John Dean: A Closer Look At The 9/11 Commission Report:

[salin]

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20040730.html

A Closer Look At The 9/11 Commission Report:
The Role It is Playing In Election Politics, And Its Recommendations For Preventing Future Terrorism
By JOHN W. DEAN
----
Friday, Jul. 30, 2004

The final report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States -- better know as the 9/11 Commission -- is an impressive document. It was very carefully and thoughtfully done, and it is remarkably non-partisan.

President Bush and Vice President Cheney had wanted no investigation whatsoever of 9/11. As a result, they effectively "slow walked and stonewalled" - in Senator John McCain's words -- the joint Congressional inquiry and the early work of the 9/11 Commission.

For this reason, few people had believed the public would ever see the detailed information provided in the Commission's report. Happily, however, expectations were defied - and the report is remarkably comprehensive. And while Bush and Cheney would doubtless have preferred to put this report on the shelf, as would the Republican leadership of the Congress, that is not going to happen.

If anyone wants to understand what happened on that fateful day, they must read this report. Fortunately, it is quite readable. While it's not a James Patterson novel, it is, at least, not written with the usual bureaucratic language of a government report. And because it is so real, it is at times breathtaking. (Notably, the 9/11 Commission does not focus on Iraq's purported Weapons of Mass Destruction. President Bush has his own, largely partisan panel studying this intelligence failure.)

In this column, I will address a few of the salient matters and recommendations in the Commission's report - and note, as well, the role the report is already playing, and may continue to play, with respect to the upcoming elections.

more...

[pacalo]

1. John Dean is one of my heroes, & I respect his opinion. Thanks.

[Beetwasher]

2. Thanks Salin!

Bookmarked for reading later...No time right now...

:hi:

[salin]

3. anytime

I so appreciate his analyses that I try to remember to check findlaw every couple of weeks to find his latest. This isn't as hard hitting as some, but it is a good article.

Good to see you, beetwasher! :hi:

[Cocoa]

4. here's a shorter review

you can read this one in the meantime. :-)

http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/Stories/0,1413,206~24533~2296029,00.html

"It reads like a mystery, a novel. It's well written,' Bush told The Associated Press in a brief interview just outside his home in Crawford. Asked what he was gleaning from the report, he said, "I'm gleaning that was a well-thought-out plot by the enemy.'

[salin]

5. hehe

the arrogant basturd doesn't even realize when he is overtly demonstrating his contempt for the American people... does he? Too lazy to even seriously read the report of the commission that studied what went wrong with an eye on trying to prevent a recurrence.... national security - who cares... but it sure does read like a good novel?! (as if he reads mysteries...)