[kj] ot - a look in the daily briefs

Thu, 18 Dec 2003 13:33:52 -0500

--Alt-Boundary-9358.20218188
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT
Content-description: Mail message body

hmm, a look in the prez's daily briefs sounds a tad kinky, but 
seriously...

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/12/17/eveningnews/main58
9137.shtml
9/11 Chair: Attack Was Preventable
CBS News
December 17, 2003
For the first time, the chairman of the independent
commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks is saying
publicly that 9/11 could have and should have been
prevented, reports CBS News Correspondent Randall Pinkston.
"This is a very, very important part of history and we've
got to tell it right," said Thomas Kean.
"As you read the report, you're going to have a pretty clear
idea what wasn't done and what should have been done," he
said. "This was not something that had to happen."
Appointed by the Bush administration, Kean, a former
Republican governor of New Jersey, is now pointing fingers
inside the administration and laying blame.
"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.
To find out who failed and why, the commission has navigated
a political landmine, threatening a subpoena to gain access
to the president's top-secret daily briefs. Those documents
may shed light on one of the most controversial assertions
of the Bush administration ? that there was never any
thought given to the idea that terrorists might fly an
airplane into a building.
"I don't think anybody could have predicted that they would
try to use an airplane as a missile, a hijacked airplane as
a missile," said national security adviser Condoleeza Rice
on May 16, 2002.
"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.
The widows want to know why various government agencies
didn't connect the dots before Sept. 11, such as warnings
from FBI offices in Minnesota and Arizona about suspicious
student pilots.
"If you were to tell me that two years after the murder of
my husband that we wouldn't have one question answered, I
wouldn't believe it," Breitweiser said.
Kean admits the commission also has more questions than
answers.
Asked whether we should at least know if people sitting in
the decision-making spots on that critical day are still in
those positions, Kean said, "Yes, the answer is yes. And we
will."
Kean promises major revelations in public testimony
beginning next month from top officials in the FBI, CIA,
Defense Department, National Security Agency and, maybe,
President Bush and former President Clinton.

--Alt-Boundary-9358.20218188
Content-type: text/html; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT
Content-description: Mail message body

<?xml version="1.0" ?><html>
<head>
<title></title>
</head>
<body>
<div align="left">hmm, a look in the prez's daily briefs sounds a tad kinky, but 
seriously...</div>
<div align="left"> 
 
<a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/12/17/eveningnews/main58">http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/12/17/eveningnews/main58</a> 

9137.shtml 
9/11 Chair: Attack Was Preventable 
CBS News 
December 17, 2003 
For the first time, the chairman of the independent 
commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks is saying 
publicly that 9/11 could have and should have been 
prevented, reports CBS News Correspondent Randall Pinkston. 
&quot;This is a very, very important part of history and we've 
got to tell it right,&quot; said Thomas Kean. 
&quot;As you read the report, you're going to have a pretty clear 
idea what wasn't done and what should have been done,&quot; he 
said. &quot;This was not something that had to happen.&quot; 
Appointed by the Bush administration, Kean, a former 
Republican governor of New Jersey, is now pointing fingers 
inside the administration and laying blame. 
&quot;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,&quot; Kean said. 
To find out who failed and why, the commission has navigated 
a political landmine, threatening a subpoena to gain access 
to the president's top-secret daily briefs. Those documents 
may shed light on one of the most controversial assertions 
of the Bush administration ? that there was never any 
thought given to the idea that terrorists might fly an 
airplane into a building. 
&quot;I don't think anybody could have predicted that they would 
try to use an airplane as a missile, a hijacked airplane as 
a missile,&quot; said national security adviser Condoleeza Rice 
on May 16, 2002. 
&quot;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,&quot; said Kristen Breitweiser, one of 
four New Jersey widows who lobbied Congress and the 
president to appoint the commission. 
The widows want to know why various government agencies 
didn't connect the dots before Sept. 11, such as warnings 
from FBI offices in Minnesota and Arizona about suspicious 
student pilots. 
&quot;If you were to tell me that two years after the murder of 
my husband that we wouldn't have one question answered, I 
wouldn't believe it,&quot; Breitweiser said. 
Kean admits the commission also has more questions than 
answers. 
Asked whether we should at least know if people sitting in 
the decision-making spots on that critical day are still in 
those positions, Kean said, &quot;Yes, the answer is yes. And we 
will.&quot; 
Kean promises major revelations in public testimony 
beginning next month from top officials in the FBI, CIA, 
Defense Department, National Security Agency and, maybe, 
President Bush and former President Clinton.</div>
</body>
</html>

--Alt-Boundary-9358.20218188--