What Bush Could Have Done | UPDATE | UPDATE 2
by Melissa Barlow
May 16, 2002
The GOP and members of the media have been saying that even if Bush DID know that a hijacking of some sort was imminent, there was nothing he could have done about it. Here's a list of actions he could have taken. Post this and invite other BuzzFlash readers to add their own ideas.
Don't
let Bush off the hook! September 11 could have prevented.
When told in August that intelligence showed that al-Qaeda was planning
a hijacking, Bush could have...
1. Ordered that armed air marshals be placed on every plane in U.S. airspace.
Even if there weren't enough air marshals for this, he could have ordered
that as many planes as possible have them.
2. In August, authorities discovered that known al-Qaeda operatives Khalid al-Midhar and Nawaq al-Hamzi had slipped into the U.S. Bush could have ordered their names and pictures be sent to all ticket counters, airports and travel agencies throughout the U.S. When the two men purchased their tickets days before September 11, they would have been captured and the plot disrupted.
3. Bush could have ordered a general alert to go out to the country to watch for and report anything suspicious that related to hijackings. Numerous citizens across the U.S., some of whom had already contacted authorities, would have responded.
4. With the arrest of Zaccarias Moussaoui, Bush could have ordered the FBI and other agencies to investigate other flight schools throughout the country.
5.
Bush could have ordered increased airport security and screening of passengers.
That took me about ten minutes. What other ideas can people come up with?
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6. Called in the National Guard to initiate strict searches of all boarding passengers.
7. He could have gotten pictures and names of all foreigners training at flight schools in the US, instaead of ignoring the FBI memos, and posted them at all boarding gates in the US.
8. He could have brought in surface to air missiles in every "potential" target...large buildings, nuclear reactors, large dams...and had the ability to shoot down incoming hijacked airplanes.
9. He very easily could have armed all commercial pilots.
10. He could have initiated active profiling for all potential Arab terrorists...the hell with politically correct.
11. He could have begun to institute the recommendations of the Airline Safety and Security commission made in 1996!...most of which have now been implemented after the fact.
12. He could have NOT provoked the attack, by threatening the Taliban with a "carpet of gold, or a carpet of bombs".
Ronald
Helm
Sandpoint, Idaho
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Bush could have:
- Ordered issuance of the FISA warrant to trace Moussaoiu's e-mails and phone calls back to Germany and eventually, to Atta and others.
- Ordered the airlines to apply fully all their software models that flag suspicious bookings (e.g., one-way tix purchased for cash)
- Ordered security at high-risk targets to maximize evacuation plans (and be aware of the threat from the air)
- Warned the pilots' or airlines' association to reconsider their policy re: hijacking (in other words, advise them to resist with all available means).
- Advised air defense units of the potential scenario.
Instead, nothing was done. Instead, Bush went on a month-long vacation. (Was he waiting out the attack?)
A BuzzFlash Reader
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