The Deafness Before the Storm
By KURT EICHENWALD
Published: September 10, 2012
While those documents are still not public, I have read excerpts from many of them, along with other recently declassified records, and come to an inescapable conclusion: the administration’s reaction to what Mr. Bush was told in the weeks before that infamous briefing reflected significantly more negligence than has been disclosed. In other words, the Aug. 6 document, for all of the controversy it provoked, is not nearly as shocking as the briefs that came before it.
The direct warnings to Mr. Bush about the possibility of a Qaeda attack began in the spring of 2001. By May 1, the Central Intelligence Agency told the White House of a report that “a group presently in the United States” was planning a terrorist operation. Weeks later, on June 22, the daily brief reported that Qaeda strikes could be “imminent,” although intelligence suggested the time frame was flexible.
Even the FAA was warned about hijackings:
9/11 Report Cites Many Warnings About Hijackings
By ERIC LICHTBLAU
Published: February 10, 2005
NY Times
Among other things, the report says that leaders of the F.A.A. received 52 intelligence reports from their security branch that mentioned Mr. bin Laden or Al Qaeda from April to Sept. 10, 2001. That represented half of all the intelligence summaries in that time.
Five of the intelligence reports specifically mentioned Al Qaeda's training or capability to conduct hijackings, the report said. Two mentioned suicide operations, although not connected to aviation, the report said.
1 comment:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Terror-Enigma-Israeli-Connection/dp/0595296823
Maybe they lihop.
But if it was "merely" criminal negligence, Bush could rely on Obama to let him and his off the hook for that one also.
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