FREE MARKET NEWS:
FBI Must Explain 70 Probes Before 9/11-Panelists
Mon Apr 12, 2004 14:23
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FBI Must Explain 70 Probes Before 9/11-Panelists
Sun Apr 11, 2004 02:25 PM ET
http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=1WKKY3F2LWOEACRBAEKSFFA?type=domesticNews&storyID=4798587

By Lori Santos

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The FBI this week will be pressed to explain why 70 separate investigations did not uncover the Sept. 11 hijacked airliner plot, members of the commission investigating the attacks said on Sunday.

Former U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton, seizing on the revelation that so many probes were under way weeks before the deadly attacks, also said former President Bill Clinton told the panel he was frustrated by his inability to give the FBI direct orders.

"The greatest surprise to me was that President Clinton said how limited the White House is in dealing with the FBI," Gorton, a Republican member of the bipartisan commission, told "Fox News Sunday."

"You know, after all of the scandals of J. Edgar Hoover and some in the Nixon years, the White House has felt that it couldn't give direct directions to the FBI and I think that was a great inhibiting factor."

The secretive and autocratic Hoover ran the FBI from 1924 until his death in 1972, during which time agents routinely spied on political protesters and others. Nixon resigned from the U.S. presidency in 1974 after the Watergate break-in.

Clinton testified behind closed doors to the national commission on Thursday, following public testimony from Condoleezza Rice, President Bush's national security adviser.

After Rice's testimony, the White House released a secret briefing for Bush in which he was told a month before Sept. 11, 2001, that al Qaeda members were in the United States and the FBI had detected suspicious activity "consistent with preparations for hijackings or other types of attacks." The briefing was given Bush on Aug. 6, 2001, at his central Texas ranch.

On Sunday, Bush said he believed federal agents were on top of the terrorist threat at the time but looked forward to the panel's conclusions on whether each agency had done all it was supposed to.

Insisting he was given "nothing about an attack on America," Bush said he was "satisfied that some of the matters were being looked into ... Had they found something, they would have reported to me."

The bureau has been criticized for failing to heed terrorism warnings from agents in Phoenix and Minneapolis in the weeks before the attacks on New York and Washington that killed nearly 3,000 people.

FLIGHT SCHOOLS Continued ...

Democratic commission member Richard Ben-Veniste said the information, including reports of Arab men training at U.S. flight schools, "might have led to unraveling the plot."

"Perhaps if it had been utilized effectively," the former Watergate prosecutor told Fox.

Information in the page-and-a-half President's Daily Brief, entitled "Bin Ladin Determined to Strike Inside the U.S.," was as recent as May 2001, Ben-Veniste said. "So we ask, what did the FBI do in this interim?"

Gorton added: "It's the reason I am so interested in these so-called 70 field investigations. I don't know what they were. I don't know what they did. I don't think they got to a point where anyone could take action on them."

"It seems to me the FBI has more questions to answer than Condoleezza Rice or ... anyone who has testified before us so far."

Former FBI Director Louis Freeh, who left the bureau a few months before the attacks, comes before the commission on Tuesday. Although appointed by Clinton in 1993, the two maintained an uneasy relationship.

Attorney General John Ashcroft will also testify that day as will his Democratic predecessor, Janet Reno. On Wednesday the panel will hear from CIA Director George Tenet and FBI Director Robert Mueller.
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2- Bush defends pre-9/11 actions
----------
Billings Gazette
"[T]he release, under public pressure, of the president's
briefing memo from Aug. 6, 2001, showed that Bush had
received intelligence reporting as recent as May 2001
and that most of the current information focused on
possible plots in the United States. Bush insisted ...
he was satisfied that federal agents were on top of the
terrorist threat when he read that memo ..." (4/12/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/763661343.html

3- Suburban U.S. "inviting terrorists"
----------
Washington Times
'An official with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said
jurisdictions that fail to check the immigration status of people
receiving tax-funded rent subsidies are opening the door to
terrorists." (4/12/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/785666085.html

4- Did U.S. military miscalculate on Iraq moves?
----------
Seattle Times
"Several U.S. and Iraqi officials now regard Bremer's move to
close the newspaper as a profound miscalculation. Foremost among
the errors, the officials said, was the lack of a military
strategy to deal with al-Sadr if he chose to fight back, as he
did." (4/12/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/778234402.html

5- Usefulness of RFIDs worth their annoyance?
----------
Boston.com
"Like cellphones and WiFi, RFID is at least as useful as it
is annoying. All to the good, then, that people are
thinking hard about how to get the benefits of RFID
while preserving their privacy." (4/12/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/670684815.html

6- Forest Service defends using Montana photos as Nevada forest
----------
Boston.com
"The 1909 photo [in the pamphlet] shows an open, parklike
forest with large trees spaced widely apart. More trees
and underbrush appear in each successive picture ....
However, the 1909 photo does not depict natural
conditions -- it was taken just after the forest had
been logged. And the pictured forest is nowhere near the
Sierra Nevada. It is in Montana." (4/12/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/664563227.html

7- American Airlines gave passenger data to TSA
----------
c|net news
"American Airlines' passenger names and travel itineraries
were released to four research companies vying for
contracts with the U.S. Transportation Security
Administration, the airline disclosed ..." (4/10/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/653871428.html

8- Microsoft settles patent lawsuit
----------
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"Microsoft Corp. has agreed to pay $440 million to InterTrust
Technologies Corp. of Santa Clara, Calif., to settle a three-
year-old patent infringement lawsuit." (4/12/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/766011625.html

9- Air marshal leaves gun in restroom
----------
CNN
"A federal air marshal accidentally left her gun in a restroom at
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, an airport spokeswoman
said .... Dave Adams, a spokesman for the federal Air Marshal
Service, said the marshal, whose name was not released, probably
would be suspended." (4/9/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/708072380.html

10- Oregon town's police tactics encourage sex coercion?
----------
Seattle Times
"A common police investigation technique is partly to blame for
the behavior of two officers who demanded sex from women they
stopped on patrol .... Eugene [OR] police allow petty offenders
... to 'work off a charge' by turning in their dealers or
performing drug buys that result in the arrest of three others."
(4/12/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/788377346.html

11- Mass. parents threaten school board on indicted superintendent
----------
Boston.com
"Angry that the superintendent is going about school
business as usual while under indictment on charges of
receiving stolen property, Everett parents are
threatening School Committee members with a recall
election if they don't place him on leave or refuse to
renew his contract this summer." (4/12/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/655561799.html

12- Hawaii pols pushing incumbent protection bill
----------
Hawaii Reporter
"A bill to allow [HI] state Representatives to finance
their political campaigns with up to $90,000 from Hawaii
taxpayers passed the House Finance committee ... and is
expected to clear the 51-member Democrats-controlled
House with little opposition." (4/9/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/711142827.html

13- Utah univ. students discover politicians wasting time
----------
Salt Lake Tribune
"Utah lawmakers spend a lot of time doing nothing,
according to 16 student 'investigators' who studied the
2004 Legislature. .... Students found that fully 24
percent of the time, lawmakers were waiting for floor
debate to start, wondering if colleagues would show up
to form a quorum, sauntering -- as senators like to call
their recesses -- or simply absent." (4/12/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/729656786.html

14- Ohio property owners begin court battle over land theft
----------
Cincinati Enquirer
"After two years of fighting to stay in their Norwood [OH]
neighborhood, five home and business owners whose
property the city wants are taking their battle to
court. .... [T]he property owners are challenging the
city's plan to take their homes through eminent domain
and transfer the property to Anderson Real Estate and
Miller-Valentine Group." (4/12/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/747930228.html

15- Denver pays big for police lawsuits
----------
Rocky Mountain News
"Denver has spent more than $6.5 million since 1995 on outside law
firms to defend excessive-force cases against police -- often
resulting in costly settlements. .... Most of the legal fees were
for defending high-profile police shootings and physical
altercations between 1995 and 2003." (4/12/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/769052047.html

16- Georgia English teachers upset about plan to help students read
----------
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"[GA] Teachers and parents have written and e-mailed the state
Department of Education to say that the ... Habits of Reading
standard is unreasonable .... English teachers (known as language
arts teachers in the lower grades) are alarmed because they fear
the whole burden will fall on them." (4/11/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/780704688.html

17- Ontario to tax "cheap food"?
----------
Toronto Star
"A proposed provincial tax on cheap restaurant meals is yet
another hard knock against Ontario's already struggling
poor, says the head of Toronto's Daily Bread Food Bank.
.... The restaurant industry has been told to prepare
for the addition of an 8 per cent 'burgers and fries'
sales tax to meals under $4 in next month's provincial
budget." (4/12/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/731917229.html

18- Japanese hostage families against U.S. help
----------
Japan Times
"The families of the three Japanese held captive in Iraq
urged the government Saturday not to seek any help from
U.S. military special units in freeing the hostages.
.... At a news conference in Tokyo, the families said
such a step would only fuel anti-U.S. feelings among the
kidnappers ..." (4/11/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/751090876.html

19- U.S. airport security searches Spanish prince, sparks row
----------
BBC
"A diplomatic spat has erupted between Spanish and US
officials after staff at Miami airport insisted on
screening Spain's Crown Prince and his fiancee." The
entourage didn't give the required 72 hours advance
notice of their flight. (4/10/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/754581526.html

20- Swiss gov adopts EU food certification regs
----------
SwissInfo
"Switzerland is belatedly adopting the European system of
certification to guarantee the origin and quality of its
traditional agricultural and food products." (4/12/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/767571892.html

21- Likud sets vote on Gaza pullout
----------
BBC
"Israel's main governing party Likud is to vote on 29 April on
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's proposal to pull Israeli forces out
of the Gaza Strip. The poll, open to all 200,000 Likud members,
will be followed by a vote in cabinet and parliament." (4/11/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/774953027.html

For more News Reports see:
http://www.free-market.net/directorybycategory/news/


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FREEDOM COMMENTARY
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FEATURED COMMENTARIES:
1- Progressive president
----------
Cato Institute
by John Samples
"... George Bush the man is conservative and Republican
beyond all doubt. Unfortunately he has governed like a
Democrat -- as I said, the best one in my lifetime." (4/12/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/660712470.html

2- Ashcroft is winning: libertarians begin to knuckle under
----------
Strike the Root
by David Wiggins
"Liberties not exercised are liberties soon lost. So I
decided to take what I considered to be the most
honorable course of action. I asked that the article be
pulled from the site, and posted it unedited and
uncensored on my own little-viewed amateur web site.
Yes, I'm probably just tilting at windmills, but I hope
the bad guys really are watching me." Important reading. (4/12/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/722745200.html

3- Is anybody listening?
----------
TPoL
by Lady Liberty
"Perhaps an aide got carried away when he or she saw the subject
matter and simply responded to me with Stock Response Letter #47B.
Or maybe some politicians are now so convinced of their own
authority that they're not even offering the pretense of caring
what their constituents have to say. Which is it? .... I'm going
to call and ask. Let's see what kind of response that generates!"
(4/12/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/675155612.html

4- Ending farm subsidies wouldn't help the Third World?
----------
FEE
by E C Pasour Jr
"Ending first-world farm subsidies, as Lind suggests, would
greatly benefit consumers and taxpayers in rich
countries. However, ending policies that distort world
trade in agricultural products -- contra Lind -- also is
critical to poor countries." (4/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/676986068.html

5- The absurdity of egalitarianism
----------
TCS
by John Kekes
"Egalitarians believe that inequality is unjust and justice
requires a society to move steadily toward greater
equality. This is the aim and the justification of
proportional taxation, affirmative action, equal
opportunity programs, and of the whole panoply of
anti-poverty policies that bring us ever closer to the
socialist dream of a welfare state." (4/12/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/715943710.html

6- Rebirth of the spirit
----------
TOC
by Edward Hudgins
"One need not accept a mythology or religion to appreciate the
periodic need to reflect on what's important in our lives ... and
overall to refresh our soul. For many years Ayn Rand gave an
annual speech in April at the Ford Hall Forum in Boston. She
considered it a kind of Objectivist Easter." (4/10/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/683657147.html

7- The unintended consequences of globalization
----------
LI
by Dan Denning
"[M]an behaves even more poorly as a political animal than he does
as a rational economic one. And the world's financial markets are
more and more driven by politics... on a global scale." (4/10/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/684367180.html

8- Neocons: learning disabled
----------
Antiwar.com
by Charley Reese
"Normally, when an individual disregards feedback from
reality and keeps repeating the same actions that
produce bad outcomes, he's pronounced insane. In the
case of the Bush administration, its behavior just tells
us that it is driven by ideology rather than by
reality." (4/10/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/24657703.html

9- Education and class stratification
--------