actually, Bush ignored requests to push forward
on Homeland Security before 9-11.
The Bush administration ignored the issue of terrorism from the moment it assumed office:
They ignored the final report of the Hart-Rudman commission, the Road Map for National Security: Imperative for Change, that was issued on January 31, 2001
They blocked Senate hearings on the Hart-Rudman commission's report, scheduled for the week of May 7, 2001, by announcing a brand new commission led by Vice President Dick Cheney - which never met before 911
They ignored repeated requests from the Hart-Rudman commission from January 2001 to September 6, 2001, when National Security adviser Condoleezza Rice said she would "pass on" their concerns
They ignored repeated requests from Senator Dianne Feinstein to restructure US counter-terrorism and homeland defense programs, starting in July 2001 and continuing through September 10, 2001, when Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff told Feinstein to wait 6 months
They ignored the report of the Gore Commission on Aviation Safety and Security
The Bush administration changed Bill Clinton's policy towards Afghanistant to appease Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and their Saudi backers to promote the interests of oil companies, putting profits for campaign contributors ahead of fighting terrorism:
They prevented FBI terrorism experts from investigating Saudi Arabian ties to Al Qaeda before 911, leading to the resignation of FBI Deputy Director John O'Neill only two weeks before 911
They ordered the Naval Strike Force - which President Clinton deployed near Afghanistan on 24-hour alert in order to strike Osama Bin Laden - to "stand down" before 911
They gave $43 million to the Taliban in April 2001
When appeasement failed, the Bush administration then prepared for war against Afghanistan:
They issued an ultimatum to the Taliban in July 2001, telling them to turn over Osama Bin Laden and permit Unocal to build a pipeline across Afghanistan in return for a "carpet of gold" - or face a "carpet of bombs"
They prepared a National Security Presidential Directive on September 9, 2001, a detailed "game plan to remove al-Qaida from the face of the Earth"
The Bush administration ignored numerous warnings from US and foreign agencies:
They ignored warnings as early as June from the National Security Agency's Echelon electronic spy network that Middle Eastern terrorists were planning to hijack commercial aircraft to use as weapons to attack important symbols of American and Israeli culture
They ignored warnings from an FBI agent in Phoenix on July 10, 2001 about suspicious Arab pilots with ties to Al Qaeda who were training in a local flight school, urging a nationwide investigation of Arab students in flight schools
Bush personally ignored warnings from the CIA on August 6, 2001 that Al Qaeda planned to hijack US planes
They ignored warnings from Jordanian intelligence in the summer that a major attack was planned inside the US using airplanes
They ignored warnings from Israeli intelligence in August that large-scale terrorist attacks on highly visible targets on the American mainland were imminent, organized by a cell of as many of 200 terrorists said to be preparing a big operation
They ignored warnings from Russian intelligence in August that at least 25 terrorist were trained in Afghanistan and Pakistan to attack US targets, with future plans to attack financial, nuclear, and space facilities
They ignored warnings from Moroccan intelligence in August that Bin Laden was "very disappointed" by the failure of the 1993 WTC bombing, and planned "large-scale operations in New York in the summer or autumn of 2001"
They rejected a search warrant requests by FBI agents in Minneapolis for Moussaoui's computer disk
They ignored warnings from Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak on August 31 of an impending attack on the US
They ignored phone calls from Abu Zubaida, bin Laden's chief of operations, to the United States that were intercepted by the National Security Agency shortly before 911
They ignored an extroardinary number of "puts" on the stocks which were hardest hit by the 911 attacks, including American and United airlines, in the days leading up to 911
The Bush administration failed to take meaningful precautions against a terrorist attack when so many warnings were being issued:
Bush went on vacation for the month of August, after only six months on the job
They allowed counterterrorism agencies to "stand down" from the highest level of alert before August 6, 2001, despite repeated warnings from CIA director George Tenet
The FAA knew about concerns that Moussaiou would hijack a 747 in August 2001, but failed to warn the airlines
They failed to assign more sky marshalls or to make cockpit doors more secure
They changed FAA policy to prohibit pilots from carrying guns
They failed to increase the readiness levels of our Air Defense
On 911, Bush failed to take decisive action:
George W. Bush said on two occasions that he saw the first plane hit the World Trade Center at 8:46 a.m. on 911, and was told by Andrew Card about the second plane hitting the World Trade Center at 9:05 a.m. - yet Bush did nothing but listen to a children's story until 9:30 a.m. instead of ordering fighter jets to intercept all hijacked planes immediately
George W. Bush and Dick Cheney ordered the Pentagon to shoot down Flight 93 over Pennsylvania at 9:55 a.m., but could have shot down the other three flights if they had not waited so long to act
Following 911, Bush used the tragedy to promote the agenda of his wealthy and powerful supporters:
Bush pushed through the USA Patriot Act, which rewarded right-wing opponents of freedom and civil liberties
Bush demanded additional tax cuts for the wealthy using the pretense of "stimulating" the economy
Bush massively increased defense spending, to the direct personal benefit of his father and his cronies in the Carlyle Group
To cover up his failures, the Bush administration resorted to stonewalling, fingerpointing, and lies about 911: |
