PDB Nothing New
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James Joyner | Sunday, April 11, 2004 |
Graham: We Had Same Info as Bush
Sen. Bob Graham (D.-Fla.), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told HUMAN EVENTS May 21 that his committee had received all the same terrorism intelligence prior to September 11 as the Bush administration.“Yes, we had seen all the information,” said Graham. “But we didn’t see it on a single piece of paper, the way the President did.”
Graham added that threats of hijacking in an August 6 memo to President Bush were based on very old intelligence that the committee had seen earlier. “The particular report that was in the President’s Daily Briefing that day was about three years old,” Graham said. “It was not a contemporary piece of information.”
Graham’s comments contradicted combative statements made recently by the Democratic congressional leadership, and confirmed White House assertions that the only specific threats of al Qaeda hijackings known to the President before September 11 came from a memo dating back to the Clinton Administration.
Interestingly, this article was first posted May 27, 2002.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia.
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Not only did the Senate have it but realistically, almost all the information in that "classified" document was in the public domain before the election.
Hi Paul:
The Senate couldn't order action. Bush could. Had he demanded that the FBI look at the information and co-oridinate with intel from the CIA they'd have had them. No September 11th and Bush, well he'd be fighting for his life on a very mediocre economic record. Now of course he's still fighting for his political life on his economic and WAR record. The diffence - 600+ lives. Wonder how many Americans would answer yes to Ronald Reagans's classic question: "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" There was a man to be proud of. But Shrubbie? Really!
See no evil, hear no no evil,
Art
Art,
It is amazing to me how many people think that the walls between CIA and FBI are so easy to break. The walls were put up over 25 years to protect civil liberties and muzzle our intel agencies. Until Sept 11, it was considered an acceptable danger.
Secondly, who knows what the economy would have been like without Sept 11th? The travel and aviation industry would have been doing much better is almost uncontested. People seem to have forgetten that Sept11th has impacted every part of our economy.
Hi Art
Thanks for the thoughtful reply.
You're Delusional.
Have a nice day.
Paul
OK Art:
Perhaps I fired form the hip too fast.
I just tire of people who hold on the the most irrational of beliefs in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. While experience tells me you are "one of them" I'll give you a shot.
You say it was Bush's inaction that allowed 9/11 to happen.
OK what should he have done?
We have thousands of whack job liberals that say he should have acted but not a single one says what could have prevented 9/11.
So here is your chance.
If you tell me what he could have done to stop 9/11, I'll vote for John Kerry.
BUT before you answer read this post....
http://wizbangblog.com/archives/002177.php
You tell me what he could have done and I'll vote for John Kerry.
But if you can't tell me what he could have done AND you still insist he should have done it, you can give up replying as you'll be a delusional asshat in my book forever.
Paul
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