Bush tells panel memo lacked data

Washington Times ^ | Friday, April 30, 2004 | By Joseph Curl

[JohnHuang2]

President Bush told the September 11 commission yesterday in a closed-door meeting that a memo saying Osama bin Laden wanted to conduct terrorist attacks in the United States did not provide enough intelligence for his administration to stop the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

[DustyMoment]

Despite clamoring by several of the five Democrats on the commission that the president was not allotting enough time to answer questions, the meeting ran so long that two members -- former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey and former Indiana Rep. Lee H. Hamilton -- left early to attend previous commitments.

BS!! We all know what their "early departure" was about - they weren't getting what they wanted for their pathetic, partisan, grandstanding circus, so they walked out.

No mystery here!

[Carolinamom]

One commission member told The Washington Times on condition of anonymity that....

Just as you predicted.

[537cant be wrong]

nancy pelosi you rotten bit**
how can you have the gaul to say " it really begs the question of why they had to go in hand in hand to this very important commision meeting which is so important to the american people" when after months of badgering the POTUS to meet, 2 of your loser ilk walk out with prior commitments. we should legalize public caining just for you you big POS

[The Mayor]

BUMP!

[VRWC_minion]

BS!! We all know what their "early departure" was about - they weren't getting what they wanted for their pathetic, partisan, grandstanding circus, so they walked out.

I have a hunch. My hunch is that Bush brought up something none of them were expecting and that it had a direct effect on those two gentlemen. They were asked to leave.

[mtbopfuyn]

nancy pelosi you rotten bit** how can you have the gaul to say " it really begs the question of why they had to go in hand in hand to this very important commision meeting which is so important to the american people" when after months of badgering the POTUS to meet, 2 of your loser ilk walk out with prior commitments.

Exactly. As if someone else couldn't introduce the Canadian PM what with all the support Canada gave us (not) and a meeting with another senator out ranks the 9/11 Commission with the POTUS and VP. No, they were making a statement and dissed Bush and/or Bush really did have a nice enjoyable slap down, um talk with them.

[shhrubbery!]

a memo saying Osama bin Laden wanted to conduct terrorist attacks in the United States did not provide enough intelligence for his administration to stop the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon

Well duh! Not putting Bush down for saying this --he had to-- but we all understood this the moment we heard what the contents of that memo were.

How the Dims hoped to manufacture a huge scandal out of that memo is beyond me. They must think the American public are gullible idiots. (Come to think of it, I KNOW that's what Dims think.)

[MamaLucci]

You think they were asked to leave because they got upset over some info the President provided them?

[shhrubbery!]

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, repeated the Democratic implications that the joint meeting was fishy, saying, "The whole process would have been better served if the president had gone in alone and the vice president had gone in alone."

The real reason Pelosi wanted Cheney and Bush grilled separately was this: She wanted benVeniste to use his bag o' lawyer's tricks to try to maneuver Cheney and Bush in some minor inconsistency.

Dems would then have emerged triumphantly, trumpeting the inconsistency as BUSH LIED or CHENEY LIED.

The bag o' lawyers tricks didn't work on Condi Rice, however. I doubt they would've worked on Bush or Cheney either.

[VRWC_minion]

I'm just guessing that there is more to the departure than meets the eye. The concept of dissing the president is too simple, they diss him all the time. The concept that they couldn't reschedule perfunctory events is too simplistic.

Bush said he had a good conversation AND answered all the questions. This implies their meeting went beyond simple questions of the president. We know that Aschcroft left something of a stink bomb with the Gorelick memo.

So, the various possibilties includes that Bush connected some more dots about other members conflicts. In this scenario the reason for leaving might be that they were offended or it might mean that the other commission members asked them to leave or it might mean their were some investigation in progress and those members were targets and were asked to leave.

[Palmetto]

Mr. Hamilton left 40 minutes early because, as president of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Jeez.

So, you prove yourself a joke by leaving a meeting with the 2 most powerful men in the world concerning the worst tragedy ever on US soil to attend a lame luncheon consisting of a bunch of idiots who worship Woodrow Wilson (of all people), in order to introduce and listen to a speach by a near-socialist from our friends up north.

Get a frickin clue.

[537cant be wrong]

hope it was a good ol texan bit** slap down