians everywhere ...

"I don't recall; nobody told me; and if they did I wasn't there anyway."

[minnesota_liberal]

140. I haven't read that report, never saw the memo, etc (n/m)

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

10. same topic, different writer from the WP

Rice Disputes Report CIA Warned Her About Attack

By Robin Wright
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, October 2, 2006; 5:48 AM

SHANNON, Ireland -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Sunday vehemently denied that she ever received a special CIA warning about an imminent terrorist attack on the United States, angrily refuting new allegations about her culpability in U.S. policy failures before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks by al Qaeda. She said it was "incomprehensible" that she would have ignored such explicit intelligence or appeals by senior CIA officials.

skip

Rice said her staff is now going back to check if there even was a meeting on July 10. 2001. Philip Zelikow, who was executive director of the 9/11 Commission and is now one of Rice's top advisers, stayed behind in Washington to try to reconstruct the sequence of events, she said. Refuting descriptions in the book that she was inattentive, Rice said she was concerned enough about a potential attack in the United States--even without specific intelligence warnings--that she had a meeting on July 5, 2001 with White House chief of staff Andrew H. Card Jr. to urge him to hold a terrorism intelligence briefing for the Federal Aviation Agency and other domestic agencies.

National Security Council counterterrorism chief Richard A. Clarke also attended the July 5 meeting, she said. In addition, she asked that then-Attorney General John D. Ashcroft be shown the terrorism threat reporting, since the Justice Department oversees the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI then held several briefings with their special agents, she said.

[City Lights]

15. Interesting that she mentions Asscroft, who decided to stop flying

commercial planes in late July, 2001, based on what he called a threat assessment. He, of course, assured the public the following year that the threat he assessed back in July of 2001 was not from al Qaeda. :eyes:

[chat_noir]

103. Aschcroft stopy flying commercial in July 2001

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.

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

[Wretched Refuse]

36. SO

she is saying that she even KNEW about the threat BEFORE July 6. What is such a big deal if there was another meeting on July 10 wiht Tenet? I don't get the splitting of hairs. She fucking knew, was told a thoushand god damn times, and now is amnesic as to whether it was sunny or cloudy out the day Tenet came by to throw his log on her fire. HANG THEM ALL.

[Jawja]

75. Any competent Commander in Chief

who really cared about the safety of the American People would have fired Condi Rice on 9/12/01.

[davekriss]

127. While I agree with the sentiment...

...are you referring to the August 6 PDB? That's August 6, not July 6. But the point is moot as the admin was fully alerted and chose to do nothing. In other words, LIHOP. Forget impeachment, that amounts to treason.

[LynnTheDem]

41. If "no one knew they would use planes" why did she want Fed AVIATION

Agency to meet about terrorism?

Just kinda fucking wondering.

[TomClash]

11. But I'm sure she remembers that shoe buying spree in New York nt

[Dem2theMax]

12. Condi, of the "I cannot tell a lie" repuke party.

Oh wait. She CAN! She CAN!

Anyone live in Wash. D.C.? I'd like it if you could drive by the White House.
I'd be curious as to the revolutions per minute going on in that building.
I imagine it's so fast, the building itself is spinning. :evilgrin:

[dbt]

13. I thought St. Patrick cast all the snakes OUT of Ireland!

How the hell did this one get in? And if she is allowed to remain, won't more of the damn things start showing up?

:evilgrin:
dbt
Remember New Orleans
And pull me a pint...

[annabanana]

14. Where did ~"hair on fire"~ come from?

Why do I remember this quote? Wasn't it established during the 9/11 Commission that people were desperately trying to get their attention? What am I missing?

[maddezmom]

17. Richard Clarke...link here

'Hair on fire'
Clarke said that “on June 21, I believe it was, George Tenet called me and said, 'I don't think we're getting the message through. These people aren't acting the way the Clinton people did under similar circumstances.' And I suggested to Tenet that he come down and personally brief Condi Rice, that he bring his terrorism team with him.

“And we sat in the national security adviser's office. And I've used the phrase in the book to describe George Tenet's warnings as ‘He had his hair on fire.’ He was about as excited as I'd ever seen him.

“And he said, ‘Something is going to happen.’”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4619346/

[annabanana]

23. Is this the meeting that the talking heads are saying

"why haven't we heard about this until today?" Didn't Clarke say this to the commission? Wasn't it in the report? Or are they talking about some other meeting that's just come to light?

[maddezmom]

31. I'm not sure what meeting, but here's link from 911 testimony

I'm going to re-read the whole thing today and try to figure it out, but I have to run and pick up my son at school. warning it's a long snip. :)

~snip~



KOJM: The Blue Sky memo itself was not apparently discussed with the incoming top Bush administration officials during the transition. The counterterrorism center began pressing these proposals after the new team took office.

The Bush administration: The CIA briefed President-elect George W. Bush and the incoming national security officials on covert action programs in Afghanistan. Deputy DCI McLaughlin said that he walked through the elements of the Al Qaida problem with National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, including an explanation of the special authority signed by President Clinton.

DCI Tenet and Deputy Director for Operations Pavitt gave an intelligence briefing to President-elect Bush, Vice President-elect Cheney and Dr. Rice, which included the topic of Al Qaida. Pavitt recalled conveying that bin Laden was one of the gravest threats to the country. President-elect Bush asked whether killing bin Laden would end the problem. Pavitt said he and the DCI answered that killing bin Laden would have an impact but not stop the threat.

The CIA later provided more formal assessments to the White House reiterating that conclusion. It added that the only long-term way to deal with the threat was to end Al Qaida's ability to use Afghanistan as a sanctuary for its operations arming the Predator.

During the fall of 2000 Clarke and other counterterrorism officials learned of a promising and energetic Air Force effort that was already trying to arm the Predator with missiles. Clarke and Assistant DCI Allen urged flying the reconnaissance version of the Predator in the spring as soon as the weather improved and using the armed Predator against bin Laden as soon as possible.

DCI Tenet, supported by military officers and the joint staff, balked at this plan. They did not want to go ahead with reconnaissance flights alone and argued for waiting until the armed version was ready before flying Predator again.

Given the experience in the fall of 2000 they worried that flying the reconnaissance version would forfeit the element of surprise for the armed Predator. They also feared one of these scarce aircraft might be shot down since Taliban radar had previously tracked it, forcing it into a more vulnerable flight path. They also contended that there were not enough Predators to be able to conduct reconnaissance flights over Afghanistan and still have aircraft leftover for the testing then under way in the United States to develop the armed version.

Clarke believed that these arguments were stalling tactics by CIA's risk-adverse directorate of operations. He wanted the reconnaissance flights to begin on their own, both for collection and to allow for possible strikes with other military forces.

KOJM: He thought the reconnaissance flights could be conducted with fewer aircraft than had been used in 2000 so that testing on the armed version might continue.

DCI Tenet's position prevailed: The reconnaissance flights were deferred while work continued on the armed version.

The armed Predator was being readied at an accelerated pace during 2001. The Air Force officials who managed the program told us that the policy arguments, including quarrels about who would pay for the aircraft, had no effect on their timetable for operations. The timetable was instead driven by a variety of technical issues.

A program that ordinarily would have taken years was, they said, finished in months. They were, quote, "throwing out the books on the normal acquisition process just to press on and get it done," end of quote.

In July, Deputy National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley ordered that the armed Predator be ready by September 1st. CIA officials supported these accelerated efforts. The Air Force program manager told us that they were still resolving technical issues as of 9/11 and, quote, "We just took what we had and deployed it," end of quote.

Meanwhile, policy-makers were arguing about the unprecedented step of creating a missile system for use by an agency outside of the Department of Defense. DCI Tenet was concerned.

At a meeting of NSC principals on September 4th, National Security Adviser Rice summarized the consensus that the armed Predator was not ready, but that the capability was needed. The group left open issues related to command and control.

In the meantime, the principals committee agreed the CIA should consider going ahead with flying reconnaissance missions with the Predator. Shortly after the meeting, DCI Tenet agreed to proceed with such flights.

Developing a new strategy: The new administration's policy review apparently began in March and continued throughout the spring and summer of 2001.

At the end of May, National Security Adviser Rice met with DCI Tenet and their counterterrorism experts. She asked about, quote, "taking the offensive," end of quote, against Al Qaida and asked Clarke and the counterterrorism center chief, Cofer Black, to develop a full range of options.

A plan for a larger covert action effort was a major component of the new Al Qaida strategy, codified in a draft presidential directive that was first circulated in early June.

The emerging covert action plan built upon the ideas the CIA and Clarke had been working on since December 2000. A notable change was that Rice and Hadley wanted to place less emphasis on the Northern Alliance and more on anti-Taliban Pashtuns. Clarke was impatient to get at least some money to the Northern Alliance right away in order to keep them in the fight.

more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20349-2004Mar24.html

[MagickMuffin]

16. Why should I believe anything she has to say.

You can tell when she's lying by watching her head shake back and forth. Watch her sometime and you will see what I'm talking about....


On May 16th, 2002, Rice said “I don't think anybody could have predicted that these people would take an airplane and slam it into the World Trade Center, take another one and slam it into the Pentagon.
No one predicted that they would try to use an airplane as a missile, a hijacked airplane as a missile,"
CBS News, 5/17/02.

But according to the bipartisan 9/11 commission report, “intelligence reports from December 1998 until the attacks said followers of bin Laden were planning to strike U.S. targets, hijack U.S. planes, and two individuals had successfully evaded checkpoints in a dry run at a New York airport,”
Reuters, 7/24/03

More specifically, “White House officials acknowledged that U.S. intelligence officials informed President Bush weeks before the Sept. 11 attacks that bin Laden's terrorist network might try to hijack American planes.”
ABC News, 5/16/03

“I believe the title was 'Bin Laden Determined To Attack Inside the United States.'”

[Frank Cannon]

20. They're all pretty bad liars, but Condi is, hands-down, the worst

And yes, I have noticed that she jerks around like a seizing chihuahua whenever she stretches/exaggerates/aborts the truth. It's quite fascinating to watch, actually. I'd love to play poker with the woman sometime.

[MagickMuffin]

49. We must be on the same wave length

I'm in the process of uploading my comic that I decided to devote to this topic.

One of my reoccurring characters is ChiChiHuaHua.

You should check it out!

[schmuls]

121. Her face is becoming more and more demon like. Thats what

happens when your lies corrupt your insides. Lying isn't one of the ten commandments for nothin'! The Picture of Kind-A-Sleezy Grey!

[LynnTheDem]

43. And why does she now say she wanted a meeting w the Fed AVIATION

Agency about terrorism?

[MagickMuffin]

61. Does she mention when she wanted this meeting?

Before or after the attacks....

From the article:
"I remember that George was very worried and he expressed that," Rice told reporters. "We were all very worried because the threat reporting was quite intense. The problem was that it was also quite nebulous."

1. hazy, vague, indistinct, or confused: a nebulous recollection of the meeting; a nebulous distinction between pride and conceit.

If you look up Nebulous you'll see a pic of Condi Nebulous Rice.....

[bdamomma]

153. I would love to see Barbara Boxer have another cat fight with her

[shadowknows69]

18. Since it would be wrong of me to do so.

Will some lady DUer, and I will still consider you a lady, call this woman the C-word for us? Even if just out loud to yourself.

[mithnanthy]

24. My pleasure...

Done!

[soothsayer]

30. Seconded!

[Dervill Crow]

94. And done again, although not out loud since I'm at work.

I would bet, though, that the projection of the thought was vehement and long reaching enough that she felt it.

[Maeve]

107. Sorry, dear--there is no worse C-word than "Condi"! eom

[shadowknows69]

122. Brilliant!!

The NEW C-Word. "Can you believe she did that? What an evil Condi"

[havocmom]

19. Rice taking a page from Rumsfeld's excuse playbook

Can't remember - the all purpose non-denial denial

[0007]

32. What was the cat fight about with Boxer & Condi?

When Boxer called Condi a liar indirectly, and Condi got pushed out of shape.

[havocmom]

44. Condi doesn't do reality well

When one challenges a delusional individual's concept of reality, they get belligerent. Boxer knows that ;) Set Rice up like a bowling pin.

[0007]

48. I remember the hearing with Rice coming un-glued but I forgot

the issue. Can you clue me in or direct me to the transcript?

[MellowOne]

92. So she doesn't remember her Confirmation hearing?

Barbara Boxer and Kerry both drilled her about the warnings received before 9/11. At that time, she remember them well as she constantly defended herself and patted herself on the back.

[0007]

130. Gotta 'ya....thanks

[Thoreau-Ly]

56. It's Like the GOP is Afflicted

With non-reality based Alzheimer's.

"No one could have anticipated planes attacking the United States."

Except the Pentagon, the FBI, the CIA, the Russians, the Chinese, the Europeans, the Eastern Europeans...

No one could have anticipated the worst Administration in American History.

Condi isn't even worth being compared to a vagina.

Viva la revolucion, neocon Assholes!

Oops, did I say that? Time to "disappear." Right, Dick?

[Felinity]

69. Here's a quote from their spin/playbook

"Say you sue me because you say my dog bit you. Well, now this is my defense: My dog doesn't bite. And second, in the alternative, my dog was tied up that night. And third, I don't believe you really got bit. And fourth I don't have a dog."

Richard "Racehorse" Haynes
Texas Criminal Attorney

[Thoreau-Ly]

71. Righto.

I love the one that goes something like this.

I saw my neighbor standing on her lawn, waving her arms madly.

I went up to her and said, "What the devil are you doing?"

She says, "I'm keeping away the tigers."

"There aren't any tigers around here."

"See, it works!"

[ihelpu2see]

21. Ah yes, the ever popular Reagan defense. "I don't recall." but you see

he had a medical reason.... Whats yours "Dr." Condi???

[rodeodance]

26. she was 'out of the loop"

[Anakin Skywalker]

143. What Loop? Fruit Loop?

[leesa]

25. Oh Boy....that's gotta be the stinkiest lie on record. " I don't remember

the meeting, but it definitely wasn't about this."

[rodeodance]

27. Great AP headline--keeping the Iraq issue alive.

[rodeodance]

28. Rice referred to the session as "the supposed meeting"

.....Rice referred to the session as "the supposed meeting" and noted that it is not part of the independent Sept. 11 Commission's report.

"I remember that George was very worried and he expressed that," Rice told reporters. "We were all very worried because the threat reporting was quite intense. The problem was that it was also quite nebulous."

Rice, who was promoted to secretary of state in Bush's second term, also said she never argued that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld should be fired. The book's suggestion that Rumsfeld would not take her calls is "ludicrous," Rice said.

Rumsfeld and Rice are not close, and he is often considered her rival in administration decision making. Woodward wrote that then-White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card twice tried to get Bush to sack Rumsfeld and replace him with Bush family counselor James A. Baker III, and that both then-Secretary of State Colin Powell and Rice backed the plan.

Woodward interviewed Rice for his new book.

[CdnObserver]

111. She actually referred to him as "George"?

What happened to protocol, Madame Secretary?

[colorado_ufo]

145. At least she didn't refer to him as "my husband."

[tanyev]

29. These poor Republicans. People with such bad memories

shouldn't have to get up and run a country every day; they should be looking for skilled neurologists. Maybe we can help some of them out in November and give them more time to take care of their health.

[Wretched Refuse]

39. NOPE

No wonderful health package for US citizens to pick up the tab on.
They will be hung like the dirty dog tratiros they are.
Just 2 question for her, only one for everyone else.
1) What kind of rope Nylon or Hemp
2) Which designer shoes does she want to be wearing when we hang her be her heels like Mussolini?

Have a good day Condi, the game is afoot.

GUILLOTINE!!!

[NoodleyAppendage]

33. Blood on her hands. Burn in Hell you twisted bitch...

Rice's inaction before 9/11 makes her complicit in the deaths of over 2500 Americans that fateful day. I hope her soul is tormented for the rest of her pitiful, self-loathing life.

J

[Wretched Refuse]

38. No long lifers

Just 2 questions:
What kind of rope, Nylon or hemp
Which of the fancy New York designer shoes would you like to be wearing when we hang you from your heels like Mussolini?

There is no long life after all they have treasoned.
OFF WITH THEIR HEADS. GUILLOTINE!

[GeorgeGist]

34. Condi ...

you needn't explain that you don't know shit about your job.

[LynnTheDem]

37. rice "can't recall" any warning.

Well that's ok then.

:eyes:

[ChairmanAgnostic]

40. i really don't know, I am certain of - - - what is that shit?

A historical statement to match the historical document a month later?

[Mistahkleeen]

46. ROTFLMBAO

Wow, It's 9:38AM. I can say with confidence that I will not have a bigger laugh for the rest of the day. Is this chick SERIOUS???????

[Julius Civitatus]

47. Republicans have entered the "I do not recall" phase

Notice that when Republicans get in deep trouble, their last resource is to claim "selective amnesia."

They are desperate, and shameless too.

[The Count]

51. All she recalls is that Clinton lied....and the shoes. The rest is blurry

What was that guy - Bagdad Bob? Has nothing on Condi!

[wicket]

52. L-I-A-R!!!!!

[leveymg]

54. Tenet had at least 8 meetings w/Bush in the 3 weeks before 9/11,

some on key dates, and lied to the 9/11 Commission about their not ever having happened. See, 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. Levey
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:

SNIP

[CrispyQ]

55. You guys are being too hard on her.

Ya know at these meetings it is probably Condi who gets the job of keeping Georgie entertained & in his chair. That along with the constant reminders to him on how many more minutes until bathroom break & it's no wonder she missed a thing or two. :eyes:

They should just hire a nanny for jr. Not that Condi would do any better of a job then! ;)

[leveymg]

58. CIA Counterterror Center Director Cofer Black also at meeting w/Rice

Cofer Black is extremely central figure in the chain of events leading up to the 9/11 attack. See, http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/6/10/105125/910

Perjury by CIA Counterterrorism Center Director - the Blocked Memo
by leveymg
Fri Jun 10, 2005 at 07:51:25 AM PDT
June 10, 2005. The LA Times reports that in early 2000, the CIA intentionally withheld a memo from the FBI that reported the entry of key 9/11 hijackers into the US. See: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-te ...

In his testimony before the Joint Congressional Intelligence Committee in September 2002, former head of the CIA Counter-Terrorism Center (CTC) stated under oath that his office had inadvertently neglected to inform the FBI when it became known in early 2000 that Flight 77 hijacker, Nawaf al-Midhar, had entered the U.S. However, it was revealed yesterday that a memo informing the FBI had actually been drafted at CTC, but an order was issued blocking transmission of that information.

leveymg's diary :: ::
In this sworn testimony, Cofer Black stated that he and Agency staff had simply missed the importance of reports that know al-Qaeda terrorists had entered the US after attending an al-Qaeda planning summit. According to Black, then CTC director -- who after 9/11 was promoted by President Bush to head State Department Counterterrorism -- the CIA Center failed to pass this information on to the FBI in early 2000 because staff were distracted and overworked. For more information see:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/03/03/01_ ...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/02/09/p/2 ...
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0310/S00257.htm

However, as we learned yesterday, Black's testimony to Congress was a material misrepresentation of what is the most important question that Congress had for the CIA. Why wasn't the FBI informed in a timely way of this obviously critical development in tracking known al-Qaeda terrorists?

As ranking officer at CTC, Cofer Black was in a position to know about the Center's memo that had been prepared for transmittal to the FBI at the time. He was also clearly in the chain of command that would decide to block the memo's transmission to the FBI. Nonetheless, Black told Congressional investigators something quite different, and his testimony under oath before the Joint Committee was patently false, in light of the facts that were released yesterday.

US intelligence first became aware of Nawaf Al-Midhar in 1995, when he was referenced in a telephone call from a major al-Qaeda communications center in Yemen intercepted by the NSA. That communications post was run by Nawaf's uncle. The Al-Midhar family has long been prominent within the militant Yemeni Islamic opposition. Osama bin Laden's family is originally from Yemen, which has been the center of armed opposition to westerners for many decades since the British occupied the key port city of Aden and built a huge naval base there, which in the late 1990s was again visited by US naval forces after a long absence. This was viewed as a serious provocation by local Islamic radicals. The USS Cole was blown up in Aden harbour in October, 2000 during a "refueling stop".

In January 2000, The Agency had trailed the al-Midhar and his partner, Khalid al-Hazmi, as they traveled to a meeting with top al-Qaeda planners in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. That meeting. at which 9/11 and the bombing of the USS Cole were planned, was surveilled by multiple US and allied intelligence agencies. Al-Hazmi and Al-Midhar reentered the US on the same flight from Bangkok on January 15, 2000.

Somehow -- and this has been a major gap in the record -- the CIA neglected to notify FBI of the entry.

Now we know that this failure to notify the FBI was no oversight. A command decision was taken by the CIA -- Director Tenet had been briefed on multiple occasions about al-Midhar and al-Hazmi and the Kuala Lumpur meeting. The only question that remains is, why did the CIA allow known al-Qaeda terrorists to run free across the US, and complete their mission on 9/11?

SNIP

[Tight_rope]

62. So Condi wants to act like she has selective memory. Shame! Shame!

[Tippy]

63. Poor Woman was in the dark.....

She should have listened when she was told to get her head out of the Presients a_ _........

[BrklynLiberal]

64. Should someone with such a "bad" memory be in such a high govt position?

:crazy: :silly: :wtf: :shrug:

[hedgehog]

149. I knew someone on this thread would beat me to this comment!

I second the motion. If you can't identify and remember vital information when it is handed to you, get out of the job!

[raggedcompany]

65. How convenient indeed.

We can thank Reagan for the "I can't recall" defense. In his case, he may NOT have remembered, because his (already small) brain was being eaten away by Alzheimers...but still.

Rice is lying traitor.

[Canuckistanian]

66. Setting up a "Scooter" defense strategy?

It's the old "I couldn't posssibly remember this meeting or that briefing because I was terribly busy looking after OTHER, MORE IMPORTANT matters.

Now, where the Hell is Tenet on this? Why isn't he talking? He's being slandered and insulted right and left (literally) for either his "slam dunk" or his "I got the brush-off from Condi".

When does he set the record straight?

[valerief]

67. No one in this administration ever remembers anything important

or ever reads anything important. Friggin' shoe shoppers.

[19jet54]

70. Small Child Behavior

A small child will do most anything to get out of trouble when caught; some little girls never grow up, Dr. Rice?

[NotGivingUp]

72. she shouldn't be holding such an important position if she

can't remember an IMPORTANT FRIGGING FACT like that! this is a completely ridiculous.

[bif]

73. If her memory is that shitty...

She shouldn't be in the position she's in.

[Thoreau-Ly]

77. Yes, But It Isn't.

So she's obviously a liar.

Someone should ask your question, though. I don't think it's that hard to remember details that related to the death of thousands of people.

Oh, I forgot. They don't care about human life.

[young_at_heart]

76. Doesn't exactly inspire confidence!

We'd like to think our "leaders" have the ability to remember important details.

[Supersedeas]

78. A Meeting in July that really puts her 'historical' reading of the Aug PDB

in perspective...doesn't it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When will the U.S. corp media connect the two--July Meeting (grave danger of attack) and her bogus reading/interpretation of the August PDB?

[Jawja]

84. The corp media no doubt understands

the connection between the two, but refuses to investigate or report on it.

[progressivebydesign]

79. What are they grooming her for lately? Lots of TV time.. denials..

Sounds like they're trying to fix up her image. Run for Prez perhaps? VP?

[Neecy]

80. I'm reading Woodward's book now...

I got it yesterday and I'm only about a third of the way through it, but Condi so far doesn't come out well at all. She comes off as detached, incompetent, disorganized, and too interested in running interference for chimpy than doing the nuts and bolts of her job.

Certainly no one gets off lightly in this book, but by far I think Rice takes the biggest hit in it. And about time.

[NVMojo]

81. drug test the liar!!!

[IndianaGreen]

87. Perhaps Condi can go into rehab with Foley

when all things fail, blame it on the evil alcohol.

[azurnoir]

82. She's learned her lessons well

pick a lie and stick to it no matter what, create doubt and confusion, even if they don't quite believe you they won't quite disbelieve you either, this principle has kept the GOP in power for 6 years now.

[truthisfreedom]

85. condoliar sleezy.

[Cleita]

88. What's the matter with these people? Don't they take notes?

For a gang that is as forgetful as them, they should really take notes. How, did Condi get her PhD without taking notes?

She's damned if she forgets and damned if she's lying. She needs to give up the game and come clean. If she doesn't do this voluntarily, either Congress or a court of law should put her under oath and wring it out of her.

[MiniMe]

89. If she can't remember something like that...should she be Sec of State?

[meuniermr]

90. Your right shadowknows,

Ms. Rice is one of the few people that deserves to be called a running cunt.

[Stevendsmith]

93. But I thought she was "scary smart" ????? (n/t)

[Imagevision]

95. It's obvious Rice has selective memory...

[Pachamama]

96. It must suck to be not just a liar, but to have selective memory and the

need to also cover up and keep up with the lies....

Guess what Condi....the truth is catchin up with all of you!!

Someday, someday justice will be served and the whole world will know THE TRUTH!!!

[RedEarth]

97. Rice: No Memory of CIA Warning of Attack

AP) Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she cannot recall then-CIA chief George Tenet warning her of an impending al-Qaida attack in the United States, as a new book claims he did two months before the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

"What I am quite certain of is that I would remember if I was told, as this account apparently says, that there was about to be an attack in the United States, and the idea that I would somehow have ignored that I find incomprehensible," Rice said.

Rice was President Bush's national security adviser in 2001, when Bob Woodward's book "State of Denial" outlines a July 10 meeting among Rice, Tenet and the CIA's top counterterror officer.

"I don't know that this meeting took place, but what I really don't know, what I'm quite certain of, is that it was not a meeting in which I was told there was an impending attack and I refused to respond," Rice said.

Speaking to reporters en route to Saudi Arabia and other stops in the Middle East, Rice said she met with Tenet daily at that point, and has no memory of the wake-up call from Tenet described in the book. "It kind of doesn't ring true that you have to shock me into something I was very involved in," Rice said.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/02/ap/politics/mainD8KGJN3O0.shtml

[wakeme2008]

98. Liar Liar Pants on Fire.....

but these are weasel words she did not say it DID NOT HAPPEN..

[mrcheerful]

99. Like Condi lice would admit that she knew about it and then decided to

ignore the information. Yeah and Santa is bringing me a wittle red wagon and a pony for x-mas.

[Eurobabe]

100. Kindasleazy has selective memory

eom

[RadiDem]

101. She probably had her mind on something more important to her - Shopping -n

[judaspriestess]

104. This is a travesty and a grave injustice to this country

Cuntileeza is a disgusting vile human being

[Supersedeas]

105. Polite...maybe...but do you feel the brush off in her answer??

<<"It kind of doesn't ring true that you have to shock me into something I was very involved in," Rice said.>>

kind of -- doesn't ring true -- that you 'have to' shock me -- into 'something' -- I was very 'involved in'


Gawd, her statements are so full of vagaries and forced ambiguities -- you are not even sure that she is denying anything.

'Kind of' like a polite brush off (also referred to in the article).

[daleo]

106. A non-denial denial.

She had the warning, all right. "I don't remember" is the last refuge of a scoundrel.

[Orsino]

108. How soon before she checks into rehab? n/t

[Old and In the Way]

109. Check this memo to Rice from Clarke on 1/25/01 !!!

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB147/clarke%20memo.pdf

n a September 25 interview, Rice told the New York Post, "We were not left a comprehensive strategy to fight al-Qaida," adding that, "Nobody organized this country or the international community to fight the terrorist threat that was upon us until 9/11."

From the memo:


"Attached is the year-end 2000 strategy on al Qida developed by the last administration to give to you. Also attached is the 1998 strategy. Neither was a "covert action only" approach."

So there was continuity on fighting terrorism. It's just that they simply ignored it. Why? They were too busy planning their hotile takeover of Iraq National Oil.

Gross incomptence and perjury. For this, Condi gets a major league promotion to Secretary of State. What is wrong with this picture?

[Supersedeas]

112. Promotion: the Price of Blind Loyalty

[underpants]

115. yes but SINCE 9/11....

See that is the key and always has been SINCE 9/11 they planted that one a long time ago. It won't work this paper tiger is coming down.

[zara]

113. How would she possibly be expected to remember something...

something that was followed two months later by the deaths of 3000 Americans?

[classysassy]

114. "The lady is a tramp"

a lying tramp.

[raysr]

116. "Steve Martin"

"I 'forgot' bank robbery was against the law!" Old comedy bit of his.

[katty]

117. Selective Memory of GOP-ah, yes, 'the loss of memory' defense

[barb162]

118. No memory ? Yeah, right.

Sure Condi. Yep.
:eyes:

[Ilsa]

119. Condi was listening for a link between "Shoes" and "Sale".

Nothing else even came close.

(I know she's rich, but who can pass up a good shoe sale?)

[Booster]

123. If she can't remember something that important, she's a real

danger to the security of the United States and needs to go.

[CottonBear]

124. She's a war criminal who should be in prison at The Hague. n/t

[Thor_MN]

125. Practicing for her Tribunal...

"Your Honors, I have no recollection of the event at this time."

[davekriss]

126. I have no recollection of x...

...is tantamount to admitted the truth of x in politico-speak. Condalizard, you are busted! :spank:

[Zenlitened]

128. The State Department now admits the meeting took place.

:mad:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2541323

[Supersedeas]

148. more willful ignorance -- to delay and hope the Media goes elsewhere

[maddem]

129. Rice

What a shock!

[Imagevision]

131. Well that's it, you've heard it, Rice simply "can't remember" - this

broad needs to be held accountable and investigated yesterday while sepertating the truth from Rice's selective memory...

[mahatmakanejeeves]

132. Culinary Institute of America?

Jeepers, they certainly didn't come to see us.

[minnesota_liberal]

133. Deny the report, discount it (or its source), claim to have not seen it,

insist that you can't remember or blame the media for covering it.

The main neo-fascist approaches to dealing with reports that conflict with their warped view of reality.

[Ksec]

134. I dont remember

convenient republican excuse.

Of course she does. She just wishes she couldnt remember.

[samsingh]

135. so is she a liar, an imbecile or both

i say both, and worse.

a lot of people have died because of her criminal and traitorous incompetance.

[Up2Late]

136. She should Check 2004 videos from The Daily Show that are starting...

...to reappear at YouTube!

Here's a few:

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCmXCviuYZ4>

Part 2 of the above video:

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2GBa49Ox6I>

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy_JOIASY50>

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ir0xGduk3io>

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ynda6YGoEaU>

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4sNxVVVdGY>

Their are more if you search for them.

[enigmatic]

137. Could you make this it's own thread?

This is fantastic stuff; Condi lying on camera again and again. Thanks for this!

[tom_paine]

138. Liar. She REMEMBERS.

You bet your ass she does.

[w4rma]

139. Maybe she has Alzheimer's as Reagan did when he "forgot" important things.

:sarcasm:

[Thor_MN]

141. No memory of it, but she didn't brush the briefing off....

The dissonance of the GOP is becoming deafening.

[Anakin Skywalker]

142. I Forgot What I Had For Breakfast Yesterday

but then, I am not part of the team in charge of the Free World.

[zonkers]

146. Tragicallly, Rice is the victim of Manchurian Canadidate brainwashing.f

[Octafish]

147. If it wasn't about Russian oil or Star Wars, she can't remember squat.

Osama who?

[depakid]

150. Tell it to The Hague

'cause that's where you are going. Maybe not tomorrow- maybe not in 2010 but by 2015, better mke your reservations.

[0007]

151. What a gal!

I was at the bench that day with my husband...'tis hard to remember everything...

[bdamomma]

152. Once a liar always a liar.

[BigDDem]

154. The Medal of Freedom will be hers in no time.

[Emillereid]

155. Perhaps the Kool-aid the repukes drink causes alzheimers.

None of them seem to have a functioning memory.