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Politics : Attack Iraq? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Don Earl who wrote (4348)	3/7/2003 10:11:48 PM
From: sandintoes	Respond to of 8683

You forgot we want to blame everything on Clinton....that's always a good argument.

To: Don Earl who wrote (4348)	3/7/2003 10:14:41 PM
From: Victor Lazlo	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 8683

<<You guys riding the short bus might not like this one, but some of the brighter contributors might find it interesting how much effort went into drawing investigations away from 9/11 before it happened. >> LOL! whatever investigations were drawn away was done because of liberals' charges of racism over the feds' investigation of that chinese guy at Los Alamos for spying. It's a fact that prior to Sept 11, a number of Arabs were being looked at by the Fed agents for suspicious activities, but then their supervisors pulled the agents back for fear of being accused of having racist motives.

To: Don Earl who wrote (4348)	3/8/2003 6:58:28 AM
From: GROUND ZERO™	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 8683

Dumb Earl, has anyone ever told you that you're paranoid? GZ

To: Don Earl who wrote (4348)	3/8/2003 2:06:56 PM
From: H-Man	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 8683

You need to inform yourself. The Man Who Knew His name was John O’Neill. He was a career FBI agent and America’s most knowledgeable person on terrorism. He knew Al Qaeda was planning an attack. Unfortunately, he was prevented from doing his job. One can read the entire story at pbs.org The story is long and complicated. It took more than 1 ½ hours on Frontline. However, here are the main culprits: Barbara Bodine - Ambassador to Yemen A Clinton appointee and career diplomat. During the investigation of the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole, Bodine was highly irritated with O’Neill. She resented the way that O’Neill took over when he arrived. During the investigation, O’Neill went home for Thanksgiving, and when attempting to return to Yemen, was blocked by Bodine. This despite the good relationship that O’Neill had with his Yemeni contacts. They gave him a nick-name in Arabic which translates to “the brother”. This is particularly significant, since two of the suspects he was pursuing ended up being among the terrorists on the planes that flew into the WTC. The investigation died without O’Neill. In similar situations, O’Neill had been able to thwart terrorist attacks. Most notably, the bombing that was thwarted during the Y2K New Year’s celebration. Many believe he could have stopped the September 11 attacks. Bodine has retired and declined to be interviewed for the report. Louis Freeh - FBI Director A career FBI agent appointed by Clinton. Freeh refused to support O’Neill during the Yemeni incident. Moreover, on two occasions, O’Neill recommended to Freeh that the FBI counter-terrorism units needed to be reorganized. O’Neill was well aware of the problems of sharing information in the FBI and saw reorganization as the answer. Freeh refused. This is significant because significant pieces of intelligence, like the now famous Phoenix and Minneapolis memo’s were not shared with O’Neill or his unit. (He led the anti-terrorism task force in the New York field office.) Freeh has retired and declined to be interviewed for the report. Thomas Pickard – FBI Deputy Director A career FBI agent appointed to high posts by Louis Freeh. Pickard opposed O’Neill’s reorganization plans as well. Pickard prevented O’Neill from investigating the embassy bombings in Africa – despite the clear ties to Al Qaeda. Pickard was the acting FBI director when the Phoenix and Minneapolis memos were disregarded. The memos never made it to O'Neill. In the summer of 2001, the nomination process for a Deputy Director of counter Terrorism at the FBI was underway. O’Neill was one of 4 names being circulated and many believe the most qualified. However, word of an investigation regarding a protocol violation by O’Neill was leaked to the New York Times. Since the post required Senate confirmation, he could not be nominated. The matter was never adjudicated. O’Neill believed that Pickard was to blame for the leak. Pickard denies the charge. Pickard has retired and declined to be interviewed for the report. Conclusion O’Neill was an intense person who loved his job. He was not liked at FBI Headquarters because he had ”sharp elbows”. How terrible for them. At the same time he endeared himself to many, including: U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White, Assistant Attorney General Fran Townsend, and Deputy FBI Director Robert Bryant. Often Janet Reno would consult with O’Neill directly. A fact that irritated FBI Headquarters. After the leak of the investigation to the New York Times, O’Neill was effectively forced into retirement. In the summer of 2001, he took a job in the private sector, a very nice job as the Chief of Security for the World Trade Center. On the evening of September 10, he told the owner of a local restaurant "We are due for something big". John O'Neill died at his post. @->---