FalloutStories related to 11 Sept 2001. |
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17/10/2004; 9:25:51 |
| Reckless Administration May Reap Disastrous Consequences: |
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'This nation is about to embark upon the first test of a revolutionary doctrine applied in an extraordinary way at an unfortunate time. The doctrine of preemption -- the idea that the United States or any other nation can legitimately attack a nation that is not imminently threatening but may be threatening in the future -- is a radical new twist on the traditional idea of self defense. It appears to be in contravention of international law and the UN Charter. And it is being tested at a time of world-wide terrorism, making many countries around the globe wonder if they will soon be on our -- or some other nation's -- hit list.' -U.S. Senator Robert Byrd, Feb. 12, 2003 |
| On the road to losing the peace : |
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'It was bad enough for the U.S. to have endured the intelligence failures that led to Sept. 11; it's another thing to know that 18 months, billions of dollars and untold numbers of bombs later that Osama bin Laden and most of his top advisers remain on the loose. This failure ought to be thrown daily in Mr. Bush's face, but he has diverted attention to Iraq, where the United States is about to make a mistake of historic proportions.' -Jeffrey Simpson in The Globe and Mail, 18 Feb 2003 |
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[W]e now have triangulation, between Paul O'Neill and Richard Clarke, there are two ex-Bush insiders with consistent stories on the nature of the Bush organization. One or two more and even the staunchest Bush supporters are going to wonder if we wouldn't be better off with Kerry. [Scripting News] . .< 10:48:03 PM  >FBI Budget Squeezed After 9/11 The papers show that Ashcroft ranked counterterrorism efforts as a lower priority than his predecessor did, and that he resisted FBI requests for more counterterrorism funding before and immediately after the attacks. . .< 10:40:49 PM >Bush Camp to Spotlight Kerry's Fiscal Policy Sarah Bianchi, Kerry's policy adviser, called the Bush estimates "completely absurd," and accused the Republicans of attaching arbitrary cost estimates to statements Kerry has made along the campaign trail.
"They would do a better service to the American people if they would give honesty to their own budgeting rather than make up ours," she said. On CBS's "Face the Nation" on March 14, 2004, United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said that he hadn't used the phrase "immediate threat" to describe the situation in Iraq and that President Bush hadn't either.Thomas Friedman of CBS then presented Rumsfeld with quotes from September 2002 where he did describe the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq as an "immediate threat." Rumsfeld's response was that we may still find that they really were an immediate threat after all.MoveOn.org has a video available which cuts off before Rumsfeld finishes his response.You can also read the full transcript from CBS (PDF), or there is a partial transcript below. [Kuro5hin.org] . .< 1:54:02 PM >CBS News | Clarke's Take On Terror Clarke relates, "I began saying, 'We have to deal with bin Laden; we have to deal with al Qaeda.' Paul Wolfowitz, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, said, 'No, no, no. We don't have to deal with al Qaeda. Why are we talking about that little guy? We have to talk about Iraqi terrorism against the United States.' "And I said, 'Paul, there hasn't been any Iraqi terrorism against the United States in eight years!' And I turned to the deputy director of the CIA and said, 'Isn't that right?' And he said, 'Yeah, that's right. There is no Iraqi terrorism against the United States."
Clarke went on to add, "There's absolutely no evidence that Iraq was supporting al Qaeda, ever." "I think that President Bush and Prime Minister Blair probably knew that many of the allegations were based on uncertain intelligence... a decision was made to go to war [then people said] 'Let's find a reason to do so'." Correspondents say it is very rare for a former US president to criticise an incumbent or a British prime minister. Former President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Jimmy Carter speaking. . .< 1:21:53 PM >As Europe Hunts for Terrorists, the Hunted Press Advantages The investigation of the Madrid bombings shows how terrorists continue to exploit advantages against the agents tracking them. [New York Times: International] 'The unfolding Spanish investigation has shown that the terrorists continue to exploit a tactical advantage. The militants operate in an ever-changing constellation of cells, moving freely from country to country across the continent, guided by opportunity and fanaticism. The agents tracking them are constrained by jurisdictional and bureaucratic boundaries. Intelligence is far too infrequently shared, investigators say, often leaving information about dangerous militants woefully incomplete.' A competent US administration in a genuine fight against terrorism could have helped build consensus in Europe about opening up communication amongst intelligence gathering agencies around the world. . .< 1:16:27 PM >Debate Grows Over Bush's Handling of Terror Threat Accusations by the former White House counterterrorism czar promised to reverberate this week as the 9/11 commission conducts a public hearing. [New York Times: NYT HomePage] '"The facts are that within six months of the first bombs falling on Afghanistan, this administration was diverting military and intelligence resources to its planned war in Iraq, which allowed Al Qaeda to regenerate," said Mr. Graham, who was one of the first lawmakers to label the war with Iraq a distraction from the fight against terror. "As the people of Indonesia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and most recently Spain have learned painfully well, this president failed to execute the real war on terrorism."' . .< 1:09:15 PM >Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Bush ignored terror threat, claims ex-aide "I said, 'Mr President. We've done this before. We have been looking at this. We looked at it with an open mind. There's no connection ...' He came back at me and said, 'Iraq! Saddam! Find out if there's a connection.' And in a very intimidating way. I mean, that we should come back with that answer."
Mr Clarke coordinated the writing of a report by the CIA, FBI, and his own staff, concluding that Iraq had few links with al-Qaida and no involvement in the September 11 attacks. He said: "We sent it up to the president and it got bounced by the national security adviser or deputy. It got bounced and sent back saying, 'Wrong answer ... Do it again.'" CHICAGO -- There were gingerbread houses on the tables and lights on the Christmas trees at the White House holiday reception last December, but George W. Bush was haunted by the ghost of a Hungarian-born billionaire. [Boston Globe -- Front Page] 'Republicans, too, have wealthy benefactors who contribute to conservative causes, Soros notes.
So why does one rich liberal provoke such animosity?
Perhaps, Soros's admirers say, it is because Soros acts against type. He made his money through sophisticated investments and yet has been highly critical of the system that enabled him to make so much money.
"Although I have made a fortune in the financial markets, I now fear that the untrammeled intensification of laissez-faire capitalism and the spread of market values into all areas of life is endangering our open and democratic society. The main enemy of the open society, I believe, is no longer the communist but the capitalist threat," Soros wrote in The Atlantic in 1997.' . .< 12:41:22 PM >Britain, France Condemn Killing Britain and France condemned Israel's killing of Palestinian Hamas movement leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin on Monday and said it would only fuel violence. [New York Times: International] But bombing Iraq unprovoked would not fuel violence? . .< 12:40:09 PM >Israel assassinates Hamas leader Yassin killed in missile strike· Mass protests by Palestinians [Guardian Unlimited] 'Palestinian militants today warned of swift and bloody retaliation against Israel after it "opened the gates of hell" by assassinating Ahmed Yassin, the founder and spiritual leader of militant group Hamas.' Thanks to Dubbya and the War Party Israel can brush this off as an attack on terrorists. . .< 2:21:23 AM >A day of grim vindication In New York, San Francisco and around the world, tens of thousands of marchers protested the Iraq War and the Bush administration assault on democracy. [Salon] Just got an email from dad telling me he organized the march in the city where he lives. Cool. |
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