Mike Hersh
Air Force Colonel says "Bush Knew" about 9/11
Wed Mar 24 13:45:51 2004
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Air Force Colonel says "Bush Knew" about 9/11
By Mike Hersh
Aug 13, 2002
http://www.mikehersh.com/article_65.shtml

A brave Air Force veteran is making his stand as an American, but the Bush administration is trying to silence him. As Congress begins its clandestine investigation into the catastrophe of 9/11, few voices dare to speak truth to power. Lt.Colonel Steven Butler has been suspended for writing a letter in which he called President Bush 'a joke' and accused Bush of knowing about the Sept. 11 attacks." See: DLI official removed for criticizing Bush, The Monterey County Herald, 6/3/02.

This is no "conspiracy theory" or a crank report from one obscure source. The AP, CNN, the New York Times and others are quoting Colonel Butler's letter: "Of course Bush knew about the impending attacks on America. He did nothing to warn the American people because he needed this war on terrorism. His daddy had Saddam and he needed Osama."

Butler, a Gulf War veteran with 24-years of Air Force service added: "His presidency was going nowhere. He wasn't elected by the American people, but placed into the Oval Office by the conservative Supreme Court...the economy was sliding into the usual Republican pits and he needed something to hang his presidency on." Oddly this link to CNN online, which first appeared on 06/04/02 is no longer operative: Colonel suspended for bad-mouthing Bush. However, it lingers on as an empty ghost in the Google archives.

Bush's motivations are still unclear, but there's no question
that - by his actions and inaction - Bush left us vulnerable.
Bush is responsible. The 9/11 attacks happened on his watch.

President Clinton ordered two Los Angeles class attack submarines to stand watch over the Taliban and bin Laden's terrorists. Bush ordered the subs to stand down. See: The Covert Hunt for bin Laden: Broad Effort Launched After '98 Attacks. The Washington Post, 12/19/01.

Clinton read the riot act on Al Qaeda and threatened the Taliban leadership he would hold them personally responsible for any attack by bin Laden's terrorists against Americans. Bush lifted that decree. See: Clinton's War on Terror: The Covert Hunt for bin Laden. The Washington Post, 12/20/01.

Bush sent Millions of our tax dollars to the Taliban, trying to get a pipeline built through their territory. His administration supported negotiations with terrorists on behalf of his campaign contributors, corporations employing his father and former Bush administration officials including James A. Baker III, the man who led Bush's efforts to wrest the White House from Al Gore.

Intelligence agents reveal Bush turned a "blind eye" to terrorism by ordering our CIA and FBI to "back off" Saudi terror suspects - including Osama bin Laden's brothers - operating in the US. See: Call it 9-11Gate.

Because of Bush's orders, top FBI officials ignored warnings efforts to investigate and arrest the terrorists who later hijacked and flew our planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Special FBI Agent Coleen Rowley confirms this, and the efforts to cover it up. See: Demand Public Congressional 9/11 Investigation.

Now, Colonel Butler is telling us Bush "did nothing to warn the American people because he needed this war on terrorism. His daddy had Saddam and he needed Osama. His presidency was going nowhere."

No wonder Bush and Cheney threatened Democrats and the media to "watch what you say." They don't want a public investigation. First, they demanded no investigation at all. Then, they agreed to a secret investigation by a special joint Congressional Intelligence Committee, operating in a soundproof, windowless room in the Capitol Building. But even now, they continue the cover-up!

Now Bush and Cheney are obstructing that secret investigation. They refused to comply with Congressional requests for information, and ordered the CIA and FBI not to cooperate. Cheney even had the audacity to admit all of this, and top Republicans try to claim questioning Bush is tantamount to treason. We cannot let the Bush Republicans silence us.

Opinion polls show two-thirds of Americans know Bush and Cheney are not telling the truth; most blame the Bush Administration for 9/11. Bush's people are trying to point fingers, block public investigations, intimidate critics, and distract us to cover up their failures. They can only succeed if we let them. Don't let them bury the truth.

"Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle - along with most of his fellow Democrats and a handful of prominent Republicans, notably including Arizona's John McCain" support an independent investigation into 9/11. That hope "is dead, at least for the moment." The Republicans "quietly set aside legislation that would establish an independent commission to investigate the terrorist attack of Sept. 11, 2001." See: Putting "Today" before tomorrow's security Salon.com: 06/22/02

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Bush's Short-Sighted 9/11 Cover-Up
By Mike Hersh
Dec 13, 2003
http://www.mikehersh.com/Bushs_Short_Sighted_911_CoverUp.shtml

Rather than embrace efforts to find out what went wrong on 9/11/01 to prevent another devastating terror attack, right wingers in the White House adopted Watergate cover-up tactics, stone-walling, lying, and of course attacking Americans who want to know the truth.

Pushing back against Bush administration cover-ups and efforts to stone-wall, the Kean Commission is moving ahead slowly but doggedly. As CBS News Correspondent Randall Pinkston reported: "For the first time, the chairman of the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks is saying publicly that 9/11 could have and should have been prevented."

CBS quoted Bush appointee and Republican former governor of New Jersey Thomas Kean, "This is a very, very important part of history and we've got to tell it right." Kean added, "As you read the report, you're going to have a pretty clear idea what wasn't done and what should have been done."

According to CBS, "To find out who failed and why, the commission [is] threatening a subpoena to gain access to the president's top-secret daily briefs. Those documents may shed light on one of the most controversial assertions of the Bush administration – that there was never any thought given to the idea that terrorists might fly an airplane into a building."

This formulation confirms CBS is too deferential to the Bush Administration. Bush and other top Republicans followed White House political mastermind Karl Rove's advice to exploit the 9/11 disaster for partisan advantage, especially in the 2002 elections and in battles with Congressional Democrats. Rove told Republicans to attack Democrats as "soft on defense" and question their patriotism. Now Kean and others are demanding answers to important questions and drawing unflattering conclusions about the Bush Administration's failure to keep us safe.

Bush's choice for national security adviser Condoleeza Rice not only failed to do her job, she even failed to think about how to do her job. CBS quotes Rice from May 16, 2002: "I don't think anybody could have predicted that they would try to use an airplane as a missile, a hijacked airplane as a missile." She had 8 months to come up with a better cover story than that.

CBS quotes Kristen Breitweiser, a 9/11 widow from New Jersey who lobbied Congress and the president [sic] to establish the Kean Commission: "If you were to tell me that two years after the murder of my husband that we wouldn't have one question answered, I wouldn't believe it." Breitweiser wonders, "How is it possible we have a national security advisor coming out and saying we had no idea they could use planes as weapons when we had FBI records from 1991 stating that this is a possibility?"

Clearly either the FBI (under Attorney General John Ashcroft) refused to share this information with Rice, or else she ignored detailed warnings and is lying about it. Unless Rice is a liar, she really had no idea and that makes her the worst National Security Adviser in history. In any case, she should lose her job, along with all the others in the Bush Administration who caused this massive failure in intelligence, defense and national security.

CBS quotes Kean on the bottom line: "This was not something that had to happen," and "there are people that, if I was doing the job, would certainly not be in the position they were in at that time because they failed. They simply failed." CBS asked Kean if we should know if "people sitting in the decision-making spots on that critical day are still in those positions," Kean assured, "Yes, the answer is yes. And we will." We know Bush and Cheney are still in their positions. At least for now. CBS, Kean and Breitweiser quotes from: 9/11 Chair: Attack Was Preventable, Randall Pinkston, Dec. 17, 2003: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/12/17/eveningnews/main589137.shtml .

The Pentagon itself suffered attack. How can anyone have faith in the Bush Defense Department that failed to protect itself! We know there were detailed warnings which the Bush Administration ignored leading up to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Bush and his inept national security team ignored incredibly detailed warnings, so calling those who question Bush's failures kooks or pointing to outlandish theories to tar sensible people won't work. Bush knew or should have known about the specific threats. He failed to do his most essential job. Bush failed to protect us, and 3,100 died on 9/11. From Republicans Still Can't Keep Us Safe:

"According to Time [Magazine], on 'July 5, 2001, Despite a quiet Fourth of July, the CIA warns Bush that imminent strikes are still possible. He asks Rice to find out what the agencies are doing about al-Qaeda. [Anti-terror expert Richard] Clarke holds meetings with CIA, FBI, Pentagon and State officials. He also tells key domestic agencies to be prepared for an attack.' They ignore[d] him.

This although Bush and top Bush officials were warned about possible hijacking terror attacks on 'July 10, 2001, Phoenix, Ariz., FBI agent Kenneth Williams sends headquarters a memo about Middle Eastern students at an Arizona flight school, theorizing al-Qaeda could be trying to infiltrate U.S. aviation [and CIA Director] Tenet brief[ed] Bush in Crawford, Texas, with an analytic report on al-Qaeda. It is based largely on old intelligence but raises hijackings as a possible threat,' on August 6, 2001.

As al Qaeda prepared for the massive attacks, Bush and his top officials didn't. Bush ignored the threats and took a long vacation. As Time reports, 'September 4, 2001, The Principals' Committee - Cheney, Rice and other top national-security officials - [finally held] its first terrorism meeting. They debate[d] Clarke's plan, decide[d] to implement it in a phased approach and send it to Bush.' Of course by then it was too late. The Bush Administration's tentative, impotent moves came months late and $millions short."

See: http://www.mikehersh.com/Republicans_Still_Can_t_Keep_Us_Safe.shtml .

Bush ignored warnings and went on a month-long vacation. No Patriot Act or Homeland Security Department can protect us unless we know what went wrong and why. http://www.mikehersh.com/We_Must_Know_the_Causes_of_911.shtml . The Bush administration silenced and suspended Air Force Lt. Colonel Steven Butler for writing a letter saying Bush knew about the Sept. 11 attacks beforehand. http://www.mikehersh.com/article_65.shtml. Why did Bush and Cheney try to limit 9/11 inquiry to secret congressional Intelligence Committee proceedings? What don't they want us to know? http://www.mikehersh.com/article_2.shtml .

Millions of Saudi dollars compromised the patriotism of top current and former Bush officials, including George W. Bush, George Herbert Walker Bush, James A. Baker III, and many others. These officials looked the other way - or worse - before and after the Saudi-sponsored terrorist attacks. Is this why the Bush White House is desperately trying to stone-wall investigations into September 11th? See: http://www.mikehersh.com/article_4.shtml  and http://www.mikehersh.com/article_45.shtml . See Mike Hersh.com articles about 9/11 and the continuing Bush cover up ( http://www.mikehersh.com/cat_index_9.shtml  ) for more details.

Lisa Thomas' Op-Ed "The Ellen Mariani Lawsuit" explains, "Ellen Mariani is suing the Bush-Cheney-Ashcroft gang, accusing them of having knowledge and warnings of 911 and of failing to warn or take steps to prevent the tragedy. The lawsuit, being handled by Philip J. Berg, former Deputy Attorney General of Pennsylvania, further alleges that the Bush crowd has been covering up the truth of 911."

Thomas writes: "At the heart of the complaint is the plaintiff's intention to 'hold Defendants accountable for allowing the '911' attacks against her nation to occur to profit personally and politically from an illegal war on international terror." She adds, "The full complaint, filed in Philadelphia on November 26 can be read at: http://nancho.net/911/mariani.html , or a copy of the 61-page Amended Complaint is available by e-mail by contacting Phil Berg at PJBLAW@aol.com. Mr. Berg states that while 3,000 copies of the press release announcing the complaint were sent out that only one was printed, that at Scoop, in New Zealand ( http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0311/S00261.htm )." See:
http://www.thefence.com/pages/Pontifications/Pontification.asp?PontificationId=107 .

On NPR's "Diane Rehm show," Democratic front runner Howard Dean explained, "The President is taking a great risk by suppressing the clear, the key information that needs to go to the Kean Commission." He never accused anyone of anything, just warned that clumsy cover-ups only lead to "conspiracy theories" - and worse.

Of course the pro-Bush media enforcers piled on Dean, lied about what he said - this to help Bush maintain the 9/11 cover-up. But Dean won't be silenced, and Bush's allies cannot twist his sensible warnings into crazed "conspiracy theory." Listen for yourself, about 41 minutes into the interview: http://www.wamu.org/ram/2003/r1031201.ram .

Bush failed utterly on 9/11. Asking questions and demanding answers is non-partisan and essential. As for Republican charges that questioning the Commander in Chief in time of war is treasonous, they just don't know their history. After the December 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor attack, leading Republicans accused President Franklin Roosevelt of allowing if not orchestrating the attacks in order to take America into World War II. Republicans including Thomas Dewey - the governor of New York and the GOP nominee for President in 1948 - demanded to impeach FDR during the darkest days of WW II based on this "conspiracy theory."

Remember, World War II - unlike Bush's Iraqmire - was a formally declared war. Unlike W. Bush, FDR was actually legally elected! Even so, the Republicans did FDR and America a favor when they demanded and conducted in-depth investigations. The inquiry found no grounds to support the charges "FDR knew about Pearl Harbor." This cleared FDR and let the USA move o