Posted on 12/18/2003 4:39:17 PM PST by Sub-Driver
Sept. 11 Panel: Bush, Clinton Not to Blame Sept. 11 Commission Chairman Says There's No Evidence to Blame Clinton or Bush Administrations
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON Dec. 18 — The chairman of a federal commission looking into the Sept. 11 attacks said Thursday that mistakes over many years left the United States vulnerable to such an attack, but he resisted pinning blame on either of the last two presidential teams. "We have no evidence that anybody high in the Clinton administration or the Bush administration did anything wrong," chairman Thomas Kean said in an interview with ABC's "Nightline" taped for airing Thursday night.
Kean said the 10-member National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States has not decided whether to ask former President Clinton or President Bush to testify. He also said that any conclusions about the performance of high-level officials "will be reached when we are finished with our job, not now."
Kean sought to clarify remarks attributed to him in a CBS News report that aired Wednesday.
In the CBS interview, Kean said the commission's report, due May 27, will detail "what wasn't done and what should have be done" to prevent the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
He added, "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."
CBS reported that Kean's comments constituted "pointing fingers inside the (Bush) administration and laying blame."
On Thursday, Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark labeled Kean's statements "disturbing" and said they showed the Bush administration could have done more to protect America from a terrorist attack.
Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., said Kean's comments meant "that Bush administration officials had valuable information that could have prevented the terrorist attacks."
But Kean said in Thursday's interview that he did not mean to suggest that certain federal officials should have been fired after Sept. 11. He said he was commenting on obvious mistakes that were made, such as letting terrorists into the country and letting dangerous items onto planes.
"There are a number of steps along the way, that if they had occurred differently, this event wouldn't have occurred," he said.
White House press secretary Scott McClellan said he reviewed the CBS report and did not believe Kean leveled accusations against the Bush administration.
"There is nothing that we have seen that leads us to believe that Sept. 11 could have been prevented," McClellan said.
Kean, a former Republican governor of New Jersey, was appointed by Bush to lead the bipartisan commission.
The effort will be made.
Sickening.
I do not think it will go anywhere since even Olberman and Hart conceded the Clinton administration might have the finger of blame pointed to it. They hastened to add that then it would be a matter of "it's everybody's fault". So, if it's Bush, it's his alone, Clinton never should be held responsible for anything.
I DETEST Chrissy Matthews...he is a BULLY with NO CLASS!
I was under the impression the panel did not take testimony from anyone or examine events involved prior to the GW Bush Administration.
Does anybody know if this is correct?
Did Matthews let her get a word in?
Peggy is an intellectual giant next to him. I can't believe she could have had a chance to adequately respond and not crush him like a bug. More info please. Thanks.
He shouted over her quite a bit and came back after the commercial and demanded that she answer him "yes or no". What was at issue was a poll about Saddam and his involvement in 9/11. Peggy correctly had a more complex answer that was perfectly comprehensible, but Matthews wanted her to say that Saddam had no involvement in 9/11 and therefore we had no right to go into Iraq. He demanded she name what act of war Saddam had ever perpetrated against the U.S. It went on and on and I'm leaving out lots of detail, but as was said, it was quite heated. Laurence O'Donnell was the other guest and he stated flatly there is ZERO evidence that Saddam was involved in 9/11, so they wanted Peggy to agree with that.
There's only one person to blame - OSAMA BIN LADEN.
Here's the deal: We were attacked and the Bush administration formed a Bush Doctrine and commenced a War on Terror.
The dems decided to form a political attack in the form of blaming Bush for the attack. So I reject your call on both sides to stop blameshifting. Since the subject has been presented, the discussion is on. And baseless attacks WILL be answered.
Also, it is imperative to reorganize our intelligence and security measures, which obviously entails analyzing what changes need to be made and what errors were made in the past. This is not necessarily blameshifting unless one finds that by malicious intent or incompetence these errors were made. If false charges are to be leveled at Bush you can bet that the facts of mistakes Clinton made will be then brought to light.
thank GOD for the internet!!!
Turning down Osama bin Laden was the correct thing to do? But of course since Janet Reno said there was not a legal basis for nailing his sorry ass.
Thats what we call Media Bias.
I don't think so. Not only do they not have the votes in Congress, (nor will they under any circumstance), but there has been nothing remotely resembling an impeachable act.
This is nothing but Democrats trying ANYTHING to get some publicity in the face of a remarkably successful President. If the Democrats introduce anything resembling a formal impeachment proceeding, they're going to dig their grave even deeper.
No, there is plenty of blame, and much of it rests with TheBentOne, Impeached42.
He is one reason I am now, happily, a
Recovering_Democrat.
Let them! It will mean a Civil War!!!! Buy Your guns now!!
Exactly. Impeachment backfired on the Republicans to a small extent (except that in a weird twist of fate, there's little doubt that we'd have President Gore today if we'd have won that battle), and there's just no chance that the Democrats would actually open the impeachment can again this time.
They can get more mileage out of threatening to do it, than to actually commit to it. It's total BS. Even Terry McStupid won't back that plan.
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