Posted on 05/19/2002 5:47:08 PM PDT by rdf
Richard F.
384 posted on 5/19/02 1:09 PM Central by God'sgrrl
OK, here's the transcript. I see no "personal attack against the president" as you claimed in another thread.
Please point out where he blamed "Bush the man" for the 9/11 attacks.
Is this where he supposedly angered 9/11 moms and wives?:
KEYES: Now I`ve got to tell you, the things that we were talking about back in February and the kind of emphasis that I was placing at that time on the need to look at the problem of coordination and to understand what role was being played by the NSC, charged as it is with that coordinating role. Now of course, a lot of that is front and center, and will be, I presume, for the next little while, as well as the concern I expressed at the end of that program, the need for an investigation -- a serious, nonpartisan quest for answers that would allow us to understand what went wrong so we could be sure that what we are doing or trying to do would remedy it.
I think a lot of people have shared that concern, and we have learned that among folks who lost loved ones in the course of the terrible tragedy and attack on 9-11, there is now a growing sense that that kind of investigation is, in fact, needed to help them to understand what happened and to try to make sure that it does not have to happen again.
Joining us now in representing that viewpoint from the point of view of some of the folks who had victims in the 9-11 attack, we have Kathy Ashton. Kathy lost her 21-year-old son Tommy in the World Trade Center attack on September 11. Kathy, welcome to MAKING SENSE.
KATHY ASHTON, LOST SON IN WTC ATTACK: Thank you. Good evening.
KEYES: Why would you say that it`s important that there should be an investigation to help the American people understand exactly what was happening, what the government was about, what was going on in terms of our national security before 9-11? What good is that going to do to folks like you?
ASHTON: Well, that`s going to make all the difference in the world. It`s never going to bring Tommy back to us, but unless we figure out what agencies, what people, what policies in our government and in our country enabled those murderers to kill Tommy and nearly 3,000 other human beings in this country on that day, we will never be able to believe that we can ever prevent this from happening again.
KEYES: I think that is something, that`s a sentiment that I`ve had for the longest time, but you know, there are those who seem to believe that any effort to raise these kinds of questions is either partisan or you`re looking to blame somebody. I don`t sense that that`s the reason that you`re looking for an investigation into this. ASHTON: Oh, absolutely not. You`re absolutely right, Mr. Keyes, and I commend you for calling for this in February, as you just showed on the TV. Since September, people like myself and many other family members have been outraged at the lack of an investigation into these events. The fact that 3,000 human beings could be murdered in this country without an investigation to determine the lapses in intelligence, immigration, aviation, and even domestic military, perhaps -- there has to be a look at to determine what happened.
This is not politics for us. This is our loved ones. My son, my beautiful 21-year-old son, died that day. This has nothing to do with politics.
KEYES: Well, let me ask you a question, because, as I understand it, there are others who have victims in 9-11 who are taking some action here and who actually plan to come to Washington and talk with some of their representatives in June. Are you going to be part of that group?
ASHTON: Yes, I am. My husband, myself and other family members will be down at the Capitol on June 11 with many other family members. Senators McCain and Lieberman have sponsored a bill which I believe they announced in November. Here it is May, and the bill is calling for a Blue Ribbon commission to investigate exactly what we`re talking about. Here in May, that hasn`t happened yet. So we`re going down there to try to encourage politicians to make this happen.
KEYES: Now, what do you think of the report that has now come out in the last 24 hours that prior to September 11, the president did have briefings that had some indication of hijackings and Osama bin Laden`s connection with all of this?
ASHTON: Well, I think that -- well, first of all, President Bush has done a wonderful job since September 11. I respect and admire everything he`s done. What the president knew right before September 11, I`m not exactly sure. I`m not sure how that relates to everything in the total picture.
What has to be done is everything has to be investigated, and then let the chips fall where they may. Uncover everything first. I`m not looking to point fingers at this point. I just want all the information out on the table.
KEYES: See, I think that that is a sentiment that`s shared by many Americans. I am very glad, I want to tell you, that you all have the courage to step forward, given the special role that in a way, sadly, you have to play in all of this. You represent the heart of grief that I think is there in all of America, and that heart of grief, I think, can`t be allayed in some ways and assuaged, especially in terms of the future, if we don`t know the truth, and the effort to get at it ought to be done in a serious, nonpartisan way that respects what I think is this sentiment on the part of the American people, which you all are well representing.
I wish you godspeed, Kathy. Very much so. In your efforts, and I hope you`ll have a real impact on the seriousness with which folks in the Congress approach this. Thank you for coming on the show today.
ASHTON: Thank you.
____________________________________________________
I pretty much agree with everything Dr. Keyes and Mrs. Ashton said here. What is the objection you have?
I think they will look better, seem less defensive, if they simply, in a humble fashion open their hands and say yes, let`s look at this in a serious way because when you lose the World Trade Center and a chunk of the Pentagon, something sure went wrong and we too want to find out what it is.
On behalf of all the American, especially folks like Kathy Ashton, and I think folks like that will be able to judge when the Democrats are doing partisan game playing and punish them for it.
Makes sense to me.
Thanks for posting the transcript, Richard. The truth will out.
KEYES: Now this isn`t the first time on our program, obviously, that we`ve dealt with this question. Back in February, we had a segment called "September 11: Who Dropped the Ball?" We focused in that segment on these very questions, and I want to play a little excerpt from that segment, sentiments that I expressed at the time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEYES: Some of the information that appeared to be on the table before September 11 was in the hands of the intelligence agencies. There were other bits and pieces of information in the hands of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the FBI, other agencies of this kind, including the Coast Guard.
What about the coordination problem? Aren`t we looking at least in part at a problem where these pieces were not put together in a proper interagency process, where folks with the kind of intelligence that was needed could look at them and try to see, sort out what was important, what was not, see the big picture?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
________________________________________________________
Do you see any disrespect toward or personal attack on President Bush here? I don't.
What? You want me to believe my own eyes and not what someone said??? What a novel idea!
There is not a scrap of evidence here to show Keyes attacking the President, as was alleged repeatedly on the other thread for the last 2 days.
But I did figure out why some 'never criticize the Administration for any reason' types were screaming like scalded cats...
Keyes had the gall to assume what is a heresy to them...that Condi Rice and Dick Cheney are accountable. Imagine.
Having said that, it is apparent that Keyes said nothing that hurts Cheney or Rice politically in any way shape or form.
Ultimately, Keyes' pursuit of the truth about where our security services stand in terms of readiness strengthens the Administration position...as long as they respond appropriately, which I fully expect them to do.
The Dems are getting squeezed beautifully in the whole thing...I love it...they are being hoist on their own petard.
Regards...EV
Sorry, Mr. Keyes, your show is no better than your sweaters.
That's an old political tactic. The truth will out in the end.
The Dems are getting squeezed beautifully in the whole thing...I love it...they are being hoist on their own petard.
Just as Keyes predicted: "On behalf of all the American, especially folks like Kathy Ashton, and I think folks like that will be able to judge when the Democrats are doing partisan game playing and punish them for it."
Regards,
Sorry, Mr. Keyes, your show is no better than your sweaters"....
Go sit in the corner with the Dunce hat on your head......for the record, how long has it been since Keyes hasn't worn a sweater? Hmmmmmm? Your credibility is showing.
Furthermore, if you can't discern the difference between this woman's concern with the issue vs an emotional display, tell your handlers your meds need to be reduced. There was absolutely nothing this woman said that was a play on emotions......I guess you prefer that we just throw lots of money here and there, hoping some of of it sticks, sort of like s**t, though in reality, it will go down the toilet. In the meantime, with all the holes in security, maybe the next time it will be 10,000 Americans who die with families suffereing their loss....or maybe 100,000.....or heaven help us, 1,000,000,000 people wiped out because 'we couldn't ask or have answered a few questions that could help prevent such disaster'!
Tell ya what, Ross Amann, I'll pray that when the next disaster hits, it doesn't affect your mother or father, brother or sister, wife or husband, children, or best friends....or even you.
Return your head to its regularly scheduled hole.
But I think that`s been a failing, and I think it`s important that someone has to do it, and not just the FBI and the CIA, but also INS. We go right down the whole line, the defense establishment. They can`t be having these turf battles. It`s absolutely disgraceful in this day and age to be having these petty intramural fighting, while innocent Americans are getting killed and murdered."...
Isn't this brilliant on the part of the Congressman.....acknowledge there is a law over 50 years old, that hasn't been followed.....and his answer appears to go right back to the same old, same old, "FBI, CIA,INS, turf wars, yada yada yada"!!!
So.....they already know what is wrong, but it is so much easier to hit on these agencies than it is to hit on either the executive branch or the legislative branch--my God, there might just be Parties that get their old t**t in the wringer!!!
These bastards could care less whether it is 3,000 dead Americans, 30,000 dead Americans, or 300,000 dead Americans.....just cover their asses!!! Everybody in this country should be up in arms. If I was a woman who got pregnant the night before 911, I would be having my baby next month--just think, I could get pregnant and carry a baby 9 months and deliver said baby before my government could tell me what went wrong, what caused the death of my baby's father!! Amazing how we can send equipment out into space to correct the Hubbel Telescope but we can't get the answers to what went wrong on 911!!!!!
So.....they already know what is wrong, but it is so much easier to hit on these agencies than it is to hit on either the executive branch or the legislative branch--my God, there might just be Parties that get their old t**t in the wringer!!!
These bastards could care less whether it is 3,000 dead Americans, 30,000 dead Americans, or 300,000 dead Americans.....just cover their asses!!! Everybody in this country should be up in arms.
I agree, yet some here believe it is unpatriotic to even question what happened. Unbelievable!
Technically, we 'will"have had a warning!!! :)
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