[rdb3]

I wonder if CSPAN will stream this.

[Cicero]

Although this article says that the intelligence services knew beforehand that al Qaeda was thinking about crashing airliners into populated targets, it does not say whether anyone warned the airlines, and in particular the pilots, about that possibility.

It's unlikely that the exact technique used by al Qaeda on 9/11 will ever be used again. It worked three times in one day, but only because the pilots never in their wildest dreams suspected what the intentions of the hijackers were, and that once they took over the cockpits they would kill the pilots and fly the planes themselves.

That trick is unlikely to work again. Perhaps it would not have worked on 911, if the intelligence services had given prior warning to the pilots.

This seems fairly elementary. Hasn't it occurred to the Senate, or to the media? Or did it happen on clinton's watch?

[MJY1288]

"One of the main questions investigators are probing: Could the September 11 attacks have been prevented?"

That is pure spin, The goal for these hearings were made clear from the start. They said they were being held so we could learn from the mistakes made and to help prevent future attacks.

CNN is just playing the "Bush Knew Card"

[ladyinred]

"There was no single source that was looking at all that information to try to see if there was a pattern, a picture, a plot," Graham said a few weeks ago. "Had that happened, then I think another series of questions would have been asked, more information would have been collected, and with luck, it might have occurred early enough to have disrupted the hijackers before the horrific events of September 11."

I doubt it. It might have hurt the terrorists feelings to accuse them of such a plot. The RATs would have objected.

[ladyinred]

Of course CNN will broadcast this never missing a chance to make any branch of government appear evil. I am concerned that this is a dog and pony show that will seriously compromise our security. The leading RATs will do whatever necessary to throw blame at the Bush administration, deflect any responsibility from the Clinton regime, and make themselves look good. All at the expense of national security, which does not matter nearly as much to them as political advantage.

[kayak]

"There was no single source that was looking at all that information to try to see if there was a pattern, a picture, a plot," Graham said a few weeks ago.

Does anyone know what Sen. Graham's position is on the Homeland Security Bill, which would accomplish the shortcoming he is mentioning here ..... and whether he is trying to persuade other members of his party to pass the bill!

Btw, love your screen name .... and agree with you! ....... :-)

[Lion's Cub]

Lawmakers on the committee said they have also run into resistance from the agencies they are investigating. With the joint committee's funding expiring in February, there is an effort under way to create an independent commission to investigate why

Geez....That's akin to the $2 million study to find out why toddlers fall off of tricycles.

We don't need an independent commission to investigate why congress is running into resistance from the agencies they are investigating. Congress is made up of political animals whose only agenda is political survival. Right and wrong, truth and justice, honesty and leadership never figure into their actions.

[concerned about politics]

reveals some of the information that U.S. spy agencies knew about suspected terrorist activity before the September 11 attacks -- including the disclosure that analysts knew al Qaeda had previously plotted to use aircraft as terrorist weapons.

Sure. They've known it since 1995. I believe the article was in the Washington Post? Anyway, there's a FR thread on it somewhere in the archives.
The problem was when and where. It's like knowing where the next lightning will strike, and getting people away from the area.
Clinton did nothing attack after attack on Americans, but at least Bush was trying to stop it. Gotta hand it to him for at least doing something.
This is Clintonian news. Old, and worn out already.

[pfflier]

One of the basic criteria for a terrorist attack is to do the unexpected. That is why the success rate is high. Who would have ever thought that the Palestinians would kidnap part of an olympic team? An ocean liner? Who would ever consider a rubber boat a threat to a man of war? Who would think that a culture would encourage it's young to blow themselves up? (There is precident with the Japanese and Vietnamese).

Who wouldn't expect hijackings and hostage taking based on prior terrorist history? But, who ever anticipated the crashing of the airplanes into buildings?

These hearings are nothing but a platform for political rhetoric prior to the November elections.

Oh, by the way, they also show lack of national unity and resolve and open the window for the next unanticipated attack.

[backhoe]

including the disclosure that analysts knew al Qaeda had previously plotted to use aircraft as terrorist weapons.

In the FWIW department, an old friend & collegue of mine co-authored a paper nearly 20 years ago which stated "why bother with making bombs when there are all those nice airplanes loaded with tons of fuel sitting on aprons..."