Commission chairman - 9/11 Attack was preventable.

[DealMonkey]

Originally posted by: Shanti
All Clinton had to do was say "OK, we'll take him".
Bush never had that chance.

If that's true, then certainly that was a big mistake. Frankly, I'm not familiar with the Sudan-Clinton incident other than what I've read here. I tried Googling, but couldn't really locate any non-partisan info to speak of. Anyone have a good link for me?

 

[kandarp]

Originally posted by: DealMonkey

Originally posted by: Shanti
All Clinton had to do was say "OK, we'll take him".
Bush never had that chance.

If that's true, then certainly that was a big mistake. Frankly, I'm not familiar with the Sudan-Clinton incident other than what I've read here. I tried Googling, but couldn't really locate any non-partisan info to speak of. Anyone have a good link for me?

It was believed that the Al Shifa Pharmacuetical Plant in downtown Khartoum was used a processing plant for pre cursor chemicals for chemical agents (VX in specific) this was assessed after a soil sample was obtained from the site where the plant was throught "clandestine" means. The tests showed traces of EMPTA which is a precursor chemical used to produce VX gas but also a byproduct of countless other legitimate pharmacueticals. The owner of the plant was also believed to have financial ties to OBL. Hope that helps

 

[DealMonkey]

Originally posted by: kandarp

Originally posted by: DealMonkey

Originally posted by: Shanti
All Clinton had to do was say "OK, we'll take him".
Bush never had that chance.

If that's true, then certainly that was a big mistake. Frankly, I'm not familiar with the Sudan-Clinton incident other than what I've read here. I tried Googling, but couldn't really locate any non-partisan info to speak of. Anyone have a good link for me?

It was believed that the Al Shifa Pharmacuetical Plant in downtown Khartoum was used a processing plant for pre cursor chemicals for chemical agents (VX in specific) this was assessed after a soil sample was obtained from the site where the plant was throught "clandestine" means. The tests showed traces of EMPTA which is a precursor chemical used to produce VX gas but also a byproduct of countless other legitimate pharmacueticals. The owner of the plant was also believed to have financial ties to OBL. Hope that helps

I believe Shanti was referring to the Sudanese offer to turn OBL over to the Clinton administration not the bombing of the pharm plant.

 

[Corn]

If it turns into a political finger pointing festival, as Kean is already implying, then it has served to do nothing but further weaken our efforts against AQ and OBL.

 

[DealMonkey]

Originally posted by: Corn

If it turns into a political finger pointing festival, as Kean is already implying, then it has served to do nothing but further weaken our efforts against AQ and OBL.

Let me get this straight. If the 9/11 commission investigates, presumably having access to vast amounts of classified information, and determines that certain individuals inside our government or intel community have failed, it doesn't matter? Am I understanding that if Kean points the finger at anyone inside this country, that somehow will play into the hands of the terrorists? Frankly, I don't get your point, other than questioning Kean's patriotism.

The 9/11 commission was set-up to determine if the gov't failed to stop the attacks. Are you suggesting Kean should simply go through the motions and throw up his hands and say, "Oooops, I guess no one could have done anything to prevent this?"

 

[Corn]

Am I understanding that if Kean points the finger at anyone inside this country, that somehow will play into the hands of the terrorists?

It's obvious you've failed to understand my initial post in this thread, or the quote contained in my last.

It's not the "finger pointing" that I disagree with. You see, there is actually very little finger pointing so far and this "interview" that Kean gave lacks any substance whatsoever. The meat of this interview is that Kean himself would have done a better job because, apparently, he would have know the people that "failed" to stop the 9/11 attacks would have failed prior to their failure. (not my fault that last sentences barely makes sense, just reporting what was said).

This "commission" is stained by hindsight. We're talking about the federal government here. Nothing changes the massive entities involved until something cataclysmic occurs. I'm not saying it's right, just that that's the way our government always has, and probably always will operate.

You hate the patriot act, right? You hate the scope and seeminly limitless powers of the investigative arm of our federal government, right?

Now just for a moment, imagine these changes occuring prior to 9/11 based upon intelligence that an attack was "imminent".........

Yeah, I think you know where I'm going with this.

 

[DealMonkey]

"There are people that, if I was doing the job, would certainly not be in the position they were in at that time because they failed. They simply failed," Kean said.

Corn, you're right in that Kean's statement doesn't make much sense. At first I thought he meant that he would have somehow known ahead of time that these people were going to fail us and therefore taken them out of the picture pre-emptively. But then, realizing that was a ridiculous claim to make, I figured he meant that he would have given those people the axe following 9.11 because they failed. That makes more sense, however perhaps Kean really meant what you think he did. I just don't know.

 

[Lucky]

Originally posted by: heartsurgeon

"How is it possible we have a national security advisor coming out and saying we had no idea they could use planes as weapons when we had FBI records from 1991 stating that this is a possibility," said Kristen Breitweiser, one of four New Jersey widows who lobbied Congress and the president to appoint the commission.

from CBS news....

if i recall, He Who Shall Not Be Named was President for more than a few years after this non-specific "revelation" by the FBI..exactly what steps did his administration take to stop it from happening...

Well we know what the clintons did. In fact hillary said the other day that they had information about al qaeda and bin laden and wanted to take them out with steps further than lobbing a few missiles ('98) but "there was no consensus" domestically or internationally. In other words, they didn't have the balls to do anything. The mark of strong presidential policy, eh?