This still doesn't explain why Clarke approved this after new information (the 9/11 crashes!) came to light.
I'm not sure what "new information" you're referring to, but here's my take on what happened.I think there are really two different issues here and they shouldn't be confused, tho some people are trying very hard to make sure that they are:
1) Whose IDEA was it to evacuate the Saudis?
Answer: I highly doubt that with all that was going on, Richard Clarke said to himself, "Gee, what about the Saudis that are here?? We'd better get them out right away for their own safety!!" The idea ("order" for all intents and purposes) came from either W or Cheney and "filtered" down. You can bet that Bandar Bush was on the horn to W putting the bee in his bonnet. The Saudis certainly didn't call Richard Clarke!
2) Who APPROVED the flights for the Saudis out of the country??
Answer: Richard Clarke
As supporting documentation for these conclusions ....
From Clarke's March 9/11 testimony:
“The request came to me, and I refused to approve it,” Clarke testified. “I suggested that it be routed to the FBI and that the FBI look at the names of the individuals who were going to be on the passenger manifest and that they approve it or not. I spoke with the — at the time — No. 2 person in the FBI, Dale Watson, and asked him to deal with this issue. The FBI then approved … the flight.”
“I believe after the FBI came back and said it was all right with them, we ran it through the decision process for all these decisions that we were making in those hours, which was the interagency Crisis Management Group on the video conference,” Clarke testified. “I was making or coordinating a lot of the decisions on 9-11 in the days immediately after. And I would love to be able to tell you who did it, who brought this proposal to me, but I don’t know. The two — since you press me, the two possibilities that are most likely are either the Department of State or the White House chief of staff’s office.”
Nothing in Clarke's statement on 5/25 precludes what he said in his testimony:
“I take responsibility for it. I don’t think it was a mistake, and I’d do it again.”
“It didn’t get any higher than me,” he said. “On 9-11, 9-12 and 9-13, many things didn’t get any higher than me. I decided it in consultation with the FBI.”
K |
