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

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

[ironman]

NEW YORK - Richard Clarke, President Bush’s former chief counterterrorism adviser, said Wednesday that it was possible that he and his team could have prevented the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks if the Bush administration had paid more attention ahead of time to Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida terror network.

Clarke’s comments, in an hourlong interview on MSNBC’s “Hardball,” were a departure from the testimony he gave last week before the independent commission investigating the attacks, when he answered no to the question of whether there was “the remotest chance that it would have prevented 9/11” even if everything he had called for had been implemented.

But Clarke told MSNBC’s Chris Matthews that he hoped he and his team would have been able to take action to quash the attacks, which killed about 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, had the CIA and the FBI sufficiently coordinated the bits and pieces of information they had about the 19 Saudis who hijacked four planes and crashed them in the worst attack on U.S. soil.

Acknowledging that he was indulging in “20/20 hindsight,” Clarke said it was likely that he could have made a difference had he known that some of the hijackers were in the country ahead of time and had drawn suspicion. The full interview is scheduled to air today at 7 p.m. ET on MSNBC-TV.

[HenryLeeII]

Gee, I have this desire to grab the nearest baseball bat! I don't know why!!!

[rocklobster11]

The investigation of terror is the responsibility of the FBI and the CIA; more than a year ago, we learned that they dropped the ball on a couple of leads - THAT is where the failure was, but now it's all become politics.

And the only hope they have to pin it on Bush is to say that if the White House had had more meetings they could have gotten the information to bubble up through the CIA and FBI. Which is what Clarke is trying to do now, and what I head Richard Ben Veniste say on hardball last night.

It's really no different than what Time said in the summer of 2002 right before Clarke gave that awesome press briefing supporting Bush.

[Helms]

Koolaid is proud to announce its Sponsorship of the 2004 Democrat Convention in Boston, Mass.. Mr.Robert Shieffer is a CBC-Viacom Shill and is a Guest Host ...........................

Is Richard Clarke having a gay mans midlife crisis???...................................

[HenryLeeII]

So, his remarks tonight are a departure from what he said last week, which, according to committee members, was a departure from what he told them in private. Am I up to date?

Yes, exactly. To paraphrase the man who could have saved America if only Bush had listened, pay no attention to what he said in the past. He was only trying to put a positive spin on things.

[Syncro]

It happened to Gore, why not him?

[jos65]

IMHO, Mr.Clarke is a General Patton wanabee.

[ironman]

This interview apparently was taped today, so not all of it is live. The article on MSNBC website has been updated.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4639380/

[McGavin999]

Heh, heh, heh. This guy is cooking his own goose right in front of us. That's the problem with liars, they just keep digging the hole deeper and deeper and deeper.

[Finalapproach29er]

Delusions of granduer.

[steveegg]

Acknowledging that he was indulging in “20/20 hindsight,” Clarke said it was likely that he could have made a difference had he known that some of the hijackers were in the country ahead of time and had drawn suspicion. The full interview is scheduled to air today at 7 p.m. ET on MSNBC-TV.

Translation - "If I had only had been on al-Qaida's distribution list,...."

[firewalk]

Hehe........let's not forget to watch Hardball tonight!

thank you for the ping
...can't miss this...he's my hero
< /fluttering eyelashes> < /BS>

[kabar]

Sending them an email does have a cathartic effect. I wish someone in the Administration or the media would pick up on the fact that the number of casualties inflicted by AQ prior to 9/11 were huge. Clarke attempts to minimize the damage prior to 9/11 by citing just the US deaths. The property damage was also in the hundreds of millions. Clarke knows the causus belli was well before 9/11 and he should assume some of the blame for our policy.

[savedbygrace]

This contradicts his sworn testimony, under questioning from Sec. Lehman.

[rocklobster11]

I really like this quote from the MSNBC article:

Clarke’s testimony was considered so damaging that the White House agreed Monday to allow the commission to question Rice in public and under oath, reversing course after insisting that she should not have to do so to protect the president’s executive privilege.

So the media and the Dems, and even some Republicans pound on the White House for weeks to have her testify in public, and when the White House agrees it is because of Richard Clarke's damaging testimony?

[cyncooper]

From the article:

He said his access to senior officials was cut off by the new Bush administration, which he said did not consider terrorism to be an “urgent problem.”

Christopher Shays sent a letter to Condi pronto, January 22, 2001, to alert her not to depend on Clarke and I'm sure that started the ball rolling when she assessed him and agreed.

In Clarke's world, if he's not at a meeting it didn't happen.

Shays: Clarke Statements Revisionist

See link for Shays' comments and link to pdf files with most interesting remarks to and about Clarke. The media is ignoring his assessment of this lunatic. I'll bet Chrissy flat out ignored them, too.

[onyx]

[E. Pluribus Unum]

In the immortal words of the Queen B****, "Could'a, should'a, would'a."

[savedbygrace]

You didn't get the mouth quite right.

[coloradomom]

"Clarke also stated in another interview (MTP with Tim Russert, IIRC) that he put his team on highest alert during the summer of 2001 for 6 weeks. Nothing happened, so he released them from highest alert status. That was apparently a week or two before 9-11-01.

Perhaps Clarke's tale is to CYA. It would seem that, if anyone deserved blame, it would be Clarke and his team for Clarke's removing their alert status too early."

I think you make an excellent point. Too bad, though, that the mainstream press prefers to go after Condi's credibility rather than his.

[faithincowboys]

Chris probably said, "Dick, I need you to make news and it has to be devastating for Bush. Say 9-11 could've been prevented."

This Clarke stuff is getting absolutely disgraceful.