eclecticism

Bush: ‘…the PDB was no indication of a terrorist threat.’

April 12th, 2004 |

What?

I challenge anyone to explain to me how this isn’t just flat-out idiotic. From a press conference with President Bush yesterday:

Q Mr. President, could you tell us, did you see the presidential — the President’s Daily Brief from August of ‘01 as a warning —
THE PRESIDENT: Did I see it? Of course I saw it; I asked for it. Q No, no, I’m sorry — did you see it as a warning of hijackers? And how did you respond to that? THE PRESIDENT: My response was exactly like then as it is today, that I asked for the Central Intelligence Agency to give me an update on any terrorist threats. And the PDB was no indication of a terrorist threat. There was not a time and place of an attack. It said Osama bin Laden had designs on America. Well, I knew that. What I wanted to know was, is there anything specifically going to take place in America that we needed to react to? As you might recall, there was some specific threats for overseas that we reacted to. And as the President, I wanted to know whether there was anything, any actionable intelligence. And I looked at the August 6th briefing, I was satisfied that some of the matters were being looked into. But that PDB said nothing about an attack on America. It talked about intentions, about somebody who hated America — well, we knew that.

p>This would be the PDB entitled “Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US”, by the way.

You’ll have to excuse me for a moment, but…could we please get this fucking imbecile out of the Oval Office?

I cannot believe the hubris, the monomaniacal egotism of Bush and his cronies. Because there wasn’t a time and dated marked on a calendar and circled in bright red ink, they think they’re absolved of any responsibility in preventing the attack.

This makes me sick.

David Sirota is fact-checking Bush also:

Not only is Bush lying, but he’s making a ridiculous argument: he’s essentially saying that because he did not know terrorists would attack at a specific time, place he is absolved from his gross negligence in failing to ratchet up homeland security and counterterrorism before 9/11. It is like saying that while you know a car accident can kill you and your family, it is OK to not strap yourself and your kids in because you don’t know exactly when and where you might get into an accident.

(via Atrios)

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7 Responses to “Bush: ‘…the PDB was no indication of a terrorist threat.’”

Todd Says:
April 12th, 2004 at 11:38 am

“You’ll have to excuse me for a moment, but…could we please get this fucking imbecile out of the Oval Office?”

Amen my friend…A ‘fucking’ men.

Skinned Mink Says:
April 12th, 2004 at 12:07 pm

Agreed.

paul Says:
April 12th, 2004 at 12:48 pm

Kevin Drum referred to the simplicity of the language, the low-reading level, of this document. I’m not looking for a cheap laugh here, but it is curious how little information there is. Perhaps in the context of a few of these, we would see more information, but taken on its face, I have to wonder what a chief executive — even a VP — would think of a competitive analysis that was so thin on facts.

At its core, there should be some insight or analysis into where these facts take us: if hijacking is the threat, do we have any idea where they might strike? Have we notified the TSA on this increased risk? Do we have any profile information on who the hijackers might be? What will we do if a plane is hijacked? What are they going to ask for and what are we prepared to offer in return? And given that the use of airplanes are missiles was a contingency the 1996 Olympic planners were aware of, what does that fit into the threat matrix?

I get the feeling this was just a summer briefing for a vacationing recipient. The targeted cities were mentioned, and since the WTC had already been attacked, I would expect it to be on the list of places to secure.

Hindsight is 20:20: while I’m no fan of W and think he ought to re-acquaint himself with Truman’s famous “the buck stops here” mantra, the people who wrote and presented this did an appalling job of analyzing the information they had and preparing options for a decisionmaker to act on.

Tim Who? Says:
April 12th, 2004 at 6:46 pm

Paul, for the most part I would agree with you, on its own it is a little vague and certainly the POTUS can’t cover everything all the time, but it’s not just this daily briefing.

1.Clark tried to explain the something bad was coming and because he wouldn’t name Saddam as the bad guy they shut him out of the loop. 2. Clinton tried to explain something bad was coming and ignored him completely because he was Clinton. 3. The planes went out of flight path lines for over an hour and no one did anything to stop them. (This is very much against FAA regulations) 4. The FBI was talking to people on the planes and KNEW they were high-jacked and didn’t do anything. 5. The military was on a drill during the attack and was on ALERT status and still didn’t do anything. 6. Someone whispered to Bush in the school “A plane has struck the world trade center tower” or “America is under attack” (different stories vary and its never been cleared up) and yet Bush continues to read with the kids. Ok let’s review

He has a daily briefing that says “Osama” “New York” and “Planes” “Bombs” Clinton warned him. Clark warned him. The World trade center has been a target in the past. The FBI has 70 active investigations going on and KNOWS about the high-jackings

Oddly the secret service is rushing The vice Pres out of the Senate and into a bunker. But the POTUS sits in a classroom and reads to kids. He says he saw the plane hit the tower and thought. “ That’s a poor pilot “

My GOD at what point do we “The people” say how fucking stupid can you be Mr. Bush. At what point do we say You should have done SOMETHING.

Well he was doing something; he was finishing up the longest Presidential vacation in US history. And to this day he still hasn’t admitted a single mistake was made by anyone. Nobody got fired for any failure. Nothing went wrong. Nobody did anything bad.

I respectfully disagree.

That level of failure by me at my job will send my ass to the unemployment office. I fully intend to do the same to Mr. Bush in Nov.

Chas Redmond Says:
April 12th, 2004 at 8:01 pm

The only real question at this point is: Does the rest of America get it? If so, we’re secure in knowing that Dubwa will be a one-term President. If the rest of America still believes this guy - then “we get the Government we deserve.” The sad reality of a democracy is that it’s only as good as its citizens.

authgeek Says:
April 12th, 2004 at 10:31 pm

You cannot misinterpret the big red ‘9!’ From Airbag

Robert Says:
April 12th, 2004 at 11:15 pm

Tim: Your last two paragraphs were probably one of the smartest things I’ve heard in the last week. If I had constantly been on a coffee break, been outside peutzing around, neglected to tell my boss things were going to go very wrong, blown off employees, any kind of the jackassery that this President has done, my ass would’ve been toast. Especially if it had been from day one!

We need to start demanding the President actually be doing Presidential things while on his term for the most part (put him on probation for crissakes!). The weekends, sure they can be his. Just go to the odd fundraiser or awareness deal or meet with some random prime minister once a month or so on a weekend. Want a week or two off in the summer? Fine. Take a trip to a foreign country? You’re the Head Citizen, so at least check some things out.

But this is ridiculous. Even when my mother transferred within the county’s programs, she was put on a six-month probation. GW came from being a governor. But he needs to face facts and deal with his roles as President (of which there are something similar to a dozen). In my mind, those roles should be overriding of his previous job. He’s our Head Citizen, not the Head Cowboy. Not Head Rancher. Not Head Idiot. Not Head Polluter. And definitely Not Head Oil Company Executive. Maybe if he had a freaking clue what being President entailed he could at least be insulted for knowing but not acting on it; as it stands, I don’t even think he comprehends the immense resposibilities bestowed upon him.