Read this account. IT is not speculation but was confirmed by the White House. Contrary to what Tony Snow is saying, this is not old news. Indeed the White House somehow kept any record of this meeting from the 9/11 Commission.
So picture this. A desperate meeting held in July 2001 between the CIA and the White House. The CIA tried to warn Condi Rice and the president about the looming terrorists attack that took place on 9/11. Instead of doing something, the president went on vacation. People risked their careers to warn the White House and instead they were rebuffed.
The Bob Woodward Book State of Denial "...reported that then-CIA Director George Tenet and his counterterrorism chief, Cofer Black, grew so concerned about a possible al-
Qaida attack in summer 2001 that they abruptly decided to drive straight to the White House to get high-level attention.
Qaida attack in summer 2001 that they abruptly decided to drive straight to the White House to get high-level attention.
Tenet called Rice, then the national-security adviser, from his car to ask to see her in hopes that the surprise appearance would make an impression.
But the meeting on July 10, 2001, left Tenet and Black frustrated and feeling brushed off, Woodward reported. Rice, they believed, did not feel the same sense of urgency about the threat and was content to wait for a policy review.
But the meeting on July 10, 2001, left Tenet and Black frustrated and feeling brushed off, Woodward reported. Rice, they believed, did not feel the same sense of urgency about the threat and was content to wait for a policy review.
The report of such a meeting takes on heightened importance after former President Clinton this week complained that the Bush team did not do enough to try to kill Osama bin Laden before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., said her husband would have paid more attention to warnings of a possible attack than did Bush.
Rice fired back on behalf of the current president, saying the Bush administration "was at least as aggressive" in eight months as Clinton had been in eight years.
The July 10 meeting among Rice, Tenet and Black wasn't mentioned in various investigations into the Sept. 11 attacks and Woodward wrote that Black "felt there were things the commissions wanted to know about and things they didn't want to know about."
The July 10 meeting among Rice, Tenet and Black wasn't mentioned in various investigations into the Sept. 11 attacks and Woodward wrote that Black "felt there were things the commissions wanted to know about and things they didn't want to know about."
Jamie Gorelick, a member of the Sept. 11 commission, said she checked with staff members, who told her investigators were never told about a July 10 meeting.
White House and State Department officials confirmed Friday that the July 10 meeting took place, although they took issue with the portrayal of its results. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack, responding on behalf of Rice, said Tenet and Black had never publicly expressed any frustration with her response. Tenet and Black did not respond to messages Friday."
White House and State Department officials confirmed Friday that the July 10 meeting took place, although they took issue with the portrayal of its results. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack, responding on behalf of Rice, said Tenet and Black had never publicly expressed any frustration with her response. Tenet and Black did not respond to messages Friday."
Washington Post reporter Glenn Kessler contributed to this report. Material from The Associated Press, Bloomberg News and the Los Angeles Times also is included.
Copyright © 2006 The Seattle Times Company
Copyright © 2006 The Seattle Times Company
In a nutshell George W Bush and Condi Rice completely own 9/11. That is their final legacy.
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