That is just a few examples."
maybe Clinton used his vast power to get the goods on W?
i can say that about clinton and y'all will lick it up. would W ever do anything wrong? course not.
but back to the subject, a disinterested clinton leaves office and W takes over. pretty much the same folks in the intelligence community now as before (career bureaucrats). they still have the documents and capabilities that clinton ignored. now we all know how engaged W is in things such as international affairs and how open, attentive and involved he is, especially in things involving terrorism and defence of our country. i'm sure the first folks who got in the door were these long-suffering spooks whom clinton had sloughed off! right? wrong!
Tenet had been wandering around the halls apoplectic saying to anyone who would still listen to him that something spectacular and monstrous was about to happen in the summer of 2001. too bad the administration had already tired of his ministrations.
to whom do the CIA and FBI report?
i say this only to counter the total nonsense in this thread, the political back and forth of it's W's fault, it's clinton's fault, it's W's fault, etc.
what we have here is a total breakdown in our intelligence apparatus that allowed these attackers into the country in the first place and was totally incapable of tracking their movements once they were here. that isn't about partisan politics - that is about turf war between agencies.
that stuff needs fixing. it will require a strong executive to carry it through. raise your hands - how may think that Gov. Ridge is da man for the job? come on, don't be shy, get 'em up . . . hmm. i'd call that lukewarm support.
now again, how many think that W should make this his personal, top priority? if you don't recall what the purpose is for the federal government, re-read the Preamble to the Constitution.
Your right on target and I agree totally agree with you. Thanks for your insightful post.