Americans Accept Clarke's Criticism of Bush

[Chango]

WASHINGTON - Most Americans accept Richard Clarke's key criticisms of President Bush's anti-terrorism record, but a majority also believe that politics influenced the timing of the attacks by the former White House aide, a Times poll has found.

Nearly three-fifths of those surveyed echoed the contention by Clarke that Bush placed a higher priority on invading Iraq than combating terrorism. And a smaller majority agreed with the charge by the onetime White House counterterrorism chief that Bush did not focus enough on the terrorist threat before the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

......

In a potentially ominous sign for the White House, most independents agreed with Clarke on both questions. Over three-fifths of independents said Iraq has been a higher priority for Bush than fighting terrorism, while just under three-fifths said he did not pay enough attention at first to the terrorist threat.

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-poll1apr01,1,948618.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[Oilwellian]

1. They may not be so accepting after this hits the airwaves

Top Focus On 911 Wasn't Terrorism

On Sept. 11, 2001, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice was scheduled to outline a Bush administration policy that would address "the threats and problems of today and the day after, not the world of yesterday" -- but the focus was largely on missile defense, not terrorism from Islamic radicals.

The speech provides telling insight into the administration's thinking on the very day that the United States suffered the most devastating attack since the 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor. The address was designed to promote missile defense as the cornerstone of a new national security strategy, and contained no mention of al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden or Islamic extremist groups, according to former U.S. officials who have seen the text.

The speech was postponed in the chaos of the day, part of which Rice spent in a bunker. It mentioned terrorism, but did so in the context used in other Bush administration speeches in early 2001: as one of the dangers from rogue nations, such as Iraq, that might use weapons of terror, rather than from the cells of extremists now considered the main security threat to the United States.

The text also implicitly challenged the Clinton administration's policy, saying it did not do enough about the real threat -- long-range missiles.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40697-2004Mar31.html

[truthisfreedom]

6. which is EXACTLY why we invaded Iraq to retaliate for 9-11. because of all

of those dang long-range BALLISTIC MISSILES that saddam was hiding in his SPIDER HOLE.

[grannylib]

2. Keep those facts and figures coming...sooner or later people will

start to see through the lies and bullshit and propaganda and spin that these death-dealing warmongers keep trying to feed us.

[Turbineguy]

3. Another BBS of which I am a Member

has a fair number of conservatives (to call them freepers whould be unfair and unkind) on it but they have been deafening in their silence over the events of recent days. In the mean time, us lefties just keep on posting.....

[Chango]

4. Whatt BB might that be?

eom.

[Turbineguy]

5. It's a small list serve of a professional group.

nothing the scale of DU.

maybe 250 people, most of them lurkers.

[tableturner]

7. Word is getting out...

With all the explosion on this issue and the unrelenting news coverage, the public is being exposed to what was in Woodward's book, what Gen. Hugh Shelton said, and other information, all corroborating Clarke's contentions. For a few days after 60 Minutes and Clarke's testimony, there was a boomlet in favor of Bush, but now the word is getting out.

[cliss]

8. Yup, I would say the verdict is in....

and Americans have finally heard. (it took some doing, though). I thought the message was never going to get through.

In the past few weeks, though, it's apparent that the relentless hammering away that the Democrats have done apparently has had an effect.

It's the theory of rocks + water. It just took some time.

[BadGimp]

9. Why did the administration hold up the book's release date?

It was originally due out in Dec.

Could the * Admin Rovian demons calculated they could dismiss it if it came out during of before the hearings? If so they guessed right huh.

[xxqqqzme]

10. well, hell yes - the man is

credible. Doesn't gesture wildly ala Rummy, doesn't try to look @ anyone through his eyebrows ala condisleeza and he doesn't have a smirk! The man obviously is an unskilled liar!

add: I like 'a smaller majority' WTF is a smaller majority...53 instead of 54? That is RW spin if ever I saw it!

[DeepModem Mom]

11. What's wrong with politically motivated?

The man saw firsthand what a boob Bush is, and how misguided and incompetent this administration is, and wants the lot of them out of our White House -- as do a lot of Americans. Thanks again, Richard Clarke!