here goes
"Too much emphasis on Iraq?"
- Sophisticated attack - Bush also wondered about Iran
- Worry about follow-on attacks, Bush eager to get Wall Street going.
- Afghanistan map rolled out on table at Camp David
- Iraq raised by Rumsfeld/Wolfowitz, no other advisers suggested Iraq
- Iraq later 'contingency plan' on Bush's worries, Iraq "take advantage...in case they were behind 9/11"
R Clark writes that Bush pushed him for Iraq - 9/11 link
- Doesn't remember conversation - Clark was pulled aside
- Not surprising Bush asked this
- Doubts that he pushed for link
Concerns about the pace of policy making in summer 2001. Speed of process. Several cites from others about this. Rice herself focussed on terrorism and rogue regimes. 100 meetings between national security principals before meeting on terrorism - Chairman
- Woodward - question to Bush was "want to kill OBL before 9/11". President was worried about talking about pre-9/11 attempts to kill (trick question from woodward?) Bush - 'bring him to justice...no sense of emergency'. [condi] - "whose blood was boiling before 9/11"
- We show 33 meetings, not 100. 3 of those cover issues of terrorism (not relating to A-Q)
- Parallel tracks, continuing Clinton admin under same structures. Takes time to get more 'strategic' - takes some time partic. when takes time to 'get your people on board'
- Inc counter-terrorism funding, pushed along 'Predator'
- Had we moved along our original memo's from intel. we might have gone of course before 9/11
Unable to protect our people. Hindsight you say 'better information about the threats would have been single most important thing to have done'
- Take oath of office seriously - asked many times what more I could have done
- Inability to 'connect the dots' was structural.
- Legal impediments - keep FBI and CIA from functioning but seem between 'internal and external intel.'
- History of 'allergy' to domestic intelligence. Homeland Security was important step.
Sentence on p9. 'we must address the source of the problem'. Worried about threat over long period of time. Some muslims hate us, don't like that economic prosperity has passed them by, hate modernisation - how do we address this source?
- Issues that you address cannot be covered 'on our watch'
- US has long looked the other way on lack of freedom and lack of indiv freedom in Mid East. No longer to be stance.
- There are reformist trends, Bahrain, Egypt.
- Slow process, building a democracy is slow ("when founding fathers said 'we the people' they didn't mean me" (spunky))
- Change the nature of the mid east in long run - why Iraq is so important, they will succeed and a big change will have been made in Mid East.
Aug 6th 2001 PDB. Mar 19th 2004 statement says Aug 2001 PDV was CIA source. Directed by the President is the claim. High threat level, as Clark says intel community under discussion in summer 2001. Rice acknowledges that Clark said AQ cells were in US - did you tell the president?
- It is important to cover...
- Did you tell the president? - applause
- Clark had told me in a memo, line or two, that AQ cells were there. Thought the FBI were dealing with it, 70 field investigations under way
- Don't remember discussing it with President
- Thank you. Do you recall title of Aug 6th 2001 PDB memo?
-"Bin Laden to attack in US?" Historical info, no warning of any coming attack
You knew by Aug 2001 of AQ involvement in earlier WTC attempt. Knew of attempt to blow up airport. Cells in Brooklyn...support system in US. Pattern of suspicious activity indicating hijacking leading up to Aug 6th PDB. Preparations consistent with hijackings in US
- Will read it to you.
- Pleased to see it declassified in full applause
- You've seen it
- It's still classified
- Long section, speculative, on what OBL wanted to do. Discussion on hijackings to free (Blind Sheikh?)
- Nothing reassuring in that PDB
- No, but nothing in this memo that suggested an attack was coming. Not a threat report.
- Agreed there were no specifics
- No. Measures in place, country had taken steps that it could.
- Have explored that. Will continue to do so. Not with pres. Aug 6th. Was the pres moved by the PDB to meet with anyone?
- pres was told this was historical info, nothing actionable in this. Pres knew that CIA and FBI were pursuing this issue.
- Do you believe that had the pres had taken action to make sure FBI/CIA liason . CIA knew of two AQ operatives that took part in 9/11 were in US. Moussai (?) - Clark was not even made aware of him, his flight training. Would any of this 'interrupt the plotters'?
- Given the level of threat we were doing what we thought we could. No threat report of substance. CIA Dir. met with pres. freq. Not a good analysis. We had a structural problem in the US (repeats this)
Did the Pres meet with CIA dir. between Aug 6th and Sept 11th?
- I'm not aware
Tired fingers now. That was the fiery bit at the end there. Still going.