From the Misleader

I'm just a conduit today

BUSH ADMINISTRATION RESORTS TO LIES ABOUT 9/11

With President Bush's former top counterterrorism expert Richard Clarke
issuing well-documented criticisms of the White House's failure to defend
America, the Administration has resorted to outright lies and distortions
about its record. The president himself once again tried to deflect
criticism, saying "had my administration had any information that terrorists
were going to attack New York City on September the 11" (1) - a statement
designed to deflect attention from the specific warnings that he personally
received outlining an imminent Al Qaeda attack (2) that could involve
hijacked planes (3) being used as missiles (4).

Here are four other explicit lies that the Administration has told over the
last few days:

LIE: National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice claimed that Clarke "chose
not to" (5) voice his concerns about the Administration's counterterrorism
policy. But Clarke sent an urgent memo to Rice in January 2001 asking for a
Cabinet-level meeting about an imminent Al Qaeda attack (6). The White House
itself admits top Bush officials rejected Clarke's request, saying they "did
not need to have a formal meeting to discuss the threat." (7)

LIE: White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan yesterday denied Clarke's
charge that the president ordered the Pentagon to begin drafting plans to
invade Iraq immediately after 9/11. (8) But according to the Washington
Post, "six days after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the
Pentagon, President Bush signed a 2-and-a-half-page document" that "directed
the Pentagon to begin planning military options for an invasion of Iraq."
(9) This was corroborated by a September 2002 CBS News report which reported
that, immediately after 9/11, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told "aides
to come up with plans for striking Iraq." (10)

LIE: Deputy National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley denied Clarke's charge
that there was an imminent domestic threat against America from Al Qaeda,
saying, "All the chatter [before 9/11] was of an attack, a potential Al
Qaeda attack overseas." (11) But, according to the bipartisan Congressional
report on 9/11, "In May 2001, the intelligence community obtained a report
that Bin Laden supporters were planning to infiltrate the United States" to
"carry out a terrorist operation using high explosives." The report "was
included in an intelligence report for senior government officials in August
[2001]." (12)

LIE: Bush National Security spokesman Jim Wilkinson claimed that "it was
this president who expedited the deployment of the armed Predator" (the
unmanned plane) (13). But, according to Newsweek, it was the Bush
Administration who "elected not to relaunch the Predator" and who did not
deploy the new armed version of it despite "the military having successfully
tested an armed Predator throughout the first half of 2001." (14)

Sources:
1. President Discusses Economy and Terrorism After Cabinet Meeting,
03/23/2004, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1160016&l=24284.
2. "August Memo Focused On Attacks in U.S.", Washington Post, 05/18/2002,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1160016&l=24285.
3. "Report Warned Of Suicide Hijackings", CBS News, 05/18/2002,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1160016&l=24286.
4. "Italy Tells of Threat at Genoa Summit", Los Angeles Times, 09/27/2001,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1160016&l=24287.
5. American Morning Transcript, 03/22/2004,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1160016&l=24288.
6. "Clarke's Take On Terror", CBS News, 03/21/2004,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1160016&l=24289.
7. "White House Rebuttal to Clarke Interview", Washington Post, 02/23/2004,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1160016&l=24290.
8. Press Briefing by Scott McClellan, 03/23/2004,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1160016&l=24291.
9. "U.S. Decision On Iraq Has Puzzling Past", Washington Post, 01/12/2003,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1160016&l=24292.
10. "Plans For Iraq Attack Began On 9/11", CBS News, 09/04/2002,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1160016&l=24293.
11. "Clarke's Take On Terror", CBS News, 03/21/2004,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1160016&l=24289.
12. Joint Inquiry of Intelligence Community Activities Before and After The
Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001, 12/2002,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1160016&l=24294.
13. Fox News, 3/22/04
14. Freedom of Information Center, 05/27/2002,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1160016&l=24295.

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