Richard Clarke on "Meet the Press"

[Pexster]

Here's the transcript. We've had a week now to hear the original 60 Minutes piece, many White House spokespersons' rebuttals, and now Richard Clarke's responses this morning on Meet the Press. I thought it might be a good idea to consolidate the discussion on this in one place. Your keenly insightful thoughts and piercingly accurate analyses? (After reading the transcript, of course.)

[Optimus Prime]

"This document contains no data" .

[Chuckiechan]

Why did Clinton ignore Clark's reccomedations for all these years? And why should GWB have implemented them when Clinton didn't? Up until 9-11 the USA had no attacks while GWB was president. They were all under Clinton and Clark.

I think more things will be declassified to de-bunk Clark, further implicating the Clinton administration. GWB has had a "hands off" attitude toward critizing the Clinton administration for whatever reason.

It just dosen't play to place 90% of the blame on Bush when our three preceeding attacks were during Clinton's reign when Clark was the man in charge! Talk about chutzpah!

As more becomes public, the press is going to be forced to present more of the positive aspects of GWB's administration and policies leading up to 9-11. At some point, the press is going to have to delare themselves independant and get out of the Democrat's tent. The 9-11 event was caused by the terrorists reacting to Clinton and Clark's lack of response to previous attacks. The terrorists had no reason not to attack, since history showed no reprisals from the USA except a missile attack shooting up some empty tents in the desert. We were viewed as limp-wristed cowards by our Arab enemies.

One of Clarke's warnings:

"On July 5 of 2001, the White House summoned officials of a dozen federal agencies to the Situation Room. `Something really spectacular is going to happen here, and it's going to happen soon,' the government's top counterterrorism official, Richard Clarke, told the assembled group, including the Federal Aviation Administration, Coast Guard, FBI, Secret Service, Immigration and Naturalization Service. Clarke directed every counterterrorist office to cancel vacations, defer non-vital travel, put off scheduled exercises, place domestic rapid-response teams on much shorter alert. For six weeks in the summer of 2001, at home and overseas, the U.S. government was at its highest possible state of readiness--and anxiety--against imminent terrorist attack."

What happened in July, 2001? Nothing. August, Zip. Did he suggest shooting down civilian airliners the deviated from their flight plan in September? Nope.

[Pexster]

Chuckiechan posted:

As more becomes public, the press is going to be forced to present more of the positive aspects of GWB's administration and policies leading up to 9-11.

Richard Clarke said today on Meet the Press:

. . . almost every day the president was hearing from George Tenet that there's an impending al-Qaeda attack. As far back as February, George Tenet testified before the Congress that al-Qaeda was the major national security threat. And yet, they have 100 meetings before they get around to dealing with it.

and

I think, before 9/11, he himself said--if you look at what he said to Bob Woodward, he himself said before 9/11, "This was not an urgent issue for me. I didn't feel a sense of urgency." He acknowledged bin Laden was not the focus of him or his national security team.

and on the issue of reprisals from the Clinton administration:

What else did Clinton do, however? We had Iraqi-sponsored terrorism against the United States; he used military force, and they stopped. We had Iranian-sponsored terrorism against the United States; he used covert action against them, and they stopped. We had al-Qaeda attempts to blow up things in the United States during the millennium period, attempts to blow up embassies around the world, attempts to take over Bosnia during the jihad in Bosnia. And all of those attempts were thwarted.

Now, that doesn't mean that he did everything he should have done, but the president of the United States was active on these issues in the Clinton administration. The president of the United States was not active on these issues prior to 9/11 in the Bush administration.

In the last week, Clarke has been on 60 Minutes, Larry King, Fresh Air with Teri Gross,, Good Morning America, and probably a few other shows I've missed or forgotten. Plus, he's testified before the 9/11 committee. In all of these appearances, he's handled every question calmly and rationally, and laid out a matter-of-fact case for what he believes. I think his testimony is going to prove extremely damaging to Bush's credibility in the only area where he previously had any -- as a war president.

[Chuckiechan]

And.... you missed the most important part:

SOURCES: CLARKE 'TO EARN OVER $1 MILLION FOR BOOK'; CONTRACT: BONUSES ADDED


http://www.drudgereport.com/rc.htm


What a guy. I hope he has to spend it all on defense lawyers!

[usslindstrom]

Everyone likes to point fingers, and play the blame game.

[Pexster]

Chuckie, here is Mr. Clarke's response on the book profits issue --

MR. RUSSERT: The book is dedicated to those who were murdered on September 11 and you apologize to the families. Would you consider giving the royalties or profits from the book to the children of those families who were murdered?

MR. CLARKE: Tim, long before Senator Frist said what he said, I planned to make a substantial contribution, not only to them but also to the widows and orphans of our Special Forces who have fought and died in Afghanistan and Iraq. And when we see the results of the book sales, we'll know how much we have to make donations. I also have to consider the fact that friends of mine in the White House, because I still have friends in the White House, having worked there for 11 years, are telling me that the word is out in the White House to destroy me professionally. One line that somebody overheard was "he's not going to make another dime again in Washington in his life." So I have to take that into account, too, this sort of vicious personal attack is also directed at my bank account. But this is not about me making money. It's about getting the truth out. And long before Senator Frist said what he said, I planned to make substantial donations, and I will make substantial donations.

This "he's making money on his book" attack is irrelevant in the big picture. The issue should be the message, not the messenger. Of course, if I were a die-hard Bush supporter, I'd be clutching at straws, too.

[RADAR1797]

by PexsterThe issue should be the message, not the messenger.

Hmmm, interesting take on the issue. I believe there was a story about a boy calling "wolf" that makes the credibility and intentions of the messenger important. But hey we learned that as kids, now we are older and more enlightened and can throw out basic concepts as being silly.

-RADAR

[Theophylact]

As this Washington Post Op-Ed article makes clear, character assassination and cynicism have just about killed honest discussion:

Before I offer a single thought, before I express a single opinion, I'll bet you're already wondering: Who's this guy? What's his agenda? Where is he coming from?

What I have to say, and the facts that I put forth to support my thesis, won't be nearly as important to many readers as trying to figure out my motivation. And because I'm writing in a Washington newspaper, and Washington is the epicenter of the disease that I am about to describe, the questions will take a familiar form. Am I a Republican or a Democrat? Conservative or liberal? Am I settling a score, riding a hobbyhorse or -- skepticism demands that this be asked -- advancing my career?

Call it the death of honest expertise.

Read the whole thing...

[Bill in SD, CA]

I find this all simply amazing.

Last fall there was one issue Bush was "bulletproof" on in the Presidential election: National Security and his handling of 9/11.

Supposedly to the point that it was a write off and quite possibly be the deciding factor in the election.

Without a doubt he was so "bulletproof" that the Democratic strategists probably never huddled together to find out how to overcome the problem.

Hallelujah!!!! ThaaannnK you Jeezuz!!!! A miracle!!!!

Clarke's book, 60 minutes, 9/11 commission testimony, and Meet the Press.

Can you spell: James Carvel boys and girls?

Anyone?

If it smells like fish ............. trust your nose!



Bill