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paulthompson Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-20-04 09:29 PM
Original message
Newsweek: 9/11: Who Was Really In Charge?
Some interesting bits:

But the question of Cheney's behavior that day is one of many new issues raised in the remarkably detailed, chilling account laid out in dramatic presentations by the 9-11 Commission. NEWSWEEK has learned that some on the commission staff were, in fact, highly skeptical of the vice president's account and made their views clearer in an earlier draft of their staff report. According to one knowledgeable source, some staffers "flat out didn't believe the call ever took place." When the early draft conveying that skepticism was circulated to the administration, it provoked an angry reaction. In a letter from White House lawyers last Tuesday and a series of phone calls, the White House vigorously lobbied the commission to change the language in its report. "We didn't think it was written in a way that clearly reflected the accounting the president and vice president had given to the commission," White House spokesman Dan Bartlett told NEWSWEEK. Ultimately the chairman and vice chair of the commission, former New Jersey governor Thomas Kean and former representative Lee Hamilton—both of whom have sought mightily to appear nonpartisan—agreed to remove some of the offending language. The report "was watered down," groused one staffer.

The vice president also reasserted his belief that a long-alleged meeting between 9/11 hijacker Muhammad Atta and an Iraqi intel agent on April 9, 2001, in Prague might have occurred. Some 9/11 staffers said they were astonished by this: their report, citing cell-phone records, concludes unambiguously that Atta could not have been in Prague on that date; he was in Florida. (NEWSWEEK has also learned that Czech investigators and U.S. intelligence have obtained corroborated evidence which they believe shows that the Iraqi spy who allegedly met Atta was away from Prague on that day.)

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5251871/site/newsweek/

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paulthompson Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-20-04 09:30 PM
Response to Original message
1. And a bit more...
This is from the 9/11 Commission press conference on 6/17:

Q Is it possible that Vice President Cheney issued the shoot down order prior to conferring with President Bush?

MR. KEAN: Well, the testimony we have is from the president and from the vice president and from Condi Rice, who says she overheard part of that phone call. The phone logs don't exist, because they evidently got so fouled up in communications that the phone logs have nothing. So that's the evidence we have.

MR. HAMILTON: There's no documentary evidence here. And the only evidence you have is the statement of the president and the vice president, which was that the president gave the order to shoot down.

Q Are you at all disturbed at how that was carried out?

MR. HAMILTON: Well, I'm not sure it was carried out.
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mom cat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-20-04 09:49 PM
Response to Reply #1
3. Since the order came after all the planes had crashed, I think the larger
question is : Who ordered the delay in the action?
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T Bone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-20-04 09:58 PM
Response to Reply #1
4. Phone logs all fouled up or tell a truth they don't want known
I go with the latter. Probably truth about something that would bring them down or at very best make them look totally inept and incompetent. Probably shows them incapable of using a telephone without a secretary putting through a call for them first.
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Just Me Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-20-04 09:41 PM
Response to Original message
2. LIHOP
Maybe even MIHOP (and given the depth of corruption of this administration,...I am totally open to that possibility,...it's just a matter of any substantive proof).
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IthinkThereforeIAM Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-20-04 10:28 PM
Response to Reply #2
6. That's why...

... the phone logs are missing. So many documents and pieces of evidence are "missing" or "we were so busy they got all fouled up", or "we didnt have legal precedent to save those and they were destroyed three months after the incident"....etc....etc...etc :eyes: it makes me want to :puke: that we have been suckered into this runaround game.

It also gives me hope that the wheels of justice are indeed grinding slowly and that the trap is being set for this elaborate ruse that has been foisted upon the world, driven by greed and deep self-righteousness.
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AndyTiedye Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-21-04 01:20 AM
Response to Reply #6
10. I Bet the Phone Logs Got Fouled Up At Least 15-18 Times
did they get Rosemary Woods' dictating machine out of storage?
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TahitiNut Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-20-04 10:20 PM
Response to Original message
5. Cheney is in charge ... and Lynn just assumed she was 2nd in command
I keep wondering why there hasn't been outrage at Lynn's interference that day. Just WTF was she doing in the sit-room? Who the hell elected her?
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glitch Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-21-04 01:26 AM
Response to Reply #5
11. who the hell elected any ot them?
never mind, rhetorical.
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DeepModem Mom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-21-04 02:22 AM
Response to Reply #5
12. All reports of Bush's words and behavior on 9/11...
make it clear that no one, including George Bush himself, expected that he would be making decisions in the midst of the crisis. I remember him quoted as saying on that day that it looked like we were in a "minor war," and "somebody's going to pay." This is the juvenile, simple-minded level of his thinking, on a day that called for fast, smart thought and action aimed at protecting the country, after the deaths of thousands of Americans.

As you say, TN, Cheney is in charge, and was in charge on 9/11 (as Lynn knew well).
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seemslikeadream Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-20-04 10:29 PM
Response to Original message
7. 9/11 Tapes Reveal Ground Personnel Muffled Attacks-Rummy changed procedure
Edited on Sun Jun-20-04 11:06 PM by seemslikeadream
9/11 Tapes Reveal Ground Personnel Muffled Attacks-Rummy changed procedure

http://www.observer.com/pages/frontpage2.asp

What’s more, the decades-old procedure for a quick response by the nation’s air defense had been changed in June of 2001. Now, instead of NORAD’s military commanders being able to issue the command to launch fighter jets, approval had to be sought from the civilian Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld. This change is extremely significant, because Mr. Rumsfeld claims to have been "out of the loop" nearly the entire morning of 9/11. He isn’t on the record as having given any orders that morning. In fact, he didn’t even go to the White House situation room; he had to walk to the window of his office in the Pentagon to see that the country’s military headquarters was in flames.

-
For literally years, I've been questioning why NORAD behaved completely contrary to what everyone who'd been associated with it for the previous 50 years would have expected in a situation like this. Yes, the media reported NORAD never trained for this scenario, but others tell me NORAD trains for UFO landings (and was not attempting to be making a joke). That they train for every conceivable situation. But what was the other explanation, then?

The explanation is that Rumsfeld changed the procedures so that fighter launches went through him. And ONLY HIM. Meaning that when Cheney tried to relay Bush's orders to get fighters in the air (btw: I don't easily buy the 'technical problems' stuff - it really sounds like Cheney simply tried to take over the chain of command with Bush's highly misguided blessing), they were either not believed, or blatantly disobeyed because they did not come from either the President, or Rumsfeld himself.


dansolo

Arrogance and incompetence will also explain it

While I am a believer of LIHOP, I am willing to believe that Rumsfeld took over control of the procedure purely because of his arrogant god-complex, where he feels like he should be in control of everything. He probably never conceived of being out-of-the-loop. It is a much harder sell to convince people of LIHOP, but the facts clearly show that by taking control, the responsibility for updating procedures fell solely on Rumsfeld, and on that count, he failed miserably. I know that the 9/11 comission is not looking to "place blame", but clearly this is one instance where Rumsfeld is at fault, and he should resign.


maryallen

If this is the case, then WHY did Rummy ...
Not make himself available to the Pentagon command center for 45 minutes? Even if Rummy was unnerved by the crash, he HAD to remember that a military response was his call, due to HIS change in policy.

Tori Clark, former Pentagon spokesperson, was asked this on CNN yesterday and you should have heard her stutter: It was a deliberate attempt to mislead and confuse.

cryingshame

WHY DIDN'T RUMSFELD GET TO SITUATION ROOM?

What the F*CK was he doing helping people out of the Pentagon.

He was the one needed to give the command.

DERELECTION OF DUTY.

Instead of hightailing it to the White House, after seeing the Pentagon attacked, he sticks around?

His job was to protect America's population (millions) which was OBVIOUSLY under attack... not extract a few people from the Pentagon.

Further, how did he manage to be out of reach after the first plane hit WTC?

He wasn't able to be reached? You mean he doesn't carry a cell phone or pager?


ElementaryPenguin

Yet another fucking SMOKING GUN!!!

LIHOP at the very least - MIHOP seems much more likely. The "coincidental" training runs at that time. Chimpy's trip scheduled less that 2 weeks before - Jeb's Sept. 7th national guard order for terrorist attack response...etc., etc.,...is there really much doubt? Didn't the evil Busheviks show their hand in the illegal Iraq war? The U.N. had put fucking weapons inspectors in there - and they were going to be an imminent threat then?? To the world's most powerful nation? Fuck! People now forget that those U.N. inspectors had to evacuate - flee for their lives before they were killed by Rummy/Cheney/Bushler's monstrous Shock & Awe operation!!!

These remorseless murderers are ruthless WAR PROFITEERS - period!! And 9-11 was merely a part (perhaps the most important part) of their war profiteering scheme



kgfnally

Holy Shit.

So, Rummy put himself in a responsible position, then failed to act responsibly in the moment of truth.

Let's put this in a different context. Suppose I'm the director, of, say, a Savings & Loan. I change the rules so that this or that decision regarding the ultimate disposition of funds is routed through either me or my one, single, direct superior. Then both he and I fail to act when the money starts to disappear from the bank.

Does anyone here know how to spell "culpability?"


Th1onein

WHY did Rumsfield change the procedure?

WHY? Under what or whose authority was this procedure changed?

This gives me even one MORE reason to think that they knew about it ahead of time and LET it happen.

Melanie


Kagemusha

To me there's no difference if it was on purpose or not...


Changing the procedures clearly was a major contributing factor to letting it happen.

I mean, let's forget the WTC for a moment. Proper NORAD procedures would most definitely have protected the Pentagon. They did not. This is unacceptable, yet it has been accepted.


teryang

Are UA and AMR are finished?

<A Freedom of Information Act request has confirmed that the F.A.A. sent a dozen warnings to the airlines between May and September of 2001. Those 35 pages of alerts are being exempted from public disclosure by a federal statute that covers "information that would be detrimental to the security of transportation if disclosed." Most rational people would say that the non-disclosure of the alerts was what was detrimental to the security of transportation on Sept. 11. >

Or will the government refuse to disclose the information (that is alleged to exist) on the basis of classification and at the same time use it to blame the privately owned government subsidized corporations for lack of response on 911? Apparently, they are going to have their cake and eat it, too.

The assertion that Cheney wasn't in the situation room as flight 77 approached the pentagon is a bold face lie. He was informed of the aircraft's flight path all the way in and declined to give the order to shoot it down.

seemslikeadream

Comments from GD

JohnyCanuck

Something else to keep in mind

Not saying that the changes in procedure by Rummy don't sound suspicious and didn't play a role in delaying a response to the hijacked aircraft. However, another factor to be considered in all this (and a factor not addressed by the 9-11 Commission) were the various war games and exercises simulating hijackings taking place even as the real hijackings were occurring. These exercises caused NORAD resources to be diverted for the purposes of participating in the war games and also probably caused some confusion in identifying the real hijackings vs the simulated hijackings.

One war game scenario apparently involved a simulated air attack from Russia and allegedly caused fighter resources to be diverted north to Canada. Something of a coincidence, I guess, that Saddam's men just happened to plan their hijackings on the same day the US defenses were tied up in war gaming some of the very scenarios that the hijackers were implementing. Oh well, just more fodder for the coincidence theorists among us.

“I have an on-the-record statement from someone in NORAD that on the day of 9/11 The Joint Chiefs of Staff (Richard B. Myers) and NORAD were conducting a joint, live-fly, hijack Field Training Exercise (FTX) which involved at least one (and almost certainly many more) aircraft under US control that was posing as a hijacked airliner”.
Mike Ruppert – June 5, 2004, editor of FTW www.fromthewilderness.com

On September 11, 2001, Richard B. Meyers, the acting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has thus far claimed he was in a meeting with Senator Max Cleland, and was “unaware” of the ongoing 9/11 attacks until after the Pentagon was struck.

<snip>

On September 11, 2001, the Air Force was in its second day of annual wargame drills, titled VIGILANT GUARDIAN, designed to test national air response systems, which incidentally involved hijacking scenarios. In addition the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) which is staffed by military and CIA personnel, and is in charge of most American spy satellites, was running a drill for the scenario of an errant aircraft crashing into its headquarters. NRO headquarters also happens to be located just four miles from Washington’s Dulles airport – where Flight 77 (the flight said to have hit the Pentagon) originated...

<snip>

It is possible that Phillip Zelikow, the executive director of the 9/11 Commission, has classified certain wargames running on 9/11 so the Commission can’t address them publicly. The fact that the war games are open source, having been reported in mainstream publications including the Associated Press, UPI, and Aviation Weekly Magazine would make such a classification part & parcel to a cover-up. Hopefully the Commission will address, in public hearing, the impact these wargames apparently had on the NORAD response on 9/11.

http://inn.globalfreepress.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=387

Also check out this DU thread started by Minstrel Boy.
www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=...


Beetwasher

Those War Games Would Have Been Perfect Cover

It tied up necessary assets and it also gives them the "Would we be so stupid to be running these exercises and simulations of terror attacks on 9/11 if we planned 9/11?" cover story.

G_j

no doubt just a slip of course,

but a correction, it was not "Saddam's men" who attacked the US. Actually I don't think we have any idea whose 'men' they were, though no doubt somebody knows.

www.FireRumsfeld.org www.costofwar.com


nostamj

did you hear the hearing yesterday?

someone (probably from the families) was interrupting Gorelick (sp?) yelling out "Ask about the war games!"

he was shut down. I don't think any questions were asked.

<- ?W Revue Info!||||DISSENT IS ESSENTIAL||questionW||A Shop for Liberals!

Cheswick (1000+ posts) Fri Jun-18-04 08:24 AM
Response to Original message

4. This is what Rummy says about it

Edited on Fri Jun-18-04 08:30 AM by Cheswick
Mr. Rumsfeld claimed at a previous commission hearing that protection against attack inside the homeland was not his responsibility. It was, he said, "a law-enforcement issue."

Why, in that case, did he take onto himself the responsibility of approving NORAD’s deployment of fighter planes?

This has LIHOP written all over it.
First in august Bush gets warning that Bin Laden is going to hijack planes and pilot them into buildings. Then they start warning people not to fly commercially. Then we have the put options placed and someone makes a huge profit off of predicting very bad business to AA and United.
Then Rummy says that only he can oder NORAD planes to be deployed. Then he is out of touch during a disaster. Then later he says it was not his job.
If this is LIHOP what the hell is it?

Dean for VP...Healthcare for the Nation (and we get Judy too)

G_j Did this come up at all

during the hearings yesterday? I wasn't able to hear all of it.
Too bad the hearings are over because it sounds like Rumsfeld needs to be brought back in for questioning.
Too bad also we have no transcripts of the Bush/Cheney interviews.

www.FireRumsfeld.org www.costofwar.com

Kagemusha
Rumsfeld has other misleading statements to Congress...

Unfortunately, that UN exemption given to US officials for war crimes committed in the course of the UN-authorized Iraqi occupation amounts to international immunity, so if he's not charged for stuff in the US he won't be charged at all, ever. But, just the same I mean... what kind of pictures does he have, that he was not sacked for this and allowed to run two wars? It baffles me. (and I'm not serious about the pictures, ideology goes further with some people than blackmail.)


motivated

Rumsfeld didn't change NORAD procedure......

He did add the NMCC in the "decision chain", but more significant was the fact the Rumsfeld changed the ROE (Rule of Engagement):

When Clinton's Penis was "destroying the moral fibre of our country" this was the established DOD ROE;

CJCSI 3121.01A
DISTRIBUTION: A, C, S 15 January 2000

b. National Self-Defense. Defense of the United States, US forces, and, in certain circumstances, US nationals and their property, and/or US commercial assets. National self-defense may be exercised in two ways: first, it may be exercised by designated authority extending protection against a hostile act or demonstrated hostile intent to US nationals and their property, and/or designated US commercial assets ; second, it may be exercised by designated authority declaring a foreign force or terrorist(s) hostile .

...and....

6. Declaring Forces Hostile. Once a force is declared hostile by appropriate authority, US units need not observe a hostile act or a demonstration of hostile intent before engaging that force. The responsibility for exercising the right and obligation of national selfdefense and as necessary declaring a force hostile is a matter of the utmost importance. All available intelligence, the status of international relationships, the requirements of international law, an appreciation of the political situation, and the potential consequences for the United States must be carefully weighed. The exercise of the right and obligation of national self-defense by competent authority is separate from and in no way limits the commander’s right and obligation to exercise unit self-defense. The authority to declare a force hostile is limited as amplified in Appendix A of this Enclosure.

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/dod/docs/cjcs_sroe.pdf

In June of 2001 the DOD changed things at bit and CANCELLED CJCSI 3121.01A which is linked above. How was it changed? Here....

a. Aircraft Piracy (Hijacking) of Civil and Military Aircraft. Pursuant to references a and b, the Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), has exclusive responsibility to direct law enforcement activity related to actual or attempted aircraft piracy (hijacking) in the “special aircraft jurisdiction” of the United States. When requested by the Administrator, Department of Defense will provide assistance to these law enforcement efforts. Pursuant to reference c, the NMCC is the focal point within Department of Defense for providing assistance. In the event of a hijacking, the NMCC will be notified by the most expeditious means by the FAA. The NMCC will, with the exception of immediate responses as authorized by reference d, forward requests for DOD assistance to the Secretary of Defense for approval. DOD assistance to the FAA will be provided in accordance with reference d. Additional guidance is provided in Enclosure A.

http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/cjcsd/cjcsi/3610_01a.pdf

Basically, Rumsfeld turned over our National Defense to local "law enforcement".

Until I read an "official" transcript of bush* giving Cheney the authorization to use Military aircraft I call it bullshit. The procedure in place would have Rumsfeld giving that order. Assuming of course that the FAA contacted the NMCC (National Military Command Center), and the NMCC then, in turn, contacted Rumsfeld.

eek

Where does Barbara Olsen's phone call fit?

I'm not getting all this stuff as fine-toothed as so may of you are.

As I was listening to All Things (used to be) Considered last night and hearing the FCC/Norad timeline stuff I wondered about when Barbara Olsen's call to ted fit in.

Seems to me that came well before alotta the air traffic control stuff, the "invisible to conventional radar" , the "shoot down the plane that no longer exists" and so on.

And yet another cel phone that worked better than aWol's, to boot!

eek
if she had really called him

mightn't someone in his position had a dirsect line to, oh, the president (or bush? ha)?

Mightn't Ted have been getting NORAD or FCC or Asscrack or Rummy or someone on the line PD f'n Q?

Barbara Olsen's call was pretty detailed hijackers, one Stew killed,people herded to back of plane, boxcutters etc - where has that testimony fit in the 9-11 Commsion's report?

Feh.


DulceDecorum

CNN now claims another Flight 77 call.

Friday, May 28, 2004
The government would not disclose and did not reveal in its letters to families what recordings will be played.
But the independent September 11 commission in a January staff statement highlighted 11 -- not a complete list -- calls from the planes to people on the ground:

On American Airlines Flight 11, the plane that crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center with 81 passengers and 11 crew onboard, flight attendants Betty "Bee" Ong and Madeline "Amy" Sweeney made calls.

On United Airlines Flight 175, which crashed into the south tower of the World Trade Center with 56 passengers and nine crew onboard, flight attendant Robert Fangman and passengers Peter Hanson and Brian Sweeney made calls.

On American Airlines Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon with 53 passengers and six crew onboard, flight attendant Rene May and passenger Barbara Olson, wife of Solicitor General Ted Olson, made calls.

On United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Shanskville, Pennsylvania, with 33 passengers and seven crew onboard, flight attendants Ceecee Lyles and Sandy Bradshaw, and passengers Todd Beamer and Jeremy Glick made calls.

The commission played an excerpt of one of these calls -- from Ong's taped 23-minute call to an airline reservation center -- but it was unclear whether the four other flight attendant calls, or any passenger calls, were preserved on recordings.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Northeast/05/28/911.calls /


Pastiche423

Was that question asked?

Who scheduled the war games and when were they scheduled? That seems to me to be a very pertinent question.

Are the members of the investigation committee stupid, or were they given a specific outline of questions to ask?

What I would like to see, is the list of questions asked at unansweredquestions.org compared to the questions asked during the investigation.

DulceDecorum

White Hse connected to the National Military Command Center

The National Transportation and Safety Board auditorium had been quiet until an individual stood up and repeatedly questioned why the Commission was not addressing the issue of 9-11 war games--specifically Operation Vigilant Guardian--wherein fighters were already in the air during the attacks, some just minutes away from New York City. The legitimate questions were ignored and the petitioner was removed by secret service and FBI agents.
http://www.tomflocco.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=65

On September 11, at least five different "war games" were being conducted by the military and intelligence agencies that simulated 9/11 type events which paralyzed the air defenses, apparently ensuring the success of the "attacks." The British Navy was conducting exercises in the Indian ocean. A biowar exercise was also about to start in New York City. Who has the power to coordinate all of these exercises? Dick Cheney and the White House.
http://www.oilempire.us/wargames.html

Real touchy subject.


seemslikeadream

Rookie In Command Of National Mil. Command Ops Center On 9/11

Tom Flocco: Rookie In Command Of National Mil. Command Ops Center On 9/11

Nat. Military Command Center ops director asked newly-qualified substitute on Sept. 10 to stand his watch at 8:30 am on Sept. 11

by UnansweredQuestions.Org Co-Founder Tom Flocco

For Full Story See…
http://www.tomflocco.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=65

WASHINGTON -- June 17, 2004 Posted 11:45 pm -- Tom Flocco.com -- According to the personal written statement of Navy Captain Charles J. Leidig, Jr., entered into the record during today’s hearings before the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, Leidig revealed that on September 10 he was asked by Brigadier General Montague Winfield to stand a portion of his duty as Deputy Director for Operations for the National Military Command Center (NMCC), which would require supervision and operation of all necessary communications as watch commander.

…. Snip…

The National Transportation and Safety Board auditorium had been quiet until an individual stood up and repeatedly questioned why the Commission was not addressing the issue of 9-11 war games--specifically Operation Vigilant Guardian--wherein fighters were already in the air during the attacks, some just minutes away from New York City. The legitimate questions were ignored and the petitioner was removed by secret service and FBI agents.

Commissioner John Lehman offered that while Air Force Generals Richard Meyers, Ralph Eberhart and Larry Arnold (Ret.) had been questioned, no one had asked any questions of the "only sailor in the group," Captain Leidig.

Lehman asked Leidig about the controlled phone bridges or conferences held during the attacks, which the Captain confirmed were classified and secure phone lines while also indicating that "the President can be included" in such teleconferences.

… Snip ….

Immediately at the close of testimony by Myers, Eberhart, Arnold and Leidig, this writer quickly walked to the head table to individually question Leidig before his aides could escort him from the auditorium. The Air Force generals had left quickly.

When asked "Can you tell me the approximate time when you commenced your supervision of the phone bridges," Leidig told TomFlocco.com, "You’ll have to look in the records and Commission staff statements. I can’t recall the time."

… Snip ….

All of which raises questions regarding why the experienced Winfield left his watch after the attacks had begun, what prompted Winfield to request Leidig to assume his watch the next morning, why Winfield chose 8:30 am to have Leidig relieve him, why the Commission never addressed these issues, and whether Winfield had access to intelligence from the CIA and FBI which foretold a "spectacular attack, designed to inflict mass casualties against U.S. facilities or interests. Attack preparations have been made. Attack will occur with little or no warning." (CIA Intelligence Report for White House, July 5, 2001--60+ days prior to 9-11, Newsweek, 5-1-2003 / The Hill, 5-1-2003)

… Snip ….

For Full Story See…
http://www.tomflocco.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=65

althecat

Rear Admiral (Select) Charles J. Leidig, Jr. - Biography and picture

Rear Admiral (Select) Charles J. Leidig, Jr.
United States Navy
Commandant of Midshipmen
United States Naval Academy

http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/people/flags/biographies/leidigcj ....

Rear Admiral (Select) Leidig became the 80th Commandant of Midshipmen in September 2003. He graduated with distinction from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1978 with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics.
His operational tours include service in both attack and ballistic missile submarines. He served as Reactor Controls Assistant and Communications Officer on USS Henry L. Stimson (SSBN 655), as Engineer Officer on USS Sam Rayburn (SSBN 635), as Navigation and Operations Officer on USS Stonewall Jackson (SSBN 634), and as Executive Officer on USS Pogy (SSN 647).

His command tours include service as Commanding Officer of USS Cavalla (SSN 684) from 1994-1997, where he led the Navy’s first unclassified science mission to the Arctic Ocean, and twice deployed to the western Pacific. Under his command Cavalla set the Pacific Fleet endurance record of 63 consecutive days of Arctic under-ice operations, earned two Meritorious Unit Commendations and in 1996 was awarded the Navy Battle Efficiency ‘E’, Engineering Excellence ‘E’, and Tactical Operations Excellence ‘T’. He subsequently served as Commander, Submarine Development Squadron Five from 1999-2001 where he was the operational commander for the Navy’s Deep Submergence Program and the Tactical Development Authority for the Submarine Force’s off-hull sensors, Arctic warfare and submarine rescue and escape programs.

Rear Adm. (Sel.) Leidig’s staff assignments include service as an instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy, as Material Officer on the staff of Submarine Squadron Eleven, as Senior Member of the Nuclear Propulsion Examining Board for Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet and on the Joint Staff as Assistant Deputy Director for Regional Operations in the Operations Directorate and as Executive Assistant to the Director of the Joint Staff. He served as the Deputy Commandant of Midshipmen from June to September 2003.

Rear Adm. (Sel.) Leidig received the David Lloyd Leadership Award and the L.Y. Spear Award upon completion of the Submarine Officer Advanced Course in 1985. He earned a Master's Degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College, graduating with distinction in 1994, and subsequently completed the National Security Management Program at the Syracuse University Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs in 2001.

Rear Adm. (Sel.) Leidig has been awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit (two awards), the Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal (four awards), and the Navy Achievement Medal along with other unit and service awards.

Effective: 19 April 2

loudsue

And once again, DUers get to read about what was really going on

while the rest of America is kept in the dark as to how insidiously connected are all of the dots.

I could just SCREAM when I see how the 9/11 commission has wasted taxpayer dollars on this cover-up. SOOOOO many heads need to roll on this, but instead, free-passes are being printed faster than paper money at the Fed.

Thanks for posting this, Althecat. Once again, you're on top of it!


donhakman
This reads like "Seven days in May"

General Winfield got a promotion...

EXECUTIVE SESSION -- (Senate - April 29, 2004)

GPO's PDF
---
EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate immediately proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations on today's Executive Calendar: Calendar Nos. 644 through 653, and all nominations on the Secretary's desk.

For the information of Senators, these are military nominations and Foreign Service officers.

I further ask unanimous consent that the nominations be confirmed, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action, and the Senate then return to legislative session.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


...................................................


He also directed the war college and Haiti affairs.
http://www.jpac.pacom.mil/CommandStaff.htm

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&a...

"What goes on, in the name of intelligence services, are true crimes."

So says former German Cabinet Minister Andreas von Buelow.

Q: You mean, the events of Sept. 11--

Von Buelow: --fit perfectly in the concept of the armaments industry, the intelligence agencies, the whole military-industrial-academic complex. This is in fact conspicuous. The huge raw materials reserves of the former Soviet Union are now at their disposal, also the pipeline routes and--

Q: Erich Follach described that at length in Spiegel: "It's a matter of military bases, drugs, oil and gas reserves."

Von Buelow: I can state: the planning of the attacks was technically and organizationally a master achievement. To hijack four huge airplanes within a few minutes and within one hour, to drive them into their targets, with complicated flight maneuvers! This is unthinkable, without years-long support from secret apparatuses of the state and industry.

...

Q: You wrote a book on the dealings of the CIA and Co. In the meantime, you have become an expert regarding the strange things related to intelligence services' work.

Von Buelow: "Strange things" is the wrong term. What has gone on, and goes on, in the name of intelligence services, are true crimes.

http://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/VonBuelow.html

Who has the power to coordinate all of these exercises

White Hse connected to the National Military Command Center

The National Transportation and Safety Board auditorium had been quiet until an individual stood up and repeatedly questioned why the Commission was not addressing the issue of 9-11 war games--specifically Operation Vigilant Guardian--wherein fighters were already in the air during the attacks, some just minutes away from New York City. The legitimate questions were ignored and the petitioner was removed by secret service and FBI agents.
http://www.tomflocco.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=65

On September 11, at least five different "war games" were being conducted by the military and intelligence agencies that simulated 9/11 type events which paralyzed the air defenses, apparently ensuring the success of the "attacks." The British Navy was conducting exercises in the Indian ocean. A biowar exercise was also about to start in New York City. Who has the power to coordinate all of these exercises? Dick Cheney and the White House.
http://www.oilempire.us/wargames.html

goforit

Seemslike a dream?.....You give those boys too much credit.

This is clear evidence that 911 was a premeditated plan
of action. To purposely change this right before 911, is no
coincidence.(in addition to the other 1000 coincidences)

And the article says that press says that NORAD never trained for these situations is bullsh*&%.
They trained for these situations ever since Clinton was in office!!!

This IS no LIHOP!!!!

The families of the vanished bodies and unsettled souls of 9/11 are still waiting to have the dots connected. Until that happens, many continue to feel perforations in their hearts that even time will not heal.

"I’d been with American for 29 years," Ms. Dillard said with embittered pride. "My job was supervision over all the flight attendants who flew out of National, Baltimore or Dulles. In the summer of 2001, we had absolutely no warnings about any threats of hijackings or terrorism, from the airline or from the F.A.A."


A Freedom of Information Act request has confirmed that the F.A.A. sent a dozen warnings to the airlines between May and September of 2001. Those 35 pages of alerts are being exempted from public disclosure by a federal statute that covers "information that would be detrimental to the security of transportation if disclosed." Most rational people would say that the non-disclosure of the alerts was what was detrimental to the security of transportation on Sept. 11.

Some of the relatives are keen to find out why, at the peak of this struggle, the tape suddenly stops recording voices and all that is heard in the last 60 seconds or so is engine noise. Had the tape been tampered with? When I put their question to Mr. Novak, the lead prosecutor on Flight 93, he said curtly, "I’m not going to comment on that, and neither should have they. They violated that nondisclosure agreement by telling you the contents of that cockpit voice recorder."

"One of the things that upset me was that they knew, 45 minutes before , that American Airlines had a problem. I put the story together myself ," Mr. Ballinger said. "Perhaps if I had the information sooner, I might have gotten the message to 93 to bar the door."



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paulthompson Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-20-04 11:53 PM
Response to Reply #7
9. thanks
some good stuff inside all of that
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seemslikeadream Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-21-04 06:12 AM
Response to Reply #9
16. I knew you would find something interesting there - Torture Policy
I thought I'd let you sort it out. You're way better at that than I.

I knew you would find something interesting there.

Torture Policy (cont'd)
Monday, June 21, 2004; Page A18

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE Donald H. Rumsfeld expressed dismay on Thursday about editorials in which "the implication is that the United States government has, in one way or another, ordered, authorized, permitted, tolerated torture." Such reports, he said, raised questions among U.S. troops in Iraq, reduced the willingness of people in Iraq and Afghanistan to cooperate with the United States, and could be used by others as an excuse to torture U.S. soldiers or civilians. This was wrong, he said, because "I have not seen anything that suggests that a senior civilian or military official of the United States of America . . . could be characterized as ordering or authorizing or permitting torture or acts that are inconsistent with our international treaty obligations or our laws or our values as a country."

Since Mr. Rumsfeld referred directly to The Post, we believe we owe him a response. We agree that the country is at war and that we all must weigh our words accordingly. We also agree that the consequences of the revelations of prisoner abuse are grave. As supporters of the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, we have been particularly concerned about the ways that the scandal -- and the administration's continuing failure to come to terms with it -- could undermine the chances for success. We also have warned about the uses that might be made of it by captors of Americans. What strikes us as extraordinary is that Mr. Rumsfeld would suggest that this damage would be caused by newspaper editorials rather than by his own actions and decisions and those of other senior administration officials.

What might lead us to describe Mr. Rumsfeld or some other "senior civilian or military official" as "ordering or authorizing or permitting" torture or violation of international treaties and U.S. law? We could start with Mr. Rumsfeld's own admission during the same news conference that he had personally approved the detention of several prisoners in Iraq without registering them with the International Committee of the Red Cross. This creation of "ghost prisoners" was described by Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba, who investigated abuses at Abu Ghraib prison, as "deceptive, contrary to Army doctrine and in violation of international law." Failure to promptly register detainees with the Red Cross is an unambiguous breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention; Mr. Rumsfeld said that he approved such action on several occasions, at the request of another senior official, CIA Director George J. Tenet.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56753-2004Jun20.html


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UpInArms Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jun-20-04 10:37 PM
Response to Original message
8. could it be that their testimony just did not appear truthful?
We didn't think it was written in a way that clearly reflected the accounting the president and vice president had given to the commission,"
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PurityOfEssence Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-21-04 02:49 AM
Response to Original message
13. Cheney "probably" has information to prove the Al Queda/Iraq connection??
This is ridiculous. A statement like that is designed to mislead and provide plausible deniability; it's like claiming that Iraq has materials with which it could manufacture chemical weapons. He's been trying to prove the connection since day one, and he even said so recently; they'd certainly turn all information like this over to the commission. Besides that, they're SUPPOSED to turn such information over.

Why do these people let them get away with this crap? They somehow constantly angle for the benefit of the doubt and claim some kind of picked-upon partisan victimhood, and we keep letting them get away with it.
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Disturbed Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-21-04 03:08 AM
Response to Reply #13
14. LIHOP
Shrub and Rumsfailed were out of the loop on purpose. Shrub, because they knew he would be too stupid to go with the program and Rumsfailed because they knew that he wouldn't go along with it.

911 commision know all of this but decided that it would tear the entire Govt.into shreds and they didn't want to be responsible for the total rage and huge misery of the American population upon learning how their govt. betrayed them.
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Cronus Protagonist Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-21-04 03:31 AM
Response to Reply #14
15. You suggest that Rummy has integrity
Yet he continously shows on TV that he's a brazen liar. I'm not buying that reason.

ANYBODY BUT BUSH

Click here for "ANYBODY BUT BUSH", and other fair and balanced yet stunning buttons, magnets and stickers
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playahata1 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-21-04 06:27 AM
Response to Original message
17. Is the MSNRC link down?
I cannot access this story.
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paulthompson Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jun-21-04 01:10 PM
Response to Original message
18. bump
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