jokerswild
07-26-2004, 07:00 AM
The CIA and FBI were prevented from sharing information with each other prior to the Patriot Act. They were not prevented from briefing the President. The President could have ordered these briefings immediately in response to the brief entitled "Bin Ladin determined to attack within the United Sates" on 9-06-01. The CIA and FBI can offer intelligence to the President, and he or a delegated 3rd party (such as the National Security advisor) could have collated that information. Certainly chatter picked up by the NSA, the FBI warnings 2 months prior, and warnings to the CIA from Israeli and Russian intelligence could have been addressed. Bush could have asked the FBI to report regarding known Al Queda operatives and domestic surveillance of suspected cells. Moussaoui (sic) was already in custody in Minnesota. He could have ordered the treasury department and the IRS to report any suspicous wire transfers. This alone would have identified Atta as a suspect. Transactions larger than $10,000 are reported by law. Atta recieved a 100k wire transfer from a Pakistani intelligence officer (to Atta within the USA) one week prior to 9-11. It probably would take the NSA a few hours to come back with a list of suspicious transactions. The CIA monitors stock market puts from overseas. UAL had an exponentially larger than average amount of puts placed on its stock from a subsidiary of Duestche Bank formerly run by Buzz Krongard. Krongard was a high level CIA officer that I believe was 3rd in line to DCI. Warnings could have been shared with airports. The military could have been placed on alert status. The power of the President of the USA to act is almost endless.
Bush did nothing. He did nothing the day of the attacks, and he did nothing but badger the intelligence community to come back with Saddam as an answer afterwards. This is legitimate criticism. Bush has held no one accountable to date other than Bin Ladin and Saddam. He quit pursuing Bin Ladin and focussed on Iraq contrary to all evidence. He stands accused of lying to the American public regarding Iraq. Almost a thousand Americans are now dead. The threat of Al Queda attacks is greater. Thousands of innocent Iraqis are dead. The public is out a minimumm of 100 billion dollars in tax money while Bush coddles the Saudis and the Pakistanis. At the same time, his cronies in the oil business make billions from the taxpayers. The same companies also refuse to account to the UN for billions from the Iraqi fund established by Presidential executive order.
The only proof of nuclear technology being shared in the region comes again from Pakistan. A Pakistani scientist has admitted exporting nuclear technology to Libya, and North Korea. That scientist has not been punished by Musharif. Musharif is a dictator for life that came to power by a military coup. This alone is a damning indictment of Middle East policy. Rice went on television and had the stupidity to state that no one in the National Security network had ever imagined that terrorists would use airplanes as bombs. This has been proven false. Even if the scenario had not been outlined previously by US intelligence officials in recent history (it had) prior to 9-11, it doesn't take a genius to realize that Japanese kamikazis attacked American vessels in WWII using airplanes as bombs.
Bush now blames the intelligence community for Iraq.
The CIA has responded by the publication of Imperial Hubris, and permitting damning photographs to be removed from Abu Gharib.
The USA is stuck fighting an insurgency that has no end in site, while the military is undermanned. All in all, Bush's policies and reaction to 9-11 stand as gross failures
Bush did nothing. He did nothing the day of the attacks, and he did nothing but badger the intelligence community to come back with Saddam as an answer afterwards. This is legitimate criticism. Bush has held no one accountable to date other than Bin Ladin and Saddam. He quit pursuing Bin Ladin and focussed on Iraq contrary to all evidence. He stands accused of lying to the American public regarding Iraq. Almost a thousand Americans are now dead. The threat of Al Queda attacks is greater. Thousands of innocent Iraqis are dead. The public is out a minimumm of 100 billion dollars in tax money while Bush coddles the Saudis and the Pakistanis. At the same time, his cronies in the oil business make billions from the taxpayers. The same companies also refuse to account to the UN for billions from the Iraqi fund established by Presidential executive order.
The only proof of nuclear technology being shared in the region comes again from Pakistan. A Pakistani scientist has admitted exporting nuclear technology to Libya, and North Korea. That scientist has not been punished by Musharif. Musharif is a dictator for life that came to power by a military coup. This alone is a damning indictment of Middle East policy. Rice went on television and had the stupidity to state that no one in the National Security network had ever imagined that terrorists would use airplanes as bombs. This has been proven false. Even if the scenario had not been outlined previously by US intelligence officials in recent history (it had) prior to 9-11, it doesn't take a genius to realize that Japanese kamikazis attacked American vessels in WWII using airplanes as bombs.
Bush now blames the intelligence community for Iraq.
The CIA has responded by the publication of Imperial Hubris, and permitting damning photographs to be removed from Abu Gharib.
The USA is stuck fighting an insurgency that has no end in site, while the military is undermanned. All in all, Bush's policies and reaction to 9-11 stand as gross failures