1 Boring Old Man

Cheney Blames Richard Clarke For 9/11: ‘He Missed It’
ThinkProgress
08/06/2009

…Speaking at the National Press Club today, Cheney struck back at Clarke. When asked about Clarke’s argument, Cheney — once again — invoked the “burning ashes” of 9/11 and the victims who leaped to their deaths from the World Trade Center. Then, quite succinctly, Cheney pinned the entire blame for 9/11 on Clarke:

CHENEY: You know, Dick Clarke. Dick Clarke, who was the head of the counterrorism program in the run-up to 9/11. He obviously missed it. The fact is that we did what we felt we had to do, and if I had to do it all over again, I would do exactly the same thing.

Watch it:

…The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation,” reprinted some of Clarke’s emphatic e-mails warning the Bush administration of the al Qaeda threat throughout 2001:

• “Bin Ladin Public Profile May Presage Attack” (05/03)
• “Terrorist Groups Said Co-operating on US Hostage Plot” (05/23)
• “Bin Ladin’s Networks’ Plans Advancing” (05/26)
• “Bin Ladin Attacks May Be Imminent” (06/23)
• “Bin Ladin and Associates Making Near-Term Threats” (06/25)
• “Bin Ladin Planning High-Profile Attacks” (06/30)
• “Planning for Bin Ladin Attacks Continues, Despite Delays” (07/02)

Similarly, Time Magazine reported in 2002 that Clarke had an extensive plan to “roll back” al Qaeda — a plan that languished for months, ignored by senior Bush officials:

Clarke, using a Powerpoint presentation, outlined his thinking to Rice. … In fact, the heading on Slide 14 of the Powerpoint presentation reads, “Response to al Qaeda: Roll back.” … The proposals Clarke developed in the winter of 2000-01 were not given another hearing by top decision makers until late April, and then spent another four months making their laborious way through the bureaucracy before they were readied for approval by President Bush.

Cheney needs to check his “recollections” before blaming former employees for the single most devastating attack in American history.

Cheney’s sarcastic and contemptuous comments about Richard Clarke were way over the top – "He missed it" and "I haven’t read his book" [hardy-har-har]. Jon Stewart took him to task, but there wasn’t so much coverage otherwise. It’s reminiscent of his response to Joseph Wilson [funny how people’s patterns repeat] – a massive over-reaction that will haunt Cheney for some time to come. He already has one recent gaffe under his belt [Colin Powell not being a Republican]. But this one’s worse, and so easily refuted by the public record. There may come a day when Richard Clarke’s bust will be in the 9/11 museum or the Smithsonian – not only for his numerous warnings about 9/11, but for his heroism in directing things on that day while Dick Cheney was cowering in a bunker  developing PTSD and George W. Bush was reading a story to children about goats, looking like a scared rabbit. Richard Clarke is a national hero, not an object of derision for Cheney’s sadistic pleasure. The show Cheney puts on in this video is enough already. In a quote from our history:

"Until this moment," … "I think I have never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness. … Little did I dream you could be so reckless and so cruel as to do an injury to that lad. … It is, I regret to say, equally true that I fear he shall always bear a scar needlessly inflicted by you. If it were in my power to forgive you for your reckless cruelty I would do so. I like to think that I am a gentle man, but your forgiveness will have to come from someone other than me. … Let us not assassinate this lad further, … You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?"
Joseph N. Welch, the Joseph McCarthy Hearings 1954