National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States: Testimony (External Links: March 2004)

The following are External Links for March 2004 related to the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States: Testimony.

Also see:
 * National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States: Testimony (External Links: April 2004)
 * National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States: Testimony (Condoleezza Rice)
 * National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States: Testimony (George W. Bush and Dick Cheney)

March 20, 2004

 * Philip Shenon, "Clinton Aides Plan to Tell Panel of Warning Bush Team on Qaeda," New York Times, March 20, 2004.

March 22, 2004

 * "9/11: Internal Government Documents Show How the Bush Administration Reduced Counterterrorism," Center for American Progress, March 22, 2004: "But the real story is far different, as the following internal Department of Justice (DoJ) documents obtained by the Center for American Progress demonstrate. The Bush Administration actually reversed the Clinton Administration's strong emphasis on counterterrorism and counterintelligence. Attorney General John Ashcroft not only moved aggressively to reduce DoJ's anti-terrorist budget but also shift DoJ's mission in spirit to emphasize its role as a domestic police force and anti-drug force. These changes in mission were just as critical as the budget changes, with Ashcroft, in effect, guiding the day to day decisions made by field officers and agents. And all of this while the Administration was receiving repeated warnings about potential terrorist attacks."
 * Cam Simpson, "Inquiries examine Bush's justification for Iraq war," Chicago Tribune, March 22, 2004.

March 23, 2004

 * "'The White House Has Played Cover-Up' - Former 9/11 Commission Member Max Cleland Blasts Bush"(audio/video/transcript), Democracy Now, March 23, 2004: "The independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks is holding public hearings today with testimony by top Bush administration officials. We speak with former commission member Max Cleland who was the chief critic of the White House's lack of cooperation in the investigation."
 * Matthew Yglesias, "The Wolfowitz Record," TAPPED, March 23, 2004 (12:56 PM)].
 * George Wright and Jackie Dent, "Powell denies ignoring 9/11 warnings," Guardian/UK, March 23, 2004.
 * "Cohen criticizes 'wag the dog' characterization. Former defense secretary testifies before 9/11 panel," CNN, March 23, 2004: "... defended President Clinton's use of the military to protect national security interests, returning to a sharp GOP-led criticism of Clinton at a time when he was embroiled in the Monica Lewinsky scandal."
 * "Albright: U.S. unpopularity a 'gift' to al Qaeda," CNN, March 23, 2004.
 * "Clarke: 'White House is papering over facts'," CNN, March 23, 2004.
 * Atrios, "Bush at War," Eschaton, March 23, 2004: Atrios provides two significant quotes. The first comes from Bob Woodward's book (page 39): "Until September 11, however, Bush had not put that thinking [that Clinton's response to al Qaeda emboldened bin Laden] into practice, nor had he pressed the issue of bin Laden. Though Rice and others were developing a plan to eliminate al Qaeda, no formal recommendations had ever been presented to the president. ... 'I know there was a plan in the works. . . . I don't know how mature the plan was,' Bush recalled. . . . He acknowledged that bin Laden was not his focus or that of his national security team. 'There was a significant difference in my attitude after September 11. I was not on point [before that date], but I knew he was a menace, and I knew he was a problem.'" The second comes from the May 18, 2002, article by Woodward and Dan Eggen "August Memo Focused On Attacks in U.S." in the Washington Post: "New accounts yesterday of the controversial Aug. 6 memo provided a shift in portrayals of the document, which has set off a political firestorm because it suggested that bin Laden's followers might be planning to hijack U.S. airliners. ... In earlier comments this week, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and other administration officials stressed that intelligence officials were focused primarily on threats to U.S. interests overseas. But sources made clear yesterday that the briefing presented to Bush focused on attacks within the United States, indicating that he and his aides were concerned about the risks."
 * Paul Krugman, "Lifting the Shroud," New York Times, March 23, 2004: "From the day it took office, U.S. News & World Report wrote a few months ago, the Bush administration 'dropped a shroud of secrecy' over the federal government. After 9/11, the administration's secretiveness knew no limits -- Americans, Ari Fleischer ominously warned, 'need to watch what they say, watch what they do.' Patriotic citizens were supposed to accept the administration's version of events, not ask awkward questions. ... But something remarkable has been happening lately: more and more insiders are finding the courage to reveal the truth on issues ranging from mercury pollution -- yes, Virginia, polluters do write the regulations these days, and never mind the science -- to the war on terror. ... It's important, when you read the inevitable attempts to impugn the character of the latest whistle-blower, to realize just how risky it is to reveal awkward truths about the Bush administration."
 * Scott McClellan, Press Briefing by Scott McClellan on 9/11 Commission hearings in The James S. Brady Press Briefing Room, March 23, 2004.
 * Jackie Frank and Steve Holland, "Bush Rejects Allegations by Former Aide Clarke," Reuters, March 23, 2004.

9/11 Commission Preliminary Conclusions

 * Matthew Yglesias, "Counter Intelligence. After taking office, President Bush could have done more to stop al-Qaeda and terrorism. Here's why he didn't," The American Prospect, March 23, 2004.
 * "Commission draws conclusions on terror attacks," CNN, March 23, 2004.
 * "Preliminary Rulings From 9/11 Commission," AP, March 23, 2004.
 * "U.S. OK'd plan to topple Taliban a day before 9/11. Panel report faults intelligence, lack of will," MSNBC, March 23, 2004.

March 24, 2004

 * Robert Dreyfuss, "A New Folk Hero," Tom Paine, March 24, 2004.
 * David Von Drehle, "Blame game avoided at 9/11 hearing. Unity is surprising theme on Day One," Washington Post, March 23, 2004; updated March 24, 2004 (12:47 PM EST).
 * Transcript: Clarke Praises Bush Team in '02, FOX News, March 24, 2004.
 * Gail Sheehy, Four 9/11 Moms Watch Rumsfeld And Grumble, New York Observer, March 24, 2004. Also extracts.
 * "9/11: Analyzing the Testimony," Center for American Progress, March 24, 2004.
 * "9/11: Lies, Distortions & Admissions," Center for American Progress, March 24, 2004.
 * Joe Drymala, "Clarke's Testimony," Change for America Blog, March 24, 2004.
 * Ken Fireman, "For Bush administration, help from an unlikely source," Newsday, March 24, 2004.
 * Hope Yen, "Rumsfeld: Killing bin Laden wouldn't prevent 9-11. Plot under way before Bush took office, he and Powell say," AP, March 24, 2004: "Shortly before the attacks, the Bush administration was debating how to force bin Laden out. At a Sept. 10, 2001, meeting of second-tier Cabinet officials, officials settled on a three-phase strategy. The first step called for dispatching an envoy to talk to the Taliban. If this failed, diplomatic pressure would be applied and covert funding and support for anti-Taliban fighters would be increased. ... If both failed, 'the deputies agreed that the United States would seek to overthrow the Taliban regime through more direct action,' the report said. Deputy national security adviser Stephen Hadley said the strategy had a three-year timeframe."
 * Liza Porteus, "Clarke: 'Your Government Failed You'," FOX News, March 24, 2004.
 * "Government failed you,' Clarke testifies. Ex-counterterror chief apologizes to victims at 9/11 hearing, says Bush didn't consider terrorism an urgent issue," MSNBC.MSN.com, March 24, 2004.
 * "'Your Government Failed You'," CBS News, March 24, 2004.
 * "Panel: Confusion, Afghan 'proxies' hurt terror fight. Tenet, Berger insist U.S. heeded terror threat," MSNBC.MSN.com, March 24, 2004.
 * David Montgomery, "A tragedy's chorus of witnesses. Battle for the history books playing out in 9/11 hearing," Washington Post, March 24, 2004.
 * Joe Garrofoli, "A testimony to failure. Sept. 11 panel hears how U.S. ran out of time to get bin Laden. TRUTH, NOT SPIN: Families and friends of victims waiting for answers -- and accountability," SFGate, March 24, 2004.
 * Steve Holland, "Rice Accuses Clarke of Conflicting Stories," Reuters, March 24, 2004.
 * "Allegations of Bush critic offer troubling view of Iraq," AJC.com, March 24, 2004.
 * Tom Flocco, "DOJ Asked FBI Translator To Change Pre 9-11 Intercepts," tomflocco.com, March 24, 2004: "FBI translator, Sibel Edmonds, was offered a substantial raise and a full time job in order to not go public that she had been asked by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to retranslate and adjust the translations of [terrorist] subject intercepts that had been received before September 11, 2001 by the FBI and CIA. ... 9-11 family member, Jersey Girl, Kristen Breitweiser, arranged to have Ms. Edmonds address the gathered media right after the Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet testified."
 * Elisabeth Bumiller, "Was an Official 'in the Loop'? It All Depends," New York Times, March 24, 2004.
 * Condoleezza Rice, "Interview of the National Security Advisor by Network Correspondents. Office of the National Security Advisor," March 24, 2004 (4:43 PM EST).
 * "Plenty Of Blame For 9/11 Failures," CBS News, March 24, 2004.
 * "Did Osama Hit Get Green Light?," CBS News, March 24, 2004.
 * "Tenet Defends CIA Efforts," CBS News, March 24, 2004.
 * "Ex-Terror Adviser Lashes Out," CBS News/AP, March 24, 2004.
 * Philip Shenon and Eric Schmitt, "Bush and Clinton Aides Grilled by Panel," New York Times, March 24, 2004.
 * Vincent Morris, "Lost Changes to Kill Osama," New York Post, March 24, 2004.
 * "The Road to 9/11," New York Post Op-Ed, March 24, 2004.
 * Bill Gertz, "Report cites bin Laden's escapes," Washington Times Op-Ed, March 24, 2004.
 * Dan Eggen and John Mintz, "9/11 Panel Critical of Clinton, Bush. Officials From Both Administrations Defend Response to Al Qaeda Threat," Washington Post, March 24, 2004.

March 25, 2004

 * James Gordon Meek, "Clarke: Sorry, we botched 9/11. Ex-aide says Prez lax on anti-terror, New York Daily News, March 25, 2004.
 * "No Clean Hands," CBS News, March 25, 2004.
 * David Paul Kuhn, "Clarke's Political Bombshell," CBS News, March 25, 2004.
 * "White House Fires Back At Clarke," CBS News, March 25, 2004.
 * David Montgomery, "On 9/11 Panel, Bob Kerrey Seconds the Emotion," Washington Post, March 25, 2004.
 * Dana Milbank, "Clarke stays cool under fire. Ex-Bush adviser not rattled by GOP attacks," Washington Post, March 25, 2004.
 * Barbara Slavin and Steven Komarow, "Clarke's charges touch off feud," USA Today, March 24, 2004; updated March 25, 2004.
 * Cursor.org, March 25, 2004: "In his opening statement, Former Defense Secretary William Cohen reinforced a popular misconception when he said that 'some 3,000 Americans' were killed in the 9/11 attacks. According to an (September 4, 2002) AP article, 'nearly 500 foreigners from 91 countries lost their lives.'"
 * "'We tried to create a sense of urgency'," Boston Globe, March 25, 2004: "Excerpts from the testimony of Richard A. Clarke, former counterterrorism coordinator of the National Security Council."
 * Dan Eggen and Walter Pincus, "Ex-Aide Recounts Terror Warnings. Clarke Says Bush Didn't Consider Al Qaeda Threat a Priority Before 9/11," Washington Post, March 25, 2004.
 * Dan Froomkin, "Exceptions to the Rules," Washington Post, March 25, 2004.
 * Ken Guggenheim, "Clarke Grabs Center Stage at 9/11 Hearing," AP, March 25, 2004: "Former Republican Sen. Slade Gorton asked Clarke if there was 'the remotest chance' that the attacks could have been prevented if the Bush administration had adopted his aggressive counterterrorism recommendations upon taking office in January 2001. ... 'No,' Clarke said."
 * Poster Double Trouble, "Bush Pisses Off Wrong Guy," Bad Attitudes, March 25, 2004: "So National Security Advisor Rice is left frantically declassifying documents and running out to the cameras to try to refute Clarke. Which makes her refusal to testify to the 9/11 committee look phony. Cheney argues that they did everything Clarke recommended, but undermines that by also claiming Clarke is embittered because he was out of the loop. ... The Bushies have to keep changing the subject because what they don't want to do is to talk about the really explosive charge Clarke is making -- that the war on Iraq has distracted us from the war on terror and made us less safe. It seems that Bush really pissed off Clarke when he made his success in the war on terror the centerpiece of his campaign. It looks like the Bushies have made the wrong enemy."
 * Lawrence M. O'Rourke, "Clarke, Rice trade charges on terrorist response," SacBee, March 25, 2004: "Two hours later, at the White House, a furious Rice shot back, blasting Clarke's comment as 'scurrilous.' Rice, who was Clarke's boss, accused him of offering differing versions of his role in providing a plan to combat terrorism. 'This story has so many twists and turns, he needs to get his story straight,' she said."
 * "America must hear from Condi Rice," New York Daily News Op-Ed, March 25, 2004.
 * "The Clarke Wars," The American Prospect, March 25, 2004: "It's fascinating to watch the right-wing attack machine -- from senior White House officials down to Fox News and various shameless pundits parroting the White House line -- lurch into action against Richard Clarke, but even more fascinating to watch how badly the counter-attack is going. As others have pointed out, they've been unable to refute any of the factual charges Clarke has made, and have been reduced to an all-out war against his credibility, attempting to depict him, variously, as a self-promoting opportunist, a partisan hack, or a hypocritical or inconsistent bureaucrat. ... But what's surprised me is the level of consciousness among the press that, in fact, the White House is waging war on his credibility."
 * Sean Aday, "He Said, She Lied. The media in an imbalanced world," The Gadflyer, March 25, 2004.
 * Thomas Schaller, "Clarke's 3 Most Important Points," The Gadflyer, March 25, 2004.
 * Edward Epstein, "Clarke rejects attacks by GOP. STANDS BY STORY: Ex-aide embraced by families of 9/11 victims," SFGate, March 25, 2004.
 * "A credible Clarke," SFGate Op-Ed, March 25, 2004.
 * "9/11: Clarke Withstands Scrutiny," Center for American Progress, March 25, 2004.
 * Rice seeks private meeting with 9/11 panel. Clarke charges seen as devastating; commission could insist on oath, MSNBC/NBC News, March 25, 2004.
 * "Text of Rice letter to 9/11 commission," MSNBC, March 25, 2004: "Full text of a letter sent to the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in which the White House offers to make national security adviser Condoleezza Rice available for a private meeting," signed by Alberto R. Gonzales.
 * "Panel: Confusion, Afghan 'proxies' hurt terror fight. Tenet, Berger insist U.S. heeded terror threat," MSNBC/NBC News, March 25, 2004.
 * Richard Sisk, "CIA had an OK to cuff Osama," New York Daily News, March 25, 2004.
 * Ron Fournier, "Clarke hurts Bush on signature issue. Ex-official's accusations may have election impact," AP, March 25, 2004: "But the flash of humility swiftly gave way to damning testimony that cut to the heart of Bush's re-election strategy. Addressing a bipartisan panel, Clarke said the Bush administration failed to show proper urgency toward terrorism before Sept. 11 and softened the nation's approach to al-Qaida. ... It didn't take long for the White House and its allies to realize they had a problem on their hands."
 * Thomas M. DeFrank, "'This guy' sends Bushies reeling," New York Daily News, March 25, 2004.
 * Kevin Drum, "The Loop," Political Animal, Washington Monthly, March 25, 2004.
 * "9/11 Hearings Reveal Administration Inaction," Center for American Progress, March 25, 2004.
 * Geov Parrish, "Just wondering," Working for Change, March 25, 2004.

March 26, 2004

 * Mike Allen, "White House Fights Clarke Fire With Fire. Bush Aides Rush to Head Off Damage," Washington Post, March 26, 2004.
 * Amy Goldstein, "Bush Defends Response to Threats of Terrorism," Washington Post, March 26, 2004.
 * "FBI Chief Surveys Terror Horizon," AP, March 26, 2004. See FBI Chief Robert Mueller.
 * "Rice seeks private meeting with 9/11 panel. Clarke charges seen as devastating; commission could insist on oath," MSNBC/NBC News, March 26, 2004 (Updated 8:15 AM EST).

March 29, 2004

 * Joshua Micah Marshall, "Declassifying the Transcripts," Talking Points Memo, March 29, 2004: "... is not compatible with national security. But taking the transcripts, cutting the individual words into scraps and pasting them back together into incriminating sentences might be okay."

March 31, 2004

 * Dana Priest, "A Clash on Classified Documents. Politics Drives Some Releases, Critics Say," Washington Post, March 31, 2004.