Judith Miller, TWA 800 and the Death of Press Freedom

NewsMax ^ | 7/6/05 | James D. Sanders

[mitchbert]

Based on talking with several of the principals on the missile shoot-down side, and reading a lot about this, I came to the conclusion that the Xlintoon administration knew about it ahead of time, and thought they could stop it. They planned to catch the terrorists before they could launch, and get really good press for the "law enforcement" approach to fighting terrorists. Something went wrong, and they simply had to watch TWA 800 being shot down.

That is the first I have heard this particular angle. Interesting. It certainly makes more sense than a coverup by the Navy that could not survive leaks.

[compuguru]

Stats on the Stinger AAM (which are very available to terrorists):

"Light to carry and easy to operate, the FIM-92 Stinger is a passive infrared homing/seek surface-to-air missile, shoulder-fired by a single operator and designed to attack aircraft at a range of up to 15,700 feet (4,800 m) and at heights from 600 to 12,500 feet (3,800 m)."

As for the actual height of TWA800 when it was hit, didn't the gub'ment give us that info? Didn't they confiscate the tower tapes and radar records?

Lastly, all the people below the level of career bureaucrat are just evidence gatherers. The decision-makers who interpret all the evidence and make conclusions are relatively few, and are *ahem* career-oriented.

Oh, and one more thing. Terrorists don't always claim their deeds publicly, especially when they are working for, say, another head of state. In return for support, the terrorists sometimes act as a 'go-between'. They may pass a 'message' from one head of state to another privately, then back it up with a warning if the response is not acceptable. All with plausible denial.

[logician2u]

No terrorist organization ever took credit for it, which is the reason they commit these acts.... for publicity. It was most likely a government SNAFU.

You make a good point. No respectable terrorist is going to bring down a 747 and let the NTSB, FBI, CIA, Navy and everyone else involved in the investigation credit a mechanical fault instead of the terrorist's action.

On the other hand, what if it was the terrorists themselves who screwed up?

I believe there's a strong case can be made that they shot down the wrong plane.

An El Al 747, also bound for Paris and then to Tel Aviv, was scheduled to take off about the same time as TWA 800 did, but was delayed because of traffic. If you were a terrorist planning to take out an airliner full of people, wouldn't an Israeli craft be a juicier target than a lowly TWA?

(Can't always trust those airline schedules anyway.)

[logician2u]

I recall that George Will also listed TWA-800 among the terrorist attacks occurring during Clinton's reign on a TV program.

Not that George Will would be an authority on such things, but you have to wonder where he got the idea.

[OldFriend]

Consider the bombing of our Marine barracks in Lebanon.

No response

First World Trade Center bombing.

No response

Embassy bombings.

No response

USS Cole bombing

No response

It was a lot more than the downing of TWA 800 that was ignored.

[OldFriend]

If Klinton ever acknowledged attacks on our country he would have had to respond and that was definitely not on his agenda.

Biting his lip and shedding false tears was more his style, unless of course, he was biting the lip of his rape victim.

[Peach]

...the plane crashed on Long Island and all the NTSB personnel were new. I then found out everyone involved in the TWA 800 investigation had "retired."

I did not know that either. I thought I'd read a lot about TWA 800, but I've learned several things on this thread.

[rodguy911]

What do you thinking the odds are that abc or any of the affiliates would have a tape of that show with steffy saying the plane was shot down?

[Peach]

That tape would never see the light of day, Rodguy911. I'd bet my house.

[ALOHA RONNIE]

.

Thank you for your support, Republic.

Please also see my ALOHA RONNIE posts here:

# 39
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...as HILLARY is now pushing hard for Federal Regulations that would impose Media Editorial GateKeepers
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I reckon it's now our turn..?

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[ALOHA RONNIE]

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It gets worse, sb.

See ALOHA RONNIE Post #110

AR

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[Rex_Ruthless]

"Everybody seems to just accept that the missiles available to terrorists couldn't reasonably reach the 13,000 feet of the plane. Maybe there's something wrong that *that* part of the story."

Isn't the 13,000 ft. altitude a contested statistic?

Years ago I read an article that mentioned a specific model of Swedish made SAM that could easily have done even that 13,000 ft. task. Since then I have tried searching in Jane's (www.janes.com) for more information but old stuff there requires a subscription to access.

[ALOHA RONNIE]

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[jammer]

People like it to be a conspiracy because that ties up all the loose ends

I don't. I suspect a conspiracy somewhere because of the nonsense of the official explanation.

[swampfox98]

We now know the FBI and CIA knew they witnessed missile-fire, according to documents recently unearthed through the Freedom of Information Act.

The truth about Flight 800 will never come out. Clinton was President then, and lied about the reason the plane went down. He'll be protected no matter if ten more flight 800s happen.One has to wonder why it is that so many people protect Clinton - Republicans as well as Democrats.

[RinaseaofDs]

FBI files. Like the STASI in East Germany.

[Triple]

Please post the assertions in the article you find to be false or misleading, otherwise your argument is purely ad hominem and lacks the weight it might otherwise deserve.

It would also be helpful for each false or misleading assertion if you could provide a more plausible explanation.

Thanks in advance,

[ken21]

so was christ arrested.

did that invalidate him?

[Triple]

done in 27 - thanks

So you agree with the center tanks explosion and the 'zoom climb' video that the CIA produced?

Do you also discount all the eye witnesses? (to a missile)

What was the residue that tested as rocket fuel, seat glue?

[ken21]

i have no idea of where the truth lies here.

1. the links that criminal presents to caltech etc above are impressive. i read the summaries. but i'm not a chemist or physicist, nor have i the time to read all of the data.

2. if one accepts criminal's solution above, then i ask, what does he have to say about the eye witnesses, and especially those with photographs, whose accounts are at variance with the official solution?

i heard some of these eye witnesses on the radio immediately after the accident.