[edpc]

Attention would have been a start. True, it would have been a bit tough to sell the plane bomb prior to Sept 2001, but it wasn't like the idea was science fiction. Until that time, it was a distant memory of WWII and relegated to Clancy novels, as Debt of Honor portrayed it.

The 9/11 Commission stated part of the problem was a "failure of imagination." Clarke's 1998 scenario blows that away (no pun intended). He clearly imagined a similar attack, but nothing was done to prevent something so plausible. The true failure of 9/11 was beauracratic inaction and obstruction (see the Gorelick Wall).

Getting back to your original point, I sincerely doubt the MSM would dust off Clarke's memo where these chemical attacks are concerned. They're only interested in finding the portions critical of the current administration. Talk about cherrypicking intelligence!

[P-40]

Talk about cherrypicking intelligence!

The MSM has been horrible about this. Poor journalistic practices aside, by presenting the story of 9/11 as simply a failure of one Presidential administration, the public is robbed of the opportunity to be presented with what was a failure over multiple administrations and decades. By understanding 9/11 as just a problem of one administration, the public is left with the impression that a change of administration is all that is needed to prevent another 9/11 and nothing could be farther from the truth than that.