Hardball Tonight: Clarke - 9/11 Might Have Been Prevented

MSNBC ^ | Updated: 3:35 p.m. ET March 31, 2004 | Alex Johnson

[kittymyrib]

May I inquire as to why Doris Meisner, the totally incompetent chief of immigration in the Clinton administration, has not been called to testify? She was in charge of the agency that let all these al Queda members into the country on her watch. Her only qualification for the job was that she was a friend of Hillary's. I wish she would be made to explain how she could screw up so thoroughly.

[CyberAnt]

Yeah, this is from J. Michael Waller's articles about all the obstruction the Bush admin has had to put up with since they took office.

It's a disgrace .. and Bob Kerry seemed genuinely upset to hear from Rumsfeld that such a thing was an issue. Bob said he would be looking into the problem of delayed confirmations.

[Howlin]

The thing that bothers me about him the most is that he's set a precedent now -- and who will a president have to talk to now that Mr. Clarke has finished trashing the executive staff, the FBI, and the CIA.

[Spotsy]

“I guess when you’re president you get special treatment,” he told Matthews.

Of the many incredible things I've heard relative to this 9/11 Commission . . .

.

1) One of the male commissioners, during one of the many television appearances they have all made, actually said regarding circumstances under which Rice/Bush/Cheney would testify, "I think that because of the extraordinary set of circumstances surrounding the events of 9/11, I think we should just set aside the Constitution . . . "

I wish I could remember which one said it and where, because this is the most incredible quote!

.

2) Rep. Jane Harman on Larry King talked about Tony Blair testifying before an Iraq-related commission in Britain - although Harman wasn't sure if Blair testified under oath - but, she was comparing our president to the prime minister

Ms. Harman should study the differences between a parliamentary system (in a constitutional monarchy, no less) and our system which has separation of powers, checks and balances, but is nonetheless predicated on a strong chief executive.

[Spotsy]

Just when did al-Qaeda become a global problem???

On MTP: "Because during those two years when forces were diverted to Iraq... al-Qaeda has metamorphosized into a hydra-headed organization with cells that are operating autonomously, like the cells that operated in Madrid recently."

vs.

Clarke in his book recalling a 2001 conversation with Condi: `Most people think of it as Usama bin Laden's group, but it's much more than that. It's a network of affiliated terrorist organizations with cells in over 50 countries, including the U.S.' Rice looked skeptical."

Great catch!! May seem to trivial to some, but I think this goes to the heart of the problem with clueless Clarke.

[CyberAnt]

Not only that .. Clarke was very aware that the CIA and FBI communication was a distinct problem .. however, for 8 years he did nothing about it. And .. I think he blames Bush in one testimony for not fixing that problem .. but as far as I know .. Bush did fix it .. and the Patriot Act was part of that.

But I seem to vaguely remember that from the very first, Bush demanded that he meet with CIA, FBI, etc. - face time in his office every day. I don't know where I read/heard that.

[CyberAnt]

That looks about right to me .. LOL!!

[CyberAnt]

However, Condi has emails which show he did not show up for her meetings - and she would send him an email and ask him why he didn't attend.

This guy has a "star" complex - similar to Clinton - and he's not a team player.

[CyberAnt]

Clarke was "out of the loop" because he no longer met with the office of President, he was supposed to meet with Condi - but he did not attend the meetings (she has emails).

On the leaks issue - Clarke is becoming my chief suspect. And .. I'm even suspecting he's the one who leaked Wilson's wife's name - and I don't think he came up with that idea by himself.

[Spotsy]

"The horror. The horror."

On 9/11, while Clarke had Marlon Brando's voice running through his head (which is interesting on so many levels), the rest of us heard the voices of thousands of our fellow Americans crying out.

[CyberAnt]

Girl .. what are you drinking .. you have me ROTFLOL!

[Howlin]

[bayourod]

"May I inquire as to why Doris Meisner, the totally incompetent chief of immigration in the Clinton administration, has not been called to testify? "

No.

[CyberAnt]

And .. I believe Clarke has said that Janet Reno did shake the CIA and FBI over some issue .. anybody remember what it was about ..??

[windchime]

I'm watching the rerun. Chrissy just mentioned the 'quote' that President Bush is supposed to have made when the plane crashed into the building about the pilot. I will not repeat it here because that's how it has been made 'truth' on "Google". I've found that quote in Gail Sheehey's New York Observer piece with interviews with widows of the pilots. She is a true friend of the Bush administration. (SARCASM!)

IF (and I do not believe it was), such a comment was made, exactly who would have repeated it??? The very limited group that was with the President on Air Force One when he left the school?? We saw the film at the school when Andy Card told him what had happened.....he didn't say it then.

There are several 'quotes' attributed to President Bush that don't show up with any source....they are just repeated. REALLY MAKES ME ANGRY.

Bob Woodward's book has been the source of another of President Bush's 'quotes'. It was even repeated several times during the commission hearings as gospel. Has anyone here had a media interview? You don't recognize the conversation sometimes!

BTW, Clarke is disgusting!

[CyberAnt]

I just heard/read somewhere that the plan of the 1993 WTC attack was to topple one of the towers into the other tower which in turn would have toppled over and taken down hundreds of other buildings, by blowing up one of the corners of one of the towers. And .. according to new info from engineers, if the truck has been placed in a better location, it would probably have accomplished it's goal.

It's hard to imagine those buildings falling over and hitting so many other buildings full of people. What a horrible mess that would have been. I can't even imagine what Clinton would have done if that had happened - talk about devine intervention .. that's the only explanation I can come up with.

[CyberAnt]

But .. a co-worker has come forward now and discounted Clarke's account of what the President said and even the President's demeanor - which was not what Clarke presumed it to be .. and the President did not speak sharply at Clarke.

Clarke has an inferiority/superiority complext a mile wide and a few hundred feet deep.

[windchime]

Here's the link to that story, CyberAnt.

Colleague of Ex-Official (Clarke) Disputes Part of Account  NYTimes  3-30-04

[CyberAnt]

That's what I thought - and I'm mad as hell about it. What right did Ben-Venista have going on Hardball and revealing the testimony Condi had given in private.

I'm livid over this .. but I don't see anybody having any problem with it. But .. if Ben-Venista is just going to spew what she says - then why have a private meeting.

I think I just figured out why the President agreed to let Condi go public. It's better to have her on record in the open, then to allow the democrats (like Ben-Venista) to leak it and screw it all up. Very interesting!

[CyberAnt]

I agree - and the plane issue is a good one. If he was informed about the planes, why wasn't he checking flying schools or putting them on alert.

But .. Condi/or somebody has said that they only thought of the planes in the context of the usual hijacking, not using planes to fly into buildings.