BuzzFlash presents Southern Style
by Rebecca Knight

Excuse Me?

by Rebecca Knight

May 31, 2002

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you this news alert! According to the Washington Post and The Associated Press a new poll conducted by CBS News indicates that two-thirds of Americans think the Bush administration is hiding something about what it knew before Sept. 11, 2001. Just over a fifth of respondents think the administration is telling "the entire truth." However, sixty-two percent don’t believe congressional hearings are warranted on the situation. (1) Excuse me? Doesn't that defy logic? How can approximately the same percentage of Americans believe that the Bush administration is hiding something, but not want it investigated?

I am astounded. I am dumbfounded. I am astonished. I am running out of adjectives to describe my confusion. Okay, America. You apparently believe that it is acceptable for an administration to have known something, whatever that may be, and never find out what that something is. What happened to accountability? What happened to the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? What happened to the responsibility of a president for the safe keeping of the nation’s citizens?

Let’s compare this situation to the investigations that rocked the Clinton administration for almost the entire eight years he was in office. The Republican Party was all over Clinton like a duck on a June bug, as we Southerners say, for a twenty-year old land deal. This was not an event that occurred during his administration. This was not a controversy that had anything remotely close to a connection to his service as our president. Yet, millions of dollars were spent chasing down this story, pressuring witnesses to testify against their better judgment, and connecting dots that seem to have been manufactured for the sole purpose of destroying President Clinton. That is not to excuse what Bill Clinton did. He stupidly defied all common sense knowing that he was living under the microscope of Kenneth Starr’s investigation. But, gee whiz, it was still an investigation of his private life! Did you know that Whitewater was mentioned in the Starr report to Congress two times, Filegate and Travelgate were not mentioned at all, but sex, oh yeah, sex was mentioned over five hundred times? Strange, but true.

Now, where is the Republican Party on investigating the occurrences that led to the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001? The leaders of the Republican Party, Bush and Cheney, have both pressured Senator Tom Daschle to limit an investigation and keep it within the secrecy of Congressional committees. Oh no! We can’t have the public -- actual Americans who vote -- knowing the details. That would be detrimental to our national security! No! We can't have investigations ongoing while we are at "war" with the terrorists who committed these heinous acts.

The New York Times published an editorial entitled "President's Stance on 9/11 Inquiry Bucks Tradition" that details how the Bush administration position on the investigation of 9/11 is a reversal of normal form for presidents. (2) Eleven days after Dec. 7, 1941; President Franklin Roosevelt commissioned an investigation into the Pearl Harbor attacks. It reported to President Roosevelt on Jan. 23, 1942. Apparently, President Roosevelt did not think it detrimental to our war efforts to find out what led to the Pearl Harbor attacks.

Republican Congressman Mike Rogers of Michigan warned, "A blue-ribbon commission is a code word for a political witch hunt." Excuse me? Americans are very well aware of the difference between a "witch hunt" and a legitimate investigation. We lived through a "witch hunt" during the Clinton years.

My heart goes out to the survivors of those who lost loved ones in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11th. I cannot even imagine the pain and anguish they must be experiencing. Not only do they have their grief to deal with, but they must also be wondering what caused the failure of our government to protect its citizens. Now, those survivors, many of whom would like to know what happened, are watching this administration back pedal and discourage any public forum that would allow them to find peace in understanding.

Now, I admit that the reports about the failures of our intelligence agencies to prevent the attacks of Sept. 11th are coming at a mind boggling pace. I read news articles constantly, and it is hard for me to keep it straight in my mind. As I currently understand the situation, Bush has admitted he had been briefed on the possibilities of hijacking attacks on Aug. 6th, but he waited eight months to make this admission. His advisors rationalize this by saying they had no idea the hijackings would be anything but of the traditional nature. Excuse me? Traditional hijackings are bad enough. Didn't the Bush administration have an obligation to protect against "traditional hijackings?"

Then we learn that many reports had addressed the possibility of using airplanes as missiles to destroy buildings. We also know that there were FBI agents writing memos warning against just such attacks. We know that one possible hijacker was already jailed. We know that that FBI had recommended investigating possible terrorists training in American flight schools. We also know that many foreign governments had alerted the Bush administration that the possibility of attacks was imminent. And these dots could not be connected prior to 9/11. Excuse me? Somebody is not doing his or her job!

Just yesterday I watched the Judicial Watch press conference with attorney Larry Klayman speaking about FBI special agent Wright's attempts to forewarn authorities about problems within the agency in fighting terrorism. Agent Wright addressed the media with his concerns, being extremely careful to not cause himself any legal difficulties. At the end of his remarks, he broke into tears as he apologized to the victims of the WTC and the Pentagon. What were the FBI and the Justice Department responses to agent Wright’s efforts? They are making every effort to silence him. Attorney Klayman detailed these attempts. It was a very revealing press conference, but what will be even more revealing will be to watch how the media reports on agent Wright’s story. (3)

The Los Angeles Times reported this week that the Italian police wiretapped Al Qaeda operatives in the thirteen months preceding 9/11. The operatives discussed major attacks involving airports, airplanes, and the United States. (4)

FBI Director Meuller admitted Wednesday that in the weeks before 9/11 the bureau missed "red flags" in Minnesota and Arizona. He also said that the agency had uncovered two additional memos indicating missed terrorist warnings. (5)

The Boston Globe and The Associated Press reported that an internal FBI memo says agents destroyed evidence gathered in an investigation of Bin Laden’s network because the e-mail system picked up e-mails on non-covered targets. The technical person destroyed all the e-mails, including the ones on the Bin Laden network. (6)

While I don’t consider myself a conspiracy theorist, I do have other questions. I would like an explanation of the insider trading that took place in the days leading up to Sept. 11th. I would like to know what led Jeb Bush to put martial law into place in Florida on Sept. 7th. I don’t understand why our armed forces did not have planes in the air tracking those hijacked planes. Remember that the plane carrying golfer Payne Stewart was being closely monitored within minutes of veering off course. I would like to know how the hijackers were identified so quickly and the guilt was placed on Bin Laden immediately. Somebody, somewhere knows more. I am convinced of it.

We deserve answers and not just answers fed to us by investigating committees working behind closed doors. We should have open televised hearings on what occurred so that all Americans can make their own decisions regarding the failures that led to the deaths of thousands of our fellow citizens. This is not about blame. This is not a "witch-hunt" to get Bush. This is about the truth on the critical issue of national security and the safety of our lives.

I am wondering what it will take to wake up the American people. When sixty-two percent of Americans are opposed to finding out what lapses led to the deaths of thousands, something is drastically wrong. For those who think this is an event that should be swept under the rug, I would have to question your logic. Excuse me? Would you feel that way if your loved one had died?

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(1) Poll: Many Suspicious of Bush:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52516-2002May21.html

(2) President’s Stance on 9/11 Inquiry Bucks Tradition:

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/26/politics/26COMM.html

(3) Video of Judicial Watch press conference on FBI special agent Wright:

http://video.c-span.org:8080/ramgen/idrive/ter053002_judicial.rm

(4) Wiretaps May Have Foretold Terrorist Attacks:

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/05.30A.italy.warn.htm

(5) Terrorist Signs Were Missed, FBI Chief Says:

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/05.31A.Mull.Bush.htm

(6) FBI Destroyed Evidence In Bin Laden Case:

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/05.30B.fbi.evidence.p.htm

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Rebecca Knight is a native Tennessean, who grew up in Nashville. She currently resides in a small town about sixty miles outside of Nashville. She attended the University of Tennessee at Martin. She has also lived in North Carolina and Kentucky. She may be reached at tennessee_gal655@yahoo.com.

© 2002 by Rebecca Knight

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