White House Had Plan For Al Qaeda

[Andy_Stephenson]

(CBS) Shortly before the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, U.S. security officials prepared a presidential order to dismantle the al Qaeda network later blamed for the attacks, the White House said Friday.

The proposed order, which contained plans later used in the U.S.-led attack on Afghanistan, had not reached the desk of the President Bush by the time suspected al Qaeda members launched hijacked-plane attacks that killed about 3,000 people last Sept. 11, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.

"The focus of it (the directive) was how to dismantle the al Qaeda network," Fleischer said. "It had not yet been shared by the president."

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/05/17/attack/main509434.shtml

[Parche]

1. Right

And then they were going to create tons of jobs, and Santa Claus
and the Easter Bunny were going to come and have a party with us.
And There is a ranch in Crawford Texas for sale............

[qanda]

9. Please don't forget the tooth fairy

The tooth fairy always gets left out.

[sangh0]

13. Actually, it's true. Here's what really happened

(This is drawn from Al Franken's latest book)

While Clinton was President, he had Clarke, the NSC's man in charge of the US's counter-terrorism efforts, draw up a plan to "get" OBL anad Al Queda. The plan was completed sometime in 2000. Clinton didn't want leave office in the middle of a war, so he held back implementing it, and instead presented it to the incoming Bush admin, who promptly sent it back to Clarke with instructions to make some changes.

The plan that was on Bush*'s desk on 9/10/2001 was essentially a slightly modified version of Clinton's plan. The strategy used to invade Afghanistan (Special Ops forces using the latest in GPS and bomb technology in conjunction with Northern Alliance "boots on the ground") was developed under Clinton.

[blondeatlast]

2. Yikes.

(snip)
It was dated September tenth, and sat on National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice's desk awaiting Bush's review when the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were struck.

Some key Democrats were also aware of the possibility of a terrorist attack, Fleischer said. He said Bush hoped Democrats would not "play politics" with the issue.

The call against politicizing the attacks comes three days after the White House defended a Republican fundraising offer of a photograph of Bush on Sept. 11 in exchange for political donations.

(snip)

Edit: How ConVEEEENient!

Please someone, get DU one of those photos--you sneaky little bastards (compliment) ough to be able to do it.

[Emboldened Chimp]

3. This is OLD news

I know it's GD, not LBN, but why post the obvious?

[Andy_Stephenson]

4. So that we should not forget....

who the real culprits are.

[Emboldened Chimp]

7. Got it

Good point.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

5. I doubt they had any plan at all.

This story is 8 months after 9-11. Plenty of time to create an ass-covering story. If this was released within a week or so, I might have an easier time swallowing it. Might.

[Langis]

8. It doesn't really cover their ass

If they admit that they had the plan the Day Bush took office (the plan was created by the Clinton administration). Then he and his administration sat on it for 9 months and did nothing with it.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

11. The story says:

Shortly before the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, U.S. security officials prepared a presidential order to dismantle the al Qaeda network later blamed for the attacks, the White House said Friday <the Friday before May 17, the issue date of the piece>

Clinton isn't mentioned in the piece. Clue me in if I'm missing something.

[Fixated]

6. ....

The plan was based on a Clintonian plan to take out the group. Whether or not there is a conspiracy here is questionable, but it's interesting.

[tom_paine]

10. Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them

Yeah. And Stalin knew all about Barbarossa on June 21st.

Puh-leeze. Imperial Amerika is so much like the Old Soviet Union now, at least from the "lying Government Pronouncements that are so frequent as to be axiomatic".

[cprise]

12. It is Soviet-like now

...except that the rule is overconsumption not scarcity.

[JHB]

14. What a Country...

In Russia, you always had to watch your ass...
In America, Ass(croft) always watching you...

-- with apologies to Yakov Smirnov