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I'm offering a theory as to what the real events before Sep 11 might have been.
Bush* was not a PNAC member. He was a Governor of a state with Troopers (my home state), Texas. His friends and financial supporters, often one and the same as is often the case in politics, were PNAC members.
In the transition, they were told with great fervor that Terrorism was the top priority. Bush* decided to do this calmly, and asked his defense guys and gals to develop a plan to deal with the 'real' threats. He didn't know what they were. He didn't even know their names. He had never been out of the United States before he was President.
The ball got rolling slower than they had hoped, but no extra effort was made beyond normal beurocratic process, except for normal protestations.
The downed spy plane in China was a distraction. By the time summer rolled around, the former Clinton folk (just the terrorism guys and the CIA) were getting really worried. The transition process was not working fast enough.
What happened during the summer is still unknown, apart from heavy chatter regarding terrorism threats. Harried approaches have never appealed to Bush*. His personality totally tamed the press corp, even after Clinton had given them carte blanche. History will probably show that, more than anything, that free access of the media was the cause of the revelations that brought the Clinton presidency to its knees.
It is certainly the case that this freedom given to the media was abused by some, if not many, news media organizations. That abuse, which enabled the prosecusion of Clinton parlayed his ability to act militarily. It consumed the Congress, to which all war necessities are mandated to be approved. (Clinton was a fastidious legislator, and also believed strongly in the principles outlined in the Constitution.) In this respect, the media may be considered complicit in the political events that, by disallowing any effective military response, led to the failure of our defenses which might have prevented the events of 9/11.
The principal administrative figures, at some point, and assumedly at the urging of the President, decided to spend some serious time researching the terrorism threat, the threat from which had become more apparent when the summer chatter corroborated the Clinton's sense of urgency. As directed, the military leaders wanted to present a military strategy which included the ouster of Saddam Hussein.
A decision was made to spend the month of August on the topic of the US military agenda. Bush* needed a crash course on the state of affairs in the world. They would call it a vacation, as noone else needed to know about their crash course for the President.
Undoubtedly, when the Administration returned in September, they were looking into the mouth of the beast. We do not know exactly what happened (though Clarke has revealed interesting tidbits), but we do know that, on September 11, Clarke was running the show at the White House situation room. He was trusted to know what he was doing.
The presidential daily briefing of Aug 6 was exactly what it says it is. It is a primer for a course on the threat that bin Laden poses to the US. It is a crash course for Republicans who were in utter denial throughout the 90s, while they spent the bulk of their time collecting and uttering details regarding the penis and cum and of the President at the time, who got a blow job from a voluptuous intern. It is just as easy to blame Clinton for his bad judgement in having extra-marital sex in the workplace as it is to blame Bush* for his ineptitude in handling the Administration in the months prior to 9-11. The point is not blame. The point is the truth.
The truth is that many soldiers are dying and we are NOT at war. It is the truth that many civilians are dying at the hand of our 20 year old soldiers. It is the truth that, for whatever reason, the US owns and is in charge of Iraq at the moment. It is the truth that the International community is unhappy with the US Administration. It is the truth that Bush* has showed no great aptitude for foreign relations, nor has, sadly, Colin Powell, who apparently provided incorrect information to the UN, bolstering the case of our descenting allies. It is the truth that this is an election year, and a hyper-secretive White House wants to stay in office. It is the truth that the media is limited by their complicity with presenting news from the White House as fact, rather than as 'news from the White House.'
Our Presidents have changed during the Terror War. It looks as though the first was hamstringed by Congress. After resigning himself to being unable to use the military effectively because of legislative maneuvers (reticence in the military itself is still an unknown), he focused all of his attention on resolving the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian State. He almost succeeded. In the end, it appears he was thwarted by the actions of Arial Sharon. It was a great American tragedy. It is what Clinton will be known for in 100 years.
The next was blinded by political fervor initially, particularly after the most contentious election in US History. It was not until after a close encounter with China and redundant terrorism warning that Bush* took a big interest in the Terror War. In fact, his Administration initially called off the heavy CIA maneuverings that had been authorized against Saudi Arabia by Clinton. Saudi Arabia was one of the few Nations outside of the US of which Bush* was knowledgeable before he became President. They had supported him during some of his business failures prior to becoming the governor of Texas.
The only party which has remained the same and equally culpable throughout the Terror War is the media. Perhaps the 9-11 Commission will recognize this culpability and suggest massive reform in laws regarding how the media is effected by profitability concerns. Perhaps they will also suggest massive reforms in how money influences politics.
There is no doubt that electing Bush* in November will be an endorsement of the PNAC agenda. There is only question about the alternative.
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