9/11 Chair: Attack Was Preventable

CBS ^ | 17 December 2003

[Hal1950]

For the first time, the chairman of the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks is saying publicly that 9/11 could have and should have been prevented, reports CBS News Correspondent Randall Pinkston.

"This is a very, very important part of history and we've got to tell it right," said Thomas Kean.

"As you read the report, you're going to have a pretty clear idea what wasn't done and what should have been done," he said. "This was not something that had to happen."

Appointed by the Bush administration, Kean, a former Republican governor of New Jersey, is now pointing fingers inside the administration and laying blame.

"There are people that, if I was doing the job, would certainly not be in the position they were in at that time because they failed. They simply failed," Kean said.

To find out who failed and why, the commission has navigated a political landmine, threatening a subpoena to gain access to the president's top-secret daily briefs. Those documents may shed light on one of the most controversial assertions of the Bush administration – that there was never any thought given to the idea that terrorists might fly an airplane into a building.

"I don't think anybody could have predicted that they would try to use an airplane as a missile, a hijacked airplane as a missile," said national security adviser Condoleeza Rice on May 16, 2002.

"How is it possible we have a national security advisor coming out and saying we had no idea they could use planes as weapons when we had FBI records from 1991 stating that this is a possibility," said Kristen Breitweiser, one of four New Jersey widows who lobbied Congress and the president to appoint the commission.

The widows want to know why various government agencies didn't connect the dots before Sept. 11, such as warnings from FBI offices in Minnesota and Arizona about suspicious student pilots.

"If you were to tell me that two years after the murder of my husband that we wouldn't have one question answered, I wouldn't believe it," Breitweiser said.

Kean admits the commission also has more questions than answers.

Asked whether we should at least know if people sitting in the decision-making spots on that critical day are still in those positions, Kean said, "Yes, the answer is yes. And we will."

Kean promises major revelations in public testimony beginning next month from top officials in the FBI, CIA, Defense Department, National Security Agency and, maybe, President Bush and former President Clinton.

[zook]

My prediction: This story will get no traction and Kean will soon be backtracking.

[fourhorsemen]

If we had implemented the security measures necessary to avert 9-11, we would have been accused of fear-mongering

I'd argue one point - prior to 9/11 there were numerous incursions into the cockpit by unruly passengers. Airlines fought every effort to require stronger cockpit doors. Had they been in place on 9/11 the WTC would still be standing.

[fourhorsemen]

To not consider planes being used as missiles is just nutty, in my view. A terrorist can use a truck as a bomb, but not a plane? Come on.

There was an attempt to hijack a plane and crash it into the White House in the 1970's. The CIA had evidence of two other plots - one to crash a plane into the CIA HQ, and one into the Eiffel Tower. Clancy wrote about using a plane to crash into the Congress.

I'm very uncomfortable when our NSA says that she couldn't have imagined anyone hijacking a plane to use it as a weapon.

[mewzilla]

The 9-11 Commission.

Biographical Information Commission Members Thomas H. Kean Chair Lee H. Hamilton Vice Chair Richard Ben-Veniste Fred F. Fielding Jamie S. Gorelick Slade Gorton Bob Kerrey John F. Lehman Timothy J. Roemer James R. Thompson

Some of these names should ring a bell.

[adam_az]

"I don't think anybody could have predicted that they would try to use an airplane as a missile, a hijacked airplane as a missile," said national security adviser Condoleeza Rice on May 16, 2002.

Ramzi Yusuf was caught with plans to do just that. This was a very irresponsible thing for Condi to say. I suspect that it was a misstatement, not an intentional misdirection. Still, bad.

Of course, Ramzi Yusuf slippef through police hands 4x during the 90s, prior to his first bombing of the WTC. Also, hen the FBI arrested Yusuf, Khaled Sheik Muhammad was in the very next room - the FBI agents never checked.

[mewzilla]

I believe in 1996 some hijackers in France were stopped before they could hijack an Air France jet and send it into the Eifel Tower. And that was while Toon was in office.

[bvw]

Interesting take on ASW and "loose lips sink ships -- how were the Germans sinking so many of our ships?

[bvw]

Bojinka. Go look it up.

[bvw]

The Navy just held one of its ship commanders to account in Japan. There is an FR thread today. However outside the Navy in boats, and sometimes the Army at the front, you will see, we have seen, almost no accountability. Only whistleblowers get gored. In the great opulently obese body of the Federal Behemoth, the incompetent, the over-their-head, the corrupt -- are promoted and awarded.

Pensions MUST be protected at all costs!

[xzins]

After-action reviews are always notoriously critical.

Since it is impossible to recreate the pre-9/11 situation, then it is impossible to do more than make suggestions about what are now known to be errors.

Likewise, on Sunday the San Francisco running back fumbled the ball several times and granted the Cincinnati Bengals opportunity to win which they took advantage of.

It's fairly easy after the game to say: "On reviewing the tape we've determined that these fumbles were entirely preventable."

Well, duh.

I can tell you right now that a terrorist could take an aerosol can of anthrax, the size of a deodorant spray can, into the Rose Bowl and with a stiff wind spray it on a whole section of people.

That's written. Got it.

Now, if that ever happens in ANY capacity at any event, then a commission would say, "It's been mentioned, therefore, it was preventable."

Not true.

The authorities have X amount of dollars to work with and assign those dollars for prevention BEGINNING with their determination of the most probable avenues of attack. Changes to some systems would be so costly that they are nixed because of the additional cost burden they place on the system or the particular industry in question.

[LurkedLongEnough]

From First Strike, TWA Flight 800:

"Instead of action, President Clinton gave America the illusion of peace and security. He had a talent for giving voters exactly what they wanted, and before September 11, illusion is all we asked for."

The book also quotes Dick Morris along the same line as your post. Clinton DID care very much about national security - that it didn't interfere with his poll numbers.

[OldFriend]

Wonder if he will have any comments about the 9th Circuit Court deciding that helping terrorists is not a crime.

There are various groups hysterical every day because of the Patriot Act and how he can reconcile arresting people that have committed no crime.

Clearly the left is out to get Condi Rice dirtied up so she cannot run for president.

And yes, I consider Kean part of the left.

[Starboard]

Kean promises major revelations in public testimony beginning next month from top officials in the FBI, CIA, Defense Department, National Security Agency and, maybe, President Bush and former President Clinton.

Kean is delusional if he thinks he's going to get any major revelations out of the prevaricating and dissembling Clinton.

[mewzilla]

Kean is delusional if he thinks he's going to get any major revelations out of the prevaricating and dissembling Clinton.

Kean isn't even going to try.

Biographical Information Commission Members Thomas H. Kean Chair Lee H. Hamilton Vice Chair Richard Ben-Veniste Fred F. Fielding Jamie S. Gorelick Slade Gorton Bob Kerrey John F. Lehman Timothy J. Roemer James R. Thompson

These people have come to praise Bubba, not to bury him.

[Starboard]

Your post illicited quite a response, but no comments from you. Did you have any opinion on the matter or a particular reason for posting?

[areafiftyone]

The DUmmies are having multiple orgasms over this.

The DUmmies have orgasms every time our soldiers get killed or wounded too. These evil people have the nerve to call us facists or nazis when they are the ones cheering every time a soldier gets killed. Sick people over there.

[NCC-1701]

"...If memory serves, seems like GW was having on hell of a time getting his administration up an running. How can you connect the dots when somebody keeps hiding the damn pencils? Who would you think is to blame for 7.5 months of inefficiency? (rhetorical question)..."

I'll say he had a tough time starting out. One group we can blame is the Florida Supreme Court for sticking their noses in a situation before they were asked to. They delayed the official outcome of the 2000 vote thereby delaying W's ability to start setting up his incomming administration. But then, everyone knows that.

[DooDahhhh]

I would also think that the leaving administration had a moral obligation to pass on threatening news as soon as possible to the incoming one. The Democrats were trying like hell to keep the incoming guys from even getting offices in D.C. Remember they had to rent something in McLean to get started.

[m1-lightning]

She exposes how political correctness and the bleeding hearts put us in such a position.

Political correctness is why the airports are searching 85 year old white women. And bleeding hearts are the reason why the 9th circuit court of appeals feals people should be allowed to fund terrorist groups.

[Steve_Seattle]

All RINO's have one common trait: a pathological need to be liked by the press, and hence a pronounced tendency to grandstand and puff themselves up. Arlen Specter does it all the time. So Kane is going to do everything he can to make himself into an ex post facto hero, i.e., "None of this would have happened if I'd been in charge." And it's all bullsh*t. The kind of political correctness and soft-headed mushiness that prevailed pre-9/11 is exactly the sort of thing you would expect from a RINO. No RINO ever believes that America faces a serious external threat; they are more concerned about the religious right.