If this clown Collingwood "sees no connection" between the 1995 events and what happened 911, he needs to be removed real quickly from any job requiring critical thinking, indeed any thinking at all...
After charges of cronyism erupted in the travel office controversy, George Stephanopoulos, the president's communications director, and other Clinton aides summoned a senior FBI official, John E. Collingwood, to a political strategy meeting in Stephanopoulos' office. At the meeting, according to the Washington Post, Collingwood was given "guidance" in drafting a statement the White House would use to back up its contention that the seven members of the travel office were fired because of evidence of "gross mismanagement" and possible criminal wrongdoing."Abuse of Power," Editorial, St. Petersburg Times, May 26, 1993, Pg. 16A .The FBI statement was revised to say that there was "sufficient information for the FBI to determine that additional criminal investigation is warranted." Collingwood faxed a copy to the White House as a courtesy. He now says it was never intended for public release and that he was surprised to learn the White House gave the statement to reporters.
My guess is that Collingwood is one of the twenty-something bureaucrats that were spoken of in the article. I run into them frequently in my job. While quite a lot of them have work ethics and principles that most of us old forty-somethings still aspire to, there are way too many of these kids entering the workforce willing to do or say anything that will move them another inch up the ladder. They'll lie to your face, not caring that you know they're lying. They'll take the low road or the high road... it doesn't matter to them, as long as it leads them to more money or power. They play the PC game to their advantage like professional cardsharks. The guys who knew that something like a 9/11 was coming - or was at least possible - were sidetracked and shuffled off into retirement by the Clinton administration. The guys who were willing to go out and give asinine and false statements to the press - like Collingwood - were commended, rewarded, and promoted - at the cost of human life.