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Francis Report 05-22 Dave Francis There is a lot of talk about the president having had ‘prior knowledge’ of the attack on the USA in September. The question is being asked, yet again, “What did the president know, and when did he know it?” I am curious. What could the government have done to stop the attacks pre- 9-11? If anyone remembers the political mood of the country, they will remember that President Bush was a very weakened president. There is no way he could have drastically tightened security at airports, or done anything else significant to stop the attack. Even after the horrific events of 9-11, civil libertarians are raising hell with the government’s plans for security measures. Without the attack on America as a backdrop, these plans would have been deader in the water than Elian’s mother. The government had been warned that al Qaeda may try to hijack airplanes. They also knew that there had been Algerian terrorists in 1994 that had planned to use an airplane in a suicide mission. Because of that we are told that 7 years after the Algerians failed, we should have somehow stopped the hijackers. These warnings are a bit like horoscopes and psychic predictions.. Nobody remembers all the ones they get wrong, only the ones they get right. One of the major problems that the intelligence community has is sorting out the material they do get. Most of the information they receive is worthless. Trash. No basis in fact. Some is useful, but is tainted by motives of the supplier. People give information to take down enemies, to further their own agendas. Other information is more valuable, and the rare gem is the information that is right on. Sorting it all out post 9-11 is easy. It is kind of like predicting the World Series winner. I can tell you with great certainty that the Diamondbacks will win….. last years World Series. Now this years is a bit tougher to predict, right now. Ask me in December and I will let you know who Dick Gephardt and Representative McKinney and some of the other post 9-11 critics choose. This is not to say the intelligence process shouldn’t be examined in light of the failures. It should. And, that review should go up to and include the White House’s response to information it received. I am just making the point that it is disingenuous now, afterwards, to accuse the White House of failing to stop the attacks based on what information it had. As put so eloquently on one blogsite; "Assume that the FBI had information on the exact date, time, flight number, and descriptions of suspects. So they raid all the planes, and arrest the 19 dirtbags. . . . And then what? Not much, I imagine. Oh, CAIR and its ilk would be having a fit, of course, complaining to everyone including George W. about profiling and unfair targeting of Arab-Americans. After all, just what did the FBI find? Some box cutters? Those aren't illegal on airplanes. Flight manuals? These men were all attending accredited flight schools, trying to achieve the American dream, etc. etc. So they had one-way tickets: is that a crime? Funeral shrouds? Are you honestly arresting these men for bringing white sheets onto a plane? Korans? So because these men are pious Muslims, you dare to assume . . .! And really, folks, come on: flying a Boeing into a skyscraper? You've been watching too many movies! Who would come up with something this complicated, when a truck bomb in a garage would do just as well? And so on and so on. I'm sure at least half these men would have been released within a couple of days. Profiling would be discussed at length on CNN and PBS. Several specials would be made, with weeping, hijab-wearing photogenic young women, describing in perfect Midwestern English the ordeal of being singled out by airport security. American Airlines would issue an apology, and make a contribution to the Arab-American Anti-Defamation Society, with a promise of more "outreach efforts." Norman Mineta would be outraged! and put in all sorts of new restrictions designed specifically to avoid giving extra scrutiny to "people of Middle Eastern appearance." (hey! wait a second!) George W. would go on the record saying that "pro-filling" is "discriminatational" and against everything he holds dear. Clinton would tell a story of his Lebanese-American great-uncle who was once denied entry into the White House. Al Gore would talk about his years of service under Lawrence of Arabia. Pretty soon, the whole thing would be forgotten as another embarrassing example of the Latent Racism in American Society. Until one day, another group of men board an airliner . . . " How about this? There are Islamic radicals out there trying to come up with biological weapons. They want to use them to murder as many Americans as they can. What methods shall we use to stop them? Should we round up and detain all middle eastern men? In light of the Palestinian situation with regards to female suicide bombers, should we round up the women also? After that, what do we do to stop the white terrorist groups? The animal rights terrorist groups? There is no end to the faces that terrorists may take, especially since the USA has rewarded terrorism by the Palestinian Authority by encouraging negotiations with them after the suicide bombings. There is no sane way to stop terrorists and maintain a free society. You can dissuade them, you can try to intercept them, you can try to disrupt them, but the sad truth is, if they are determined, and willing to die, some of them are going to succeed, no matter how hard you try to stop them. Besides all that, the media is typically trying to skewer the president over this. In their feeding frenzy, they may want to try stopping to read some of their own copy. CBS news, on their website have posted; “ a top-secret briefing memo presented to President Bush in 1998 focused on efforts by Osama bin Laden to strike at targets in the U.S.” http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/05/15/attack/main509096.shtml Someone may want to mention to them that Bill Clinton was president in 1998. Remember this example of partisanship as you watch the news. Has anyone considered what Israel giving in to pressure caused by suicide bombing means to the future of the civilized world? Is that a policy that should be rewarded? Life is cheap in a lot of societies, especially children’s lives, and it is a very dangerous thing to set an example of giving in to suicide bombing. It will only encourage more bombers in the future. If it works….. The FBI, the Vice President, and various other officials are issuing warning now about the ‘almost certainty’ of another massive attack on the USA. There are rumors about nuclear weapons possibly being used, of suicide bombers being ready to roll in the states, and of any number of possible scenarios. When asked about suicide bombers striking in the US, the Robert Mueller of the FBI said, "I think we will see that in the future; I think it's inevitable.” "It could happen tomorrow, it could happen next week, it could happen next year," Vice President Dick Cheney said Sunday on Fox News, adding that another large-sale terrorist attack on the United States is "almost a certainty." These statements are accompanied by recent reports that representatives of al Qaeda have met in late March with militant extremists groups such as Hamas and Hizbollah. The meeting, in Beirut, Lebanon was uncovered by US intelligence agencies, and it appears that a closer cooperation between the terror groups is becoming a reality. In Kandahar, Afghanistan there are ominous warnings being issued to women and girls. “If you continue to go to school, we will kill you. We will burn your homes, and kill your families.” Says a leaflet that has been circulating recently. Two schoolgirls have been abducted on their way to class, and the governor has assigned armed guards to all of the city’s schools. Some girls are staying home though, intimidated by the threats. Women teachers are also targeted, as well as women in society in general. Kandahar was the birthplace of the Taliban, and it still has many supporters in the area. Karzai, the interim leader of Afghanistan is also from Kandahar. In an attempt to retain the uneasy peace that has been in existence, he recently returned and gave a speech. In an example of the governments concern, upon Karzai’s arrival, the whole city was under lockdown. The airport was closed by hundreds of US and Canadian soldiers, in Kandahar to keep the peace, and even the lone highway, connecting Kandahar to the outside world was closed for the duration of the visit. Enjoy, Dave Francis |