U.S. Blew chances to avert 9/11

[ljb]

By Hope Yen
Associated Press:
The federal commission investigating the attacks revealed the U.S. authorities had numerous opportunities to stop the hijackers, including many face-to-face encounters.
"The evidence is pretty damming" said Michael Greenberger, director of the Center for Health and Homeland Security at the University of Maryland. "There were many signals to the White House that we were in a state of high danger in the summer of 2001, yet no leadership was exercised to shake the agencies down."
end quote from article.

My comments follow:
For those of you who remember, the Whitehouse at that time was pushing their "star wars" agenda. Upon further review one of the companies to show a nice return on star wars efforts would be...
Halliburton. What a conicidence hey!!!

[hcap]

The White House fought hard against an independent investigation of September 11. When that fight was lost Bush tried to appoint Henry Kissinger to head the commission. After worldwide howls of outrage and plenty of conflict of interest questions about Kissinger, Kissinger was replaced by Kean, the genteel former governor of New Jersey. And after the Commission was formed it was treated to more stonewalling from the White House.

There's a level of desperation in the White House's actions that reminds me of the last days of Richard Nixon.

[Tom]

There was a total failure of many systems that allowed 9-11 to happen. How did those box openers get on supposedly secure airliners? How did the hijackeres stay in this country illegally? How is that known suspected terrorists werre allowed to board planes at Logan airport? How did a lady get on board an airplane last week carrying a knife and stun gun?
The essence of probelm solving is not to point fingers or assign blame, it is to define root cause, contain the problem until irreversible corrective actions can be implemented, and onging control established.
You seem happy to accuse someone of allowing this to happen.
I'd say W's in the containment stage right now, and some long term corrective actins have already been implemented. More are coming.
Last days of the Nixon White House? Get real. I was there thorugh that. This is not remotely like that was. What we have right now are a bunch of desperate power-hungry political losers vying to outgame each other and they have nothing substantial to use as a reason to vote for them instead of Bush. It is really laughable to watch the clown parade traipse around the country.
HeeeeeYaaaaaaaaaa!

[ljb]

Tom,
Nice job of completely ignoring the issue. You must be taking lessons from Lefty. Last i heard w was starting to pump his star wars program again.

[hcap]

Most important investigation since the warren commission.
Henry Kissinger? Now that makes me feel all warm inside.

Yea the dems will make hay, but if the whitehouse hadn't stonewalled all along the commission might have finished well before the 2004 election, and bush would be in a better position. But like watergate,
or the APPEARENCE of watergate, things come out in dribs and drabs. Makes them, like Nixon look deceitfull.
Same story with the WMDs.

[sq764]

It still scares me that we have uneducated, low-skill workers at airports who basically hold the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in their hands. Do you ever pay attention when you scan your luggage through before entering the terminal? Half of them aren't even paying attention and are joking around.

I just think these people are totally untrained and are not held accountable for doing their job right. A job that could mean life or death to passengers.

[hcap]

A lot more money is needed for homeland defense. Airport workers should not be rejects from walmart.
The scariest thing is the openess of freight thru our ports. Almost no inspections.
No missles needed to transport a ex Soviet bloc nuclear device in a freight container. Real WMD, real ex nation(s) who have em.
Or our maybe bought from Pakistan?

Iraq is draining our resources and attention.

[Tom]

Originally posted by hcap


Iraq is draining our resources and attention.

Agree with you here. Nothing we will do there will make us any safer inthe war on terror. Time to move on. Suff's post about construction worlkers getting fired upon while trying to help, leads me to one of two possibilities:

1. Most of Iraw hates us and wants us out. So be it. Destroy the infrastructure, destroy the oild filed, and leave. then they will be no threat/use to anyone.

2. They support us for the most part but are too damn chicken/lazy to help us help them. F'emm then. Leave and let them learn how to rebuild on thier own.

[Tom]

What is wrong with that?
If if works, just think about it.
That little "zapppp" you hear so often on summer's nights out on your patio could now be more than just another mosquito.

Pakistani weather report:
Partly cloudy tonight, change of death rays.

[ljb]

Star wars,
What's wrong with it. Our enemy does not have the capability to fight us with rockets and icbms. They use car bombs and suicide bombers. We must put our money in intelligence and guerrila warfare techniques.

[Tom]

Coupling star wars technology with existing capabilities could make it possible to pick out a person on the ground and ZAP him, like they do in sci fi movies.
We have already taken out a terrorist by zeriong in on his cell phone signal and blasting his airplane out of the sky.
You gotta think outside the box, L, gotta think outside the box.

Kirk out.

[ljb]

Ok Tom,
Let's see one terroist zapped. Umpteen million dollars spent. Ok 3 or 4 hundred million terroists. Yeah that will fit in the budget.
Earth to Tom, come in Tom.

[Tom]

Can't hear you. You are inside the box.:D

[ljb]

Beam me up scotty, there's no sign of life down here.