Bush Administration Took Appropriate Action In Response To General Threats

Republican National Committee ^ | May 18,2002 | RNC Staff

[Lady In Blue]

Bush Administration Took Appropriate Action in Response to General Threats

	Americans know that President Bush when faced with credible information about a threat would act swiftly and strongly. It is terribly unfair to the victims and victim families of the terrible tragedy of September 11 for anyone to suggest anything to the contrary. Such statements are irresponsible and politically motivated. Last summer, President Bush received briefings that contained general information about possible threats. The information was not specific. It did not mention time, place or method. These general threats were also uncorroborated. Any briefings containing specific information were uncorroborated and not credible. The same information was shared with members of the House and Senate.; Senator Diane Feinstein told CNN in July of 2001 ;intelligence staff have told me that there is a major probability of a terrorist incident within the next three months. Yesterday, Senate Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Richard Shelby acknowledged to CNN the briefings on potential threats. In light of the potential threats, the federal government took action including alerts to law enforcement agencies, airlines, and U.S. assets overseas. Bush Administration Takes Action The Counter-terrorism Security group (CSG) - which brings together WH officials with officials from all relevant federal agencies - began to meet several times per week, with telephone contact between key officials several times per day. The FBI was conducting active investigations inside the US, and issuing appropriate warnings: July 2 -- FBI released a warning message about a possible threat overseas. The warning specifically stated that while officials could not foresee a domestic attack, one could not be ruled out. July 18 - FBI issues message on Millennium plot conviction, reiterates 2 July message. Aug 1 - FBI issues alert on upcoming 3rd East Africa bombing Anniversary, reiterating July 2 message. The State Department issued a worldwide caution (June 22). Counter-terrorism Security Group suspends non-essential travel of US counter-terrorism staff (July 6). Five key FAA Information Circulars (IC) were issued alerting private carries to potential threats against airlines: June 22 - alerted carriers to a possible hijacking to free terrorist operatives July 2 - based on the testimony of a terrorist involved in the Millennium bombing plots, who told of a possible attempt place a bomb in an air terminal July 18 - though based on no specific threat information, urges all carries maintain a high degree of alertness. July 31 - reports that some active terrorist groups are known to train for hijacking operations. August 16 - warns carriers to be on alert for disguised weapons. The August 6th briefing to the President that mentioned hijacking was not a threat report. It was an analysis of Al Qadea and Usama bin Laden that their desire to attack the US, and their preferred methods of operation. The analysis was prepared at the President's request, in response to his questions about Al Qaeda's capabilities and intentions to harm US interests. The analysis mentioned hijacking as a possible operation Al Qaeda might attempt. But it did not say anything using aircraft as missiles. Rather, it mentioned the possibility that Al Qaeda might attempt to hijack a plane and hold passengers hostage to force the release of terrorist operatives, including the Blind Sheikh. Since 9-11 President directs the FBI and CIA to begin unprecedented sharing of intelligence and cooperation on investigations. Established the Office of Homeland Security to coordinate a national strategy to protect America and named Governor Tom Ridge as Director. President Bush worked with the House and Senate to improve our anti-terrorism laws and to give law enforcement needed tools to more effectively collect and share intelligence information. The President now receives a daily domestic security briefing from the FBI Director, CIA Director, Governor Ridge with the Office Homeland Security, National Security Advisor Rice and the Vice President. This joint briefing helps guarantee seamless cooperation among law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Despite these facts, Democrats leaders such as Senator Tom Daschle, Rep. Dick Gephardt and Senator John Edwards have tried to play politics with this threat information by making irresponsible statements about President Bush allowing their presidential ambitions get the best of their judgment. Today’s New York Times cautions: “As Congressional Democrats and other Bush opponents rev up the recriminations following this week's disclosures, they should remember that the House and Senate Intelligence Committees received some of the same intelligence reports as the White House. These included public and private warnings from George Tenet, the director central intelligence, that Al Qaeda could strike at any time. The Washington Post states: The tempest seems overblown based on what the White House has revealed thus far, the information Mr. Bush received was very general, and the possibility of a domestic hijacking was far less salient in the briefing he received from the CIA than the possibility of an overseas attack. The administration warned airlines to take precautions. It's easy after September 11 to insist that more should have been done.

		Republican National Committee | 310 First Street, SE | Washington, DC 20003 Phone: 202.863.8500 | Fax: 202.863.8820 Technical Contact: webmaster@rnc.org | General Information: info@rnc.org Paid for by the Republican National Committee
		© 2002 Republican National Committee. All rights reserved.

[Lady In Blue]

FYI

[Lady In Blue]

Ping.

[hchutch]

FYI

[facedown]

Unfortunately this is pretty much preaching to the choir.

[Aim small miss small]

Preaching to the choir is right amigo, what we want to know is how is the RNC going to fight back?

[Bad~Rodeo]

Bump

[The Raven]

>>what we want to know is how is the RNC going to fight back?

Yep...it's a shame it has to be explained at all. Libs are a low IQ lot, no?

[facedown]

...what we want to know is how is the RNC going to fight back?

Like effete pantywaists if past performance is any indication.

[Angelique]

Nice post. The RNC should get this out.

[Hillary'sMoralVoid]

HOW WAS BUSH SUPPOSED TO KNOW THE EXTENT OF THE TERRORISM WHEN EVEN THE HIJACKERS (WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE RINGLEADERS) DIDN'T KNOW???????????????????

[Angelique]

Excellent point. The dems are out to destroy our country-- I am absolutely convinced when they use partisanship at a time when we are at war. Bush said we are in it for the long haul.

When one thinks of the libs supporting Clinton's attempt to dismantle our military force, and now criticizing Bush is almost impossible to believe. America first? They are a bunch of commies as far as I am concerned.

[Stallone]

Libs are the intellectual equivalent of tofu.

The traitorous ba$tard$ know that their constituency is mentally-challenged.

They employ deceptive methods, devise irresistible soundbites and deploy the Socialist media conspiracy whores to repeat their hypocrisy and lies.

It ain't pretty, but neither is Hillary (aka Wicked Lesbian Witch of the Eest).

[deport]

Thanks, LiB.... the polling data still shows the county has support and trust in President Bush. Investigations need to be done in an effort to make improvements.

War On Terrorism
All data are from nationwide surveys of Americans 18 & older.

---

Polls listed chronologically.

.

.

Newsweek Poll conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates. Latest: May 16-17, 2002. N=1,002 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3
						.
"Please tell me whether you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling each of the following specific aspects of his job. Do you approve or disapprove of the way he is handling [see below]?"
		Approve	Disap- prove	Don't Know
		%	%	%
	The war against terrorism overseas
	5/02	76	20	4
	2/02	86	11	3
						.
	Policies to prevent and minimize terrorism at home
	5/02	71	23	6
	2/02	82	14	4
						.
	His job APART FROM fighting and defending against terrorism
	5/02	71	22	7
	2/02	77	18	5
						.
"Thinking about the warnings the Bush Administration received before the September 11th terrorist attacks, did the following individuals do all they should have with the information, or not? . . ."
		Did	Did Not	Don't Know
		%	%	%
	Top FBI officials
	5/02	30	53	17
						.
	Top CIA officials
	5/02	28	53	19
						.
	The President's national security advisers
	5/02	38	46	16
						.
	The President himself
	5/02	48	39	13
						.
"Now thinking about information available to the U.S. government before the September 11th attacks, do you think that the Bush Administration should have issued public warnings about possible airline hijackings?"
			%
	Yes, should have		55
	No		38
	Don't know		7
						.
"Do you think such warnings would have prevented the September 11th attacks or not?"
			%
	Yes, would have		25
	No		67
	Don't know		8
						.
"Again, thinking about information available to the U.S. government before the September 11th attacks, do you think the FBI should have investigated all Arab nationals taking pilot training or not?"
			%
	Yes, should have		77
	No		18
	Don't know		5
						.
"Do you think the Clinton Administration did all it could have to detect and prepare for a possible terrorist attack on the United States?"
			%
	Yes, all it could have		27
	No		59
	Don't know		14
						.
"How much of the blame, if any, do you think each of the following deserves for allowing the September 11th terrorist attacks to happen? What about [see below]? Does this deserve a lot of the blame, some, only a little, or none?"
		A Lot	Some	Only a Little	None	Don't Know
		%	%	%	%	%
	Failure of the FBI and CIA's intelligence efforts to identify and stop terrorist plots from being carried out
	5/02	39	35	14	6	6
	9/13-14/01	30	39	19	8	4
						.
	Inadequate security at airports to prevent terrorists from bringing weapons on planes
	5/02	56	26	9	4	5
	9/13-14/01	57	27	9	5	2
						.
	Inadequate security systems to deal with hijackers while planes are in the air
	5/02	45	30	13	5	7
	9/13-14/01	45	32	13	6	4
						.
"In the wake of the recent developments, do you think President Bush should fire the head of the CIA and other CIA officials who were in charge at the time of the attacks?"
		%
	Yes	23
	No	65
	Don't know	12
						.
"In the wake of the recent developments, do you think President Bush should fire top officials who were in charge at the FBI at the time at the time of the attacks?"
		%
	Yes	23
	No	65
	Don't know	12
						.
"Immediately after September 11th, Congress did not quickly begin a public investigation of intelligence failures of the CIA and FBI. Do you think it was in the national interest for Congress NOT to start such an investigation at that time or should Congress have started a probe immediately?"
				%
	In national interest NOT to start probe			31
	Should have started probe immediately			63
	Don't know			6
						.
"Now, do you think it is in the national interest for Congress to investigate intelligence failures of the CIA and FBI in connection with the September 11th terrorist attacks, or would such a public investigation at this time not be in the national interest?"
				%
	In national interest to investigate			68
	Would not be in national interest			24
	Don't know			8
						.
"Do you think that the intelligence failures of the CIA and FBI in connection with the September 11th terrorist attacks are appropriate issues to be debated during the upcoming congressional campaign or are they not appropriate issues for political debate?"
			%
	Appropriate		52
	Not appropriate		41
	Don't know		7
pollingreport.com

 

CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll. May 16, 2002. N=598 adults nationwide. MoE ± 4.
						.

"First, how much confidence do you have in the Bush Administration to protect its citizens from future terrorist attacks: a great deal, fair amount, not very much, or none at all?"
		Great Deal	Fair Amount	Not Very Much	None At All	No Opinion
		%	%	%	%	%
	5/16/02	38	37	16	7	2
						.
"Overall, how much do you blame each of the following for the September 11th terrorist attacks: a great deal, a moderate amount, only a little, or not at all? How about [see below]?"
		Great Deal	Moderate Amount	Only a Little	Not At All	No Opinion
		%	%	%	%	%
	The Bush Administration
		7	22	26	43	2
						.
	The Federal Bureau of Investigation, or FBI
		16	29	24	27	4
						.
	The Central Intelligence Agency, or CIA
		19	30	27	18	6
						.
"As you may know, the Bush Administration said today that it was aware before September 11th that Osama bin Laden's terrorist organization had plans to hijack U.S. airplanes. However, the Administration was not aware that the airplanes would be used to blow up buildings, and they were not aware of a specific date or location of attack. Has this made you feel less favorably toward President Bush, or has it not affected your opinion of him?"
		Less Favorably	Not Affected Opinion	More Favorably (vol.)	No Opinion
		%	%	%	%
	5/16/02	32	66	1	1
						.
"Do you think the Bush Administration did or did not act on the information available to them in a proper way?"
		Did	Did Not	No Opinion
		%	%	%
	5/16/02	41	52	7
						.
"Do you think the Bush Administration did or did not give airlines as much warning about hijacking threats as was possible?"
		Did	Did Not	No Opinion
		%	%	%
	5/16/02	29	58	13
						.
"Do you think the Bush Administration should or should not have discussed the fact before now that it had this information prior to September 11th?"
		Should	Should Not	No Opinion
		%	%	%
	5/16/02	68	29	3
						.
"Which comes closer to your view: no one could have predicted the attacks of September 11th, or the government should have been able to predict the attacks of September 11th given the information available to it?"
				%
	No one could have predicted			58
	Should have been able to predict			38
	No opinion			4
						.
"Finally, do you think there should or should not be a congressional investigation into the fact that the Bush Administration did not release this information sooner?"
		Should	Should Not	No Opinion
		%	%	%
	5/16/02	43	55	2
pollingreport.com

[mcsparkie]

Fact: At my local airport, security measures had been tightened by the end of August, 2001. For whatever reasons.

Something no one talks about much is that prior to 9/11, the prevailing culture in the airline cockpit was to hand over controls of the aircraft, rather than to accept loss of life of passengers. This attitude was the reason that 9/11 could happen.

The change of this culture is now the only ultimate defense against terrorists' use of commercial aircraft as weapons. I don't think this could ever have been sold to the public without a major tragedy happening, to justify it. The intelligence community probably thought that, at worst, one aircraft could be hijacked, and the plot would somehow be foiled along the way.

The 9/11 tragedy is a failure of a weakened intelligence community, an ingrained pro-Arab bias within the branches of government, and a failure of a new administration to be able to quickly turn the situation around. They really did not have much time to do anything substantial, and they also lost months of time when they were unable to set up the transition team. (Thanks to Al.)

The next great tragedy will be caused by the way we try to guarantee freedom for some really bad people inside the US.

[mcsparkie]

The dems are out to destroy our country-- I am absolutely convinced when they use partisanship at a time when we are at war.

The Democrats have been just waiting around for the opportunity to blame 9/11 on Bush. Notice that they just finished the WTC cleanup effort this week? This would clear the way for the finger pointing, since there are no more remains to be found at the tragedy site.

[mware]

Just a heads up on Fox News Sunday... Vice President Cheney is going to be on.

[Miss Marple]

They also felt emboldened by the carping of conservative pundits on talk radio the past two weeks. I hope Rush and Sean now realize that their efforts were counter-productive.

[blackie]

GWB is the man and the democRAT hyena's will wind up looking the fools they are, before ths is over !!

Freedom Is Worth Fighting For !!

Molon Lobe !!

[OldFriend]

The dems have their cohorts in the media cheering them on. Telling their lies and praying for our demise.

Let no one believe for a moment that all this is nothing more than honest questioning.

[Angelique]

Of course, you are right. The coincidence was looming around in my head. I have to remember, at all times, that the dems will stoop to anything.