| http://leboutillier.blogspot.com/ Thursday, May 16, 2002 CIA CYA “What did he know – and when did he know it?” The famous Watergate question aimed 30 years ago by Senator Howard Baker at President Nixon is now being used by the national news media in light of stunning revelations that President G.W. Bush was indeed warned prior to 9/11 of possible Osama bin Laden jet hijackings. The reports – only reluctantly admitted to by White House officials late last night – are but the tip of an iceberg of intelligence reports certain now to be surfaced in preparation for Senate Intelligence Committee hearings next month on our intelligence failures leading to the 9/11 attacks. The White House ‘spin’ is that while the President was indeed told of a ‘general’ threat of hijackings of jets by Osama’s forces, “no one anticipated the jets would be used as missiles.” Oh, yeah? Back in 1995 when Ramzi Youssef was arrested for the first (1993) World Trade Center bombing, he and his roommate in Manila had specific written plans in their apartment detailing the hijacking of several American airliners. Their plan was to put homemade bombs on each jet and then dive bomb them into CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. So why in the world is the Bush White House now proclaiming their ‘shock’ and “surprise’ that terrorists would use passenger jets as kamikaze bombers? CYA – that’s why. Our intelligence community is a joke – and they have once again been caught with their pants down. Thus, the “spin” that “we had some general idea that an attack might be coming, but no one could anticipate that they would use jets as missiles.” CIA Director George Tenet delivered most morning briefings to President Bush. Apparently the Osama/pre-9/11 hijacking report was delivered to Mr. Bush at his Crawford Ranch in August by Tenet. Eight months later, Director Tenet is still in charge. In fact, his role and his agency’s role and budget have been increased despite the most massive intelligence failure in US history. Last fall I wrote of this – repeatedly – and was heavily criticized for it (http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2001/11/8/174016.shtml). But time has proven that there is much more to be uncovered than we, the people, have been told by this White House. There is the Phoenix FBI agent and his memorandum warning of imminent trouble emanating from foreigners at our flight schools. And there is yet to come the other 9 agents now represented by David Schippers – all of whom warned superiors prior to the attacks and were told to “shut up or you will be prosecuted under the National Security Act.” Schippers is the real deal – and his clients must be, as well. What this country needs is a gigantic housecleaning of each and every intelligence agency from top to bottom. Sunlight needs to be let into these dark and dusty corridors of unchecked and out-of-control power. The Achilles’ heel of former President Bush was always his years in the CIA. He had to cover for too many other people and “keep the lid on” too many hidden scandals. Now his son is about to be bedeviled by the same problem: an intel community that has become a government unto itself. |
