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"Presidents Clinton and Bush received regular information about the threat of Al Qaeda and the intention of the bin Laden network to strike inside the United States. Each president made terrorism a stated priority, failed to find a diplomatic solution and viewed military force as a last resort. At the same time, neither grappled with the structural flaws and paralyzing dysfunction that undermined the C.I.A. and the F.B.I., the two agencies on which the nation depended for protection from terrorists. By the end of his second term, Mr. Clinton and the director of the F.B.I., Louis J. Freeh, were barely speaking."

The Times just seems to gloss over the fact that Klintoon had eight years to react to the warnings and reform the intel services while President Bush had eight months. Otherwise, yeah, theyr'e response was equal.

Also, we shouldn't forget that Bush's transition to President was delayed by Al Gore's bid to be elected by re-count after re-count after re-count...etc. And then there was that little problem with China and our reconnaissance plane.

Bush had his hands full right from the start. The way these reports read one might think that all GWB was doing was playing with his chain saw back in Crawford.

I wonder why the didn't mention these things:

1. The Clinton Administration's 45,000 report on terror, briefing the incoming Bush Administration, never once mentioned al Qaeda and only referred to bin Laden four times. (Incidentally, the misspelled bin Laden as bin Ladan.)

2. During his private testimony, Bill Clinton denied ever saying he passed on the offer by Sudan to hand over bin Laden. (The Commission members had his quote on tape.)

3. The chasm between the FBI and the CIA was widened by then deputy attorney general Gorelick, a sitting commission member.

The Times just seems to gloss over the fact that Klintoon had eight years to react to the warnings and reform the intel services while President Bush had eight months.

Actually, Klintoon WAS reforming the intel services - he reformed them to be blind, deaf and dumb. He reformed them to the extent that they were, essentially, unable to communicate with each other. IMO, this is a critically important fact that the 9/11 commission will ignore or gloss over as they try to portray the Bush Administration as the ultimate "cause" of the events of 9/11.

I'm betting that they won't even blame AQ for the attacks.

Curious that the NYT neglects to mention Gorelick's not inconsquential influence, nor that her presence on the committee jeopardizes its integrity.

Why do you suppose they left that out?

We all knew before the commission was even convened that it was a purely political power play. Its purpose is to help defeat Bush in November, no more and no less. And the usual players, including the NY Times, will do their best to help.

Carolyn

Each president made terrorism a stated priority

NYTimes still has its blinders on. Clinton was dealing with a couple of other priorities: Lewinsky and Impeachment.

NYT is still covering for Clinton.

This whole article could be summed as follows:

Clinton good, did best any man could have. Bush bad, did nothing.

Many people at many levels failed. When 3,000 Americans die, it makes me angry to hear high paid government types deny anything could have been done only because they are trying to protect their own asses from being fired.

Then the President refuses to fire anybody and pretends everything is fine at the FBI and CIA, and waits two years before he announces a new initiative to clean up the mess, only AFTER an investigation exposes the problems. I'd have given Bush credit if this initiative came even a year after 9/11.

How long has it been now? Why is it still necessary?

Sorry, but this used to be a "can-do" nation. Now its a CYA nation. People shouldn't have to die in order for the government to clean the dead wood from our defense agencies. But I'm afraid more will.

Actually the president had 7 month and 19 days, and if you consider that he did not receive the final document just until September 10, he had only one day to do something about it, while the Clinton administration had 96 month to prepare and what did he do? Just talk and no action, exept for the one time when he was in San Francisco for a multy million dollar fundraiser and ordered that new images from the disaster in Somalia, that he had seen the evening before in his hotel room at te Fairmont hotel, be kept from the world's television networks. Eight video tapes made by the P-3 Orion reconnaissance plane circling over head were quickly marked classified.