Posted on 05/16/2002 5:52:25 PM PDT by Dallas
NEW YORK, May 16 (Reuters) - Vice President Dick Cheney on Thursday raised the specter of a new, devastating terror attack on the United States and said Democratic Party criticism of the White House's handling of pre-Sept. 11 terror warnings at such a time was "thoroughly irresponsible".
Cheney said in a speech in New York that an investigation by Congress into possible intelligence failings ahead of the Sept. 11 attacks, in which about 3,000 people were killed, should be handled with great circumspection.
"An investigation must not interfere with the ongoing efforts to prevent the next attack, because without a doubt a very real threat of another perhaps more devastating attack still exists," Cheney said at the start of the speech at a dinner marking the 40th anniversary of the New York State Conservative Party.
"The people and agencies responsible for helping us learn about and defeat such an attack are the very ones most likely to be distracted from their critical duties if Congress fails to carry out their obligations in a responsible fashion," Cheney said.
The vice president attacked Democratic Party critics of the White House's handling of pre-Sept. 11 terrorism warnings, saying that suggestions the attacks could have been prevented were "thoroughly irresponsible and totally unworthy of national leaders in a time of war."
Key members of Congress had demanded earlier to know if the U.S. government had had enough information to head off the Sept. 11 attacks.
"Was there a failure of intelligence? Did the right officials not act on the intelligence in the proper way? These are the things we need to find out," said House of Representatives Democratic leader Richard Gephardt.
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said he was "gravely concerned."
Administration officials said President George W. Bush had been warned in August of a possible hijack plot, but the intelligence was too general to act upon.
In his speech Cheney said he wanted to tell "my Democratic friends in the Congress is that they need to be very cautious not to seek political advantage by making incendiary suggestions".
"The president and I believe that one of our most important responsibilities is to do all that we can to ensure that an attack like 9/11 never happens again," he said.
"We believe that a thorough investigation of the events that led up to 9/11 is entirely appropriate and at the president's direction I've worked with the leaders of the House and Senate intelligence committees to ensure that they get the necessary cooperation...
"There is an obligation on the part of the Congress to make certain that any investigation is conducted in a professional and responsible manner by members who are knowledgeable and are committed to improving our ability to defend the nation, not those who would seek short term political advantage," Cheney said.
cia "another attack probable"
warren buffet "nuke attack inevitable"
cheney "US faces threat of worse attack"
i'd get my sweet ass out of the city, were i there. its like they are admitting they cant, or wont, stop it. what the hell? prerequisite for nwo?
Sorry but they are legitimate questions. Or do you prefer to put your brain in neutral?
We believe you may be planning a new attack on us. If we don't find you and kill you first, please note that another attack will be immediately followed by the nuking of Mecca, Medina, Ryadh, Baghdad, Teheran, Damascus, Cairo, Tripoli, Kabul and probably a few more cities.
Have a nice day!
Uncle Sam
Not if the questions happen to come from Little Dick Gephardt. He has zero credibility.
I would worry very much if I lived in Northern Africa, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Egypt or the Gulf Arab States. Because these regions are going to get turned inside out if the US takes another body blow. If the attack is worse, our sons will take control of the air and ground in these places and wage total continuous war until treaties are signed which insure subjugation and economic capitulation.
I believe this is exactly the kind of confrontation the Al Qaeda desire. It is up to the powerful people in these regions to clamp down and exterminate the religious hatred being taught before it is too late and the Al Qaeda achieve their goal.
Pretty sick that these monsters are so venal they would sacrifice the lives of the American people just for political advantage.
SICK!
Thank you for pointing out that "federal agencies" are not cute political "toys to be manipulated" during times of crisis. Thank you for pointing out that the FBI and the CIA have OTHER things on their minds then the demoncrat's and media's political ploys.
Yeah, when do we start?
Quibble over the timing if you must, but not the entire subject.
If Clinton were in Bush's place, I would be defending him. I have second-hand reliable knowledge that there are several possible security threats reported to the President every single day -- usually 7 days a week. And these are just the most credible ones that are sifted out of a hundred or more threats per day that the State Department and intelligence agencies get wind of. It sounds as if the President took appropriate response based upon the quality and specificity of the information received.
Funny how Little Dick Gephardt isn't concerned about Clinton turning down at least one opportunity to have bin Laden jailed. Oh, and Clinton frequently skipped his daily security briefings.
We would have put our brains in neutral to take Gephart seriously, especially since Congress had basically the same information as Bush, and hypocrite Gephart didn't sound the alarm.
Perhaps the Congress should investigate itself.
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