Ashcroft Blasts 9/11 Commission

UPI ^ | 10-5-06 | Shaun Waterman

[nancyvideo]

Former Attorney General John Ashcroft this week became the only Cabinet-level Bush official to attack the Sept. 11 Commission, writing in his memoirs it "seemed obsessed with trying to lay the blame for the terrorist attacks at the feet of the Bush administration, while virtually absolving the previous administration of responsibility." Ashcroft also writes that the commission's hearings "were not so much about discovering the truth as they were about assessing blame and grandstanding," adding that they "degenerated into show trials."

[Texas Jack]

I've long been of the opinion that the timing of Jamie Gorelick's rule on no co-operation between CIA and FBI was enacted, in large part, to stymie the investigation into Chinese cash to Clinton.
Just the fact that Gorelick was a member of the commission is enough in itself to discredit the whole report.

I agree. Gorelick's wall of separation was put up to protect clintoon, not the rights of US citizens. His traitorous activities were more important to him than protecting the United States. He is truly the "whore of Babylon."

[ReleaseTheHounds]

Mega dittoes on that point!

[excludethis]

Ashcroft is simply calling the 9/11 commission exactly what it was, a board with a bunch of democratic hacks whose sole job was to protect Clinton:

"Lee Hamilton, wrote that Ashcroft's testimony represented "the most aggressive challenge to the commission's credibility," noting that it set off a "steady drumbeat of criticism," including calls from senior House Republican leaders for Gorelick's resignation, and left them with "a huge political problem."

Two weeks later, on April 28, Ashcroft declassified more memos written by or commented upon by Gorelick, posting them on the Justice Department Web site, even though they had not previously been made available to the commission.

Calling the move "unprincipled," Gorton recalled . . ..

[windchime]

Thanks! I've started a list.

[dirtboy]

Calling the move "unprincipled,"

No, unprincipled was having Jamie Gorelik asking questions instead of answering them. The Commission was a farce as soon as she was seated on it.

[bvw]

That's nice, but not the sole reason or even the major reason. They were there to protect a well connected oligarchy of elite. Examine the directorships, consultancies and job histories of those on the Commission. A network of back-scratchers who allow no stench of accountability in their ranks.

[thepresidentsbestfriend]

Finally someone telling the truth about the 911 commission.The 911 commission was a total joke!!!!All members of the com where jokes,Republicans and democrats,all.

The 911 commission was a joke.I don't know how to say it better than that.

[ClaireSolt]

Unprincipled is a word I would never apply to John Ashcroft. Gorton must not know what it means. Nice to see the sainted 911 commission get some criticism. I want to gag when the demand is made that we must enact all of their recommendations, even though they are 5 years out of date.

[Obie Wan]

As John Ashcroft said,the 9\11 Commission was a political dog and pony show held prior to the 04 elections to see how much damage could be stirred up against George Bush.These people were not interested in finding out any new facts, demonstrated by their ignoring important information from the government intelligence agency know as "Able Danger". The info they would have given the Commission was far more damaging to the Clinton Admin. then to the Bush Admin. They did accomplish one thing though,they managed to waste taxpayers money while putting on their little "vaudeville show"

[TET1968]

"Just the fact that Gorelick was a member of the commission is enough in itself to discredit the whole report."

Just the fact that a consumed by hatred, accused War Criminal was a planted member of the commission was enough in itself to discredit the whole report.

[TET1968]

Current News

The Commission has released its final report. [more]
The Chair and Vice Chair have released a statement regarding the Commission's closing. [more]

The Commission closed August 21, 2004. [more]

Commission Members

Thomas H. Kean
Chair

Lee H. Hamilton
Vice Chair

Richard Ben-Veniste
Fred F. Fielding
Jamie S. Gorelick
Slade Gorton


Bob Kerrey http://www.counterpunch.org/gibson.html



John F. Lehman
Timothy J. Roemer
James R. Thompson
Commission Staff

Philip D. Zelikow
Executive Director

Chris Kojm
Deputy Executive Director

Daniel Marcus
General Counsel

National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States
The Commission closed on August 21, 2004. This site is archived.http://

[ravingnutter]

From my files:

We already know exactly what Berglar took and why...pay close attention to the last para on the Clarke/Kerrick memo. From Ashcroft's testimony:

The NSC's Millennium After Action Review declares that the United States barely missed major terrorist attacks in 1999 — with luck playing a major role. Among the many vulnerabilities in homeland defenses identified, the Justice Department's surveillance and FISA operations were specifically criticized for their glaring weaknesses. It is clear from the review that actions taken in the Millennium Period should not be the operating model for the U.S. government.

In March 2000, the review warns the prior Administration of a substantial al Qaeda network and affiliated foreign terrorist presence within the U.S., capable of supporting additional terrorist attacks here. [My note: Able Danger info?]

Furthermore, fully seventeen months before the September 11 attacks, the review recommends disrupting the al Qaeda network and terrorist presence here using immigration violations, minor criminal infractions, and tougher visa and border controls.

Post #745

It falls directly into the AD timeline. In that same post, I note that what Sandy Berger stole was the versions of the after action report:

The missing copies, according to Breuer and their author, Richard A. Clarke, the counterterrorism chief in the Clinton administration and early in President Bush's administration, were versions of after-action reports recommending changes following threats of terrorism as 1999 turned to 2000. Clarke said he prepared about two dozen ideas for countering terrorist threats. The recommendations were circulated among Cabinet agencies, and various versions of the memo contained additions and refinements, Clarke said last night.

Therefore, they were never provided to the Commission, as evidenced by the Commission Report footnotes (#769):

46. NSC email, Clarke to Kerrick,“Timeline,”Aug. 19, 1998; Samuel Berger interview (Jan. 14, 2004). We did not find documentation on the after-action review mentioned by Berger. On Vice Chairman Joseph Ralston’s mission in Pakistan, see William Cohen interview (Feb. 5, 2004). For speculation on tipping off the Taliban, see, e.g., Richard Clarke interview (Dec. 18, 2003).

And to what does footnote (46) refer? On p. 117, Chapter 4, we find this:

Later on August 20, Navy vessels in the Arabian Sea fired their cruise missiles. Though most of them hit their intended targets, neither Bin Ladin nor any other terrorist leader was killed. Berger told us that an after-action review by Director Tenet concluded that the strikes had killed 20–30 people in the camps but probably missed Bin Ladin by a few hours. Since the missiles headed for Afghanistan had had to cross Pakistan, the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs was sent to meet with Pakistan’s army chief of staff to assure him the missiles were not coming from India. Officials in Washington speculated that one or another Pakistani official might have sent a warning to the Taliban or Bin Ladin. (46)

How about that? How many times have we heard Clinton say that he missed Bin Ladin by just a few hours? Yet the after-action report is missing, so the Commission relied on Sandy Berger's testimony.

Then the Clarke/Kerrick memo peaked my interest and I found this (#784):

Clarke was nervous about such a mission because he continued to fear that Bin Ladin might leave for someplace less accessible. He wrote Deputy National Security Advisor Donald Kerrick that one reliable source reported Bin Ladin's having met with Iraqi officials, who "may have offered him asylum." Other intelligence sources said that some Taliban leaders, though not Mullah Omar, had urged Bin Ladin to go to Iraq. If Bin Ladin actually moved to Iraq, wrote Clarke, his network would be at Saddam Hussein's service, and it would be "virtually impossible" to find him. Better to get Bin Ladin in Afghanistan, Clarke declared.

More:

“The Sept. 11 commission did not learn of any U.S. government knowledge prior to 9/11 of surveillance of Mohammed Atta or of his cell,” said Hamilton, a former Democratic congressman from Indiana. “Had we learned of it obviously it would’ve been a major focus of our investigation.”

Hamilton’s remarks Tuesday followed findings by Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., vice chairman of the House Armed Services and Homeland Security committees, that made front-page news.

In June, Weldon displayed charts on the floor of the U.S. Senate showing that Able Danger identified the suspected terrorists in 1999. The unit repeatedly asked for the information to be forwarded to the FBI but apparently to no avail. Various news outlets picked up on the story this week.

Weldon said that in September 2000, the unit recommended on three separate occasions that its information on the hijackers be given to the FBI “so they could bring that cell in and take out the terrorists.” However, Weldon said Pentagon lawyers rejected the recommendation, arguing that Atta and the others were in the country legally so information on them could not be shared with law enforcement.

“Lawyers within the administration — and we’re talking about the Clinton administration, not the Bush administration — said ‘you can’t do it,’” and put post-its over Atta’s face, Weldon said. “They said they were concerned about the political fallout that occurred after Waco … and the Branch Davidians.”

Source

IOW, 9/11 could have been prevented. This is why the Dems are trying so hard to beat Weldon...so he won't have access to the documents to prove it.

[GVnana]

Can hardly wait to read his book.

[nonliberal]

[reference to deity ruled unconstitutional by the 9th Circus Court of Appeals] I miss Ashcroft.

[nonliberal]

The point to me is.....will President Bush back up his appointee, John Ashcroft?

Nope. Bush didn't defend Ashcroft during his confirmation or afterwards. Bush does a HORRIBLE job of defending his troops.

[freeperfromnj]

Thanks for posting this. I didn't know he had a book out. I haven't bought a political book in quite some but this is one I'm definitely reading.

[Suzy Quzy]

Slade Gordon is PATHETIC. Jamie GORELICJ should be in PRISON for THE WALL and also for Fannie Mae!!!

[nancyvideo]

The damage the commission did was more than that. They have somehow become the final word...even conservatives refer to them

[thoughtomator]

I never really liked Ashcroft too much, other than the fact that he drove libs bonkers by simply breathing... but he is a thousand percent dead on target here. That Slate Gorton comment regarding Gorelick is simply unbelievable.

The 9/11 Commission was a butt-covering scam perpetrated on the American people, and anyone with half an ounce of brains knows that.

[taxed2death]

Has any Government employee / politician actually been "fired" because of what happened on 911?