9-11 Commission : Like the Energizer Bunny? (The show goes on, Part Deux)

US Politics/About.com ^ | 6-8-05

[STARWISE]

The 9-11 Commission: gone but not, the commissioners hope, forgotten. Not content to rest on their laurels, after the Commission "disbanded as a government entity" last year, the 10 commissioners believed so strongly in the need for continued public discussion about terrorism that it formed the 9/11 Discourse Project. So the commissioners keep on ticking, like the Energizer Bunny, although without an official charter.

This week, the group started a series of eight public hearings this week called "The Unfinished Agenda" which are designed to assess government progress in implementing Commission recommendations. Why? In the words of Vice Chairman Lee Hamilton: "We are worried about complacency."

Only a few of the 9/11 Commission recommendations have been implemented. Hamilton says that in a year's time he would "like to see all our recommendations adopted."

[STARWISE]

I didn't know they set themselves up as an ongoing entity to keep their hands in the pot past the report issuance. Thankfully, I don't think they warrant any current intelligence, nor do they have subpoena power, but what power do they now yield? And, what is their ultimate goal for these "town hall" and other gatherings?

===================================================

9/11 Public Discourse Project

Contributors

The 9-11 Public Discourse Project wishes to thank the following funders:

The America Prepared Campaign, Inc.

The Carnegie Corporation of New York

Drexel Family Foundation

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

John S. and Lames L. Knight Foundation

Rockefeller Brothers Fund

Smith Richardson Foundation, Inc.

Overview

The ten members of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (known as the 9-11 Commission) have initiated a nationwide public education campaign for the purpose of making America safer and more secure. In so doing, the commissioners will give people throughout America the opportunity to participate in a debate that has been limited largely to those inside the Washington Beltway.

Following the July 22, 2004, release of its official 567-page report, the 9-11 Commission, in accordance with its founding statute, disbanded as a government entity on August 21, 2004. All ten commissioners believe, however, that it is critical to educate the public on the issue of terrorism and what can be done to make the country safer. They would like to do so by reaching out, in bipartisan pairs, to communities around the country, encouraging a national conversation on these critical issues. In the absence of such an effort, they are concerned that there will be insufficient public examination of how the lessons learned from the terrorist attacks can be used to shape public policy. The perils of inaction are far too high-and the strategic value of the Commission's findings too important-for the work of 9-11 Commission not to continue.

For this reason, the ten commissioners have formed a 501(c)(3) organization - the 9-11 Public Discourse Project - aimed at fulfilling the 9-11 Commission's original mandate of guarding against future terrorist attacks, while adhering strictly to the same bipartisan and independent principles that have guided it over the last twenty months. This new organization, intended to remain in effect for one year, consists of the same leadership of the 9-11 Commission, including its commissioners, who now serve as the Board of Directors of the 9-11 Public Discourse Project.

The 9/11 Public Discourse Project wishes to thank those who have contributed funding for the Project.

Rationale for a Public Campaign

It is the consensus view of the 9-11 Commission members that there must be a national debate on how future attacks can be prevented, and that they can make an important contribution to this process. The rationale for this view is as follows:

* This is a critically important debate for the future of this nation, yet a greater percentage of the people need to participate in the consideration of the 9-11 Commission's findings and their implications for public policy. By engaging in a national education campaign, the commissioners hope to use the information and insights they developed to increase broader public understanding of these issues.

* The former Commissioners are independent and bipartisan. None of the commissioners holds public office. There are five Democrats and five Republicans who have worked together to produce a unanimous report, filed without dissent or separate views. Throughout, the commissioners' public appearances have been bipartisan.

* The need is immediate. The Commission has challenged policy-makers to consider its report and to act. Therefore, the moment for public education on these critical issues is now.

The Public Education Campaign

Led by Chair Thomas H. Kean and Vice Chair Lee H. Hamilton, the Board of Directors of the 9/11 Public Discourse Project will undertake a year-long, nationwide public education campaign, beginning in September 2004 in an effort to accomplish the following objectives:

* enhancing the understanding of American citizens of the nature of the terrorist threat;
* examining key policy issues contained in the 9-11 Commission's final report. The campaign will target a variety of audiences, including the following:

* general public;
* national and local news media;
* think tank scholars;
* academic experts;
* former policymakers with national security interest; * state and local policymakers; * relevant trade groups and associations.

The project's small staff will:

* serve as an information clearing house - responding to public and media inquiries regarding the work of the 9-11 Commission;

* organize commissioner representation at town hall meetings - providing a public forum for citizens to evaluate how best to safeguard America;

* organize commissioner response to speaking opportunities - responding to requests for commissioners to speak at venues that will reach into universities, civic organizations and gatherings of opinion leaders;

* arrange editorial board meetings - informing the leadership of news outlets on the issues;

* respond to inquiries from executive and legislative policymakers - enunciating the findings and recommendations of the 9-11 Commission; and

* communicate directly with opinion leaders - conducting informational briefings with think tank scholars, academic leaders and other public policy experts.

The PDP Presented a Panel Discussion: (snip)

America Prepared

The America Prepared Campaign and the 9/11 Public Discourse Project have partnered to educate the American people about terrorism and preparedness. For more information about personal preparedness, visit www.ready.gov.

Board of Directors

Thomas H. Kean
Lee H. Hamilton
Richard Ben-Veniste
Fred F. Fielding
Jamie S. Gorelick
Slade Gorton
Bob Kerrey
John F. Lehman
Timothy J. Roemer
James R. Thompson

Staff

Christopher Kojm
President

Alexis Albion
Director of Policy

Dianna Campagna
Director of Finance and Operations

Al Felzenberg
Deputy and Senior Director for Communications

Adam Klein
Director of Communications

Michael Hurley
Senior Director of Policy

Erin Smith
Senior Assistant to the President

=====================================================

And the beat goes on ....it's certainly a way for several of those invested in Shrillery to continue networking under the mantle of "US security issues" and keep their faces and names in the public eye. (Kean, you were really snookered!)

[STARWISE]

PING!

[penowa]

No doubt this move is so they can trash conservatives running up to the '06 election, and of course '08 presidential election.

[STARWISE]

The America Prepared Campaign

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Steven Brill
Chairman, The America Prepared Campaign, Inc.

Floyd Abrams
Partner, Cahill Gordon & Reindel, LLP.

Cynthia Brill
General Counsel, The America Prepared Campaign, Inc..

Barbara Chaffee
President, Public Intelligence.

Bill Gray
President, Ogilvy & Mather New York.

Frank Luntz
President, Luntz Research Companies.

Maj. Gen. Bruce Lawlor
U.S. Army (Ret.), former Chief of Staff,
Department of Homeland Security.

Carl Weisbrod
President, Alliance for Downtown New York, Inc..

ADVISORY PANEL The advisory panel is group of people with expertise in diverse fields and with equally diverse perspectives who have expressed a willingness to provide counsel to the Campaign and its staff on issues ranging from creative approaches to communicating the Campaign's messages, to implementing marketing and distribution efforts related to those messages, to determining the substantive content of the messages.

Donald Baer
Senior Executive Vice President,
Discovery Communications Inc.,
former White House Communications Director

Cathleen Black
President, Hearst Magazines

James Carville
Political Consultant, co-host, Crossfire, CNN

Jeffrey Katzenberg
Principal, DreamWorks SKG

Ellen Levine
Editor in Chief, Good Housekeeping

Mary Matalin
Political Consultant, former senior aide to
Vice President Richard Cheney

Leslie Moonves
Chairman, CEO and President, CBS

Bill O'Reilly
Host, The O'Reilly Factor, Fox News

Tara O'Toole
M.D., Director and CEO, Center for Biosecurity of
the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

Sally Quinn
Writer, The Washington Post

Irwin Redlener
M.D., Director, National Center For
Disaster Preparedness, Columbia University
Mailman School of Public Health

David Ropeik
Director of Risk Communication,
Harvard Center for Risk Analysis

Gregory Thomas
Director, Program for School Preparedness and
Planning, National Center for Disaster Preparedness
, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health

Harvey Weinstein
Co-Chairman, Miramax Film Corp.

===============================================

Quite a motley crew ... wow, O'Reilly, Katzenberg, Matlin, Quinn and Carville. I'd love to be a fly on the wall at these scintillating gatherings.

[beyond the sea]

Hamilton says that in a year's time he would "like to see all our recommendations adopted."

I would like to see Lee Hamilton under the influence of sodium pentathol.

[Peach]

They've got some gall. After ignoring intelligence presented to them, they think they have the authority to tell anyone anything?

[Baynative]

I'm betting that within a week the MSM starts coming up with all sorts of secret documents and "just discovered" memos about the Able Danger team members.

Drunk driving, wife beating, tax evasion, drugs, alcohol ...and of course illegal acts of discrimination and profiling during their "Cowboy" investigations.

Look for Katie Couric to lead the charge.

[beyond the sea]

the group started a series of eight public hearings this week called "The Unfinished Agenda"

Just getting together to check that mortar between those bricks in 'The Wall'.

[yoe]

Board of Directors

Thomas H. Kean
Lee H. Hamilton
Richard Ben-Veniste
Fred F. Fielding
Jamie S. Gorelick
Slade Gorton
Bob Kerrey
John F. Lehman
Timothy J. Roemer
James R. Thompson

The 3 in red are people that the American people should not allow on any commission. Who gave them the right to form their own board? They have failed miserably on the original commission. The Democratic operatives, Gorelick and Ben-Veniste need to have hearings on their past work in government, it was the Gorelick Wall that led to 9/11 and she should have to answer for it. Anything coming from this “Discourse Project” is not and never will be reliable. ” * The former Commissioners are independent and bipartisan. None of the commissioners holds public office. There are five Democrats and five Republicans who have worked together to produce a unanimous report, filed without dissent or separate views. Throughout, the commissioners' public appearances have been bipartisan.”……….that is the biggest lie of all.

[STARWISE]

Yeah .. I think it was done by an out-of-work comedy writer... ridiculous and DANGEROUS puffery and egomania. Without them, whatever would we do??

[STARWISE]

Peachie (BTW, that's what my sweet neighbor used to call me when I was a teen ;)and NP .. sorry, forgot to ping ya. Gotta get a Word list done for this stuff ... the swiss cheese aerating my brain gets the best of me sometimes .. LOL.

[STARWISE]

Oooops Matlin = Matalin

[fantom]

well- when the news gets out , this bunch will go from laughable to absurd.

[STARWISE]

According to the report above, its term ends next month, and I know that at least Gorelick is part of a PBS special series, I think, on terror, which will be shown next month. Can any of you remember the specifics of that? I just can't find any info on PBS's site.

Anyway, it'll be interesting to see if this power group decide to continue fraternizing and getting in our faces or let it end .... very very interesting.

[Miss Marple]

I am struggling mightily to avoid typing four-letter words.

These people were the most shameless grandstanders and are INCOMPETENT.

How many ways did they outrage me?

The attack on Condi Rice.
Bob Kerrey holding up Clark's book.

Clark the slug-man pontificating on how only HE cared about terrorism.

Ben-Veniste attacking Ashcroft like he was the devil incarnate.
Kean grinning like a fool as Jamie Gorelick batted her eyelashes at him.

I could go on. The revelations of Able Danger should be enough to render them irrelevant, but of course they will still hog camera time throughout next year.

Ugh. Ugh again! It is not to be tolerated!!

[mercy]

LOL

[mercy]

Maybe the earth will open up and swallow DC. That would be nice. Needs to wait untill September though.

[tennmountainman]

Peach, I noticed one of the meetings at the end deals with a "Report Card Implimentation".

I wish the families of the 3000 people who were murdered would show up with
a report card of their own for the liars on the whitewash commission.

911 COMMISSION REPORT CARD

101 Truthful to American Public F

[NeoCaveman]

Only a few of the 9/11 Commission recommendations have been implemented. Hamilton says that in a year's time he would "like to see all our recommendations adopted."

And I would like to see all ten of you put under oath and hopefully most of you jailed.

[Peach]

Even if the families don't show up to give them an "F", we can do it here. LOL

[Peach]

I hadn't heard that Gorelick would be in a PBS series on terror, Starwise, but if I hear anything, I'll be sure to freepmail you.

[Peach]

:-)

[yoe]

I think it was done by an out-of-work comedy writer
LOL.........

Stop and think about it a minute, weren't most of the things the commission suggested in their report already in place, put there by GW shortly after the attack on 9/11. The President asked for and got the Patriot Act which tore down the Gorelick wall; as a matter of fact I can't think of a thing the commission did except try to pin all fault on the Bush administration...correct me if I am wrong, but I do believe I am right.

[SeaBiscuit]

Your Post:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1461080/posts

[beyond the sea]

well- when the news gets out , this bunch will go from laughable to absurd.

Here's hoping........

[beyond the sea]

And I would like to see all ten of you put under oath and hopefully most of you jailed.

Yes..... and see post # 5.

;-)

[beyond the sea]

Kean grinning like a fool as Jamie Gorelick batted her eyelashes at him.

Do snakes have eyelashes?

[NeoCaveman]

Yes..... and see post # 5.

Truth serum? Fine. I'd put panties on their heads ala Abu Grahib if that's what it takes.

[popdonnelly]

I expect a big campaign to salvage the Commission's reputation. Here's hoping there are more revelations.

[popdonnelly]

Great. Then let's have an investigation into the Commission members.

[popdonnelly]

Gorelick doesn't know anything about intelligence collecting or stopping terrorism. That much is obvious. If these are our "experts", we are in serious, serious trouble.

[popdonnelly]

If I was Kean, I would get out of Washington. Washington treated him like a chump, and he's now become a chump.

[beyond the sea]

If these are our "experts", we are in serious, serious trouble.

we are

[STARWISE]

THANK YOU SO MUCH! GRRRR .. I coulda gone back 20 pages of posts and found it, but I just knew I could locate it. I even went to the WNET website 'cause I thought that's who I remember did it, but it's not there that I could find.

NOTE FOR SEPT. 12 AND SEPT. 19

LIFE IN THE BALANCE - PBS - 9/12 and 9/19/05

"IN THE BALANCE, a two-part series from Fred Friendly Seminars examining the political, economic, health and safety issues posed by a terrorist threat. The programs will air on PBS in September - National Preparedness Month.

IN THE BALANCE: BIOATTACK premieres Monday, Sept. 12, 2005 at 10 p.m. and IN THE BALANCE: CITY UNDER SIEGE premieres Monday, Sept. 19, 2005 at 10 p.m. (check local listings).

IN THE BALANCE brings together powerful people who put their values to the test and reveal what they might do when everything hangs 'in the balance.' The unscripted and unrehearsed programs confront people representing different levels of authority and areas of responsibility with riveting scenarios. IN THE BALANCE: BIOATTACK dramatizes a biological attack and IN THE BALANCE: CITY UNDER SIEGE asks participants to deal with a credible rumor of a dirty bomb arriving in a harbor on the Fourth of July.

"The scenarios presented may be hypothetical, but the dilemmas and decisions are real," said Barbara Margolis, series producer. "Each decision has consequences - often contradictory ones - for public safety, for law enforcement, for constitutional rights, for the lives of citizens. The series is designed to spur thoughtful, intelligent and informed discussion on preparedness across the country."

The first program in the series, IN THE BALANCE: BIOATTACK dramatizes a threatened attack intended for a major shopping mall. Moderated by Cynthia McFadden of ABC News, the panel explores the kinds of choices that the media, public officials, health care workers, law enforcement, and citizens may all have to confront in the case of a biological attack. Participants face tough, wrenching questions: Who is in charge of the response? What is more important - the public's right to know, or the government's need to keep operations secret in the interests of national security? Who gets treated first if there's been exposure to a biological agent? Are there enough antibiotics for everyone?

Panelists for IN THE BALANCE: BIOATTACK include Richard Clarke, former senior White House advisor and author, Against All Enemies; Martin O'Malley, mayor of Baltimore; Frank Sesno, CNN Special Correspondent; Congressman Charles B. Rangel, D-NY; Dale Watson, former executive assistant director for Counter-Terrorism and Counter-Intelligence, Federal Bureau of Investigation; James Gilmore, former governor of Virginia; Charles Ramsey, District of Columbia Chief of Police; Susan Allan, M.D., public health director for the state of Oregon and former public health director for Arlington County, Virginia, during the anthrax attacks; and Warren Rudman, former New Hampshire Senator.

N THE BALANCE: CITY UNDER SIEGE moderator and Harvard Law School professor Charles Ogletree navigates panelists through another frightening but entirely credible 'what-if' scenario. With reliable information about a dirty bomb coming into a harbor on the Fourth of July, what steps should be taken? Should the ports be shut down? Would that thwart the plan or just direct it to a different target? How disruptive would it be to the local economy? And, once a suspect is in custody, how far should law enforcement be allowed to go to elicit information? Is torture ever a justifiable or effective option?

Panelists for IN THE BALANCE: CITY UNDER SIEGE include Clarke, Watson and Rudman, along with Dana Priest, national security reporter for the Washington Post; Ahmed Younis, national director, Muslim Public Affairs Council; Frank Keating, former Governor of Oklahoma who held that post during the Oklahoma City bombings; Jamie Gorelick, former deputy attorney general of the United States; and Nadine Strossen, president of the American Civil Liberties Union, among others.

The IN THE BALANCE programs will be the centerpiece of an ongoing community engagement effort designed to expand public awareness about family, workplace and community public safety preparedness. Additional resources, including a discussion guide and educational materials, will be available at www.pbs.org/inthebalance/terrorism.

[BARLF]

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0408/S00012.htm

I know nothing about this web site or Sibel Edmonds but she is FBI. Thought someone should take a look at what she has to say to the commission.

[Peach]

Clark, Rangel, Gorelick and Dana Priest? Oh, no. I'm am definitely going to pass on that one.

[SeaBiscuit]

What Peach said, AND Nadine Strossen ACLU President ..UGH, why don't they just include bin laden to the panel as well.

[STARWISE]

WOW!! That's A BOMB!!.. whew!! PING to this excerpt:

=============================================

"Unfortunately, I find your report seriously flawed in its failure to address serious intelligence issues that I am aware of, which have been confirmed, and which as a witness to the commission, I made you aware of. Thus, I must assume that other serious issues that I am not aware of were in the same manner omitted from your report. These omissions cast doubt on the validity of your report and therefore on its conclusions and recommendations.

Considering what is at stake, our national security, we are entitled to demand answers to unanswered questions, and to ask for clarification of issues that were ignored and/or omitted from the report.

I, Sibel Edmonds, a concerned American Citizen, a former FBI translator, a whistleblower, a witness for a United States Congressional investigation, a witness and a plaintiff for the Department of Justice Inspector General investigation, and a witness for your own 9/11 Commission investigation, request your answers to, and your public acknowledgement of, the following questions and issues:

(SNIP)

Melek Can Dickerson, a Turkish Translator, was hired by the FBI after September 11, and was placed in charge of translating the most sensitive information related to terrorists and criminals under the Bureau’s investigation. Melek Can Dickerson was granted Top Secret Clearance, which can be granted only after conducting a thorough background investigation.

Melek Can Dickerson used to work for a semi-legit organizations that were the FBI’s targets of investigation. Melek Can Dickerson had on going relationships with two individuals who were FBI’s targets of investigation. For months Melek Can Dickerson blocked all-important information related to these semi-legit organizations and the individuals she and her husband associated with. She stamped hundreds, if not thousands, of documents related to these targets as ‘ Not Pertinent.’ Melek Can Dickerson attempted to prevent others from translating these documents important to the FBI’s investigations and our fight against terrorism.

Melek Can Dickerson, with the assistance of her direct supervisor, Mike Feghali, took hundreds of pages of top-secret sensitive intelligence documents outside the FBI to unknown recipients. Melek Can Dickerson, with the assistance of her direct supervisor, forged signatures on top-secret documents related to certain 9/11 detainees. After all these incidents were confirmed and reported to FBI management, Melek Can Dickerson was allowed to remain in her position, to continue the translation of sensitive intelligence received by the FBI, and to maintain her Top Secret clearance.

Apparently bureaucratic mid-level FBI management and administrators decided that it would not look good for the Bureau if this security breach and espionage case was investigated and made public, especially after going through Robert Hanssen’s case (FBI spy scandal). This case (Melek Can Dickerson) was confirmed by the Senate Judiciary Committee ( Please refer to Senator Leahy and Grassley’s letters dated June 19 and August 13, 2002, and Senator Grassley’s statement on CBS-60 Minutes in October 2002, provided to your investigators in January-February 2004).

This Dickerson incident received major coverage by the press (Please refer to media background provided to your investigators in January-February 2004). According to Director Mueller, the Inspector General criticized the FBI for failing to adequately pursue this espionage report regarding Melek Can Dickerson ( Please refer to DOJ-IG report Re: Sibel Edmonds and FBI Translation, provided to you prior to the completion of your report). I provided your investigators with a detailed and specific account of this issue, the names of other witnesses willing to corroborate this, and additional documents. ( Please refer to tape-recorded 3.5 hours testimony by Sibel Edmonds, provided to your investigators on February 11, 2004).

Today, more than two years since the Dickerson incident was reported to the FBI, and more than two years since this information was confirmed by the United States Congress and reported by the press, these administrators in charge of FBI personnel security and language departments in the FBI remain in their positions and in charge of translation quality and translation departments’ security.

Melek Can Dickerson and several FBI targets of investigation hastily left the United States in 2002, and the case still remains uninvestigated criminally. Not only does the supervisor facilitating these criminal conducts remain in a supervisory position, he has been promoted to supervising Arabic language units of the FBI’s Counterterrorism and Counterintelligence investigations.

Your report has omitted these significant incidents, has foregone any accountability what so ever, and your recommendations have refrained from addressing this serious information security breach and highly likely espionage issue. This issue needs to be investigated and criminally prosecuted. The translation of our intelligence is being entrusted to individuals with loyalties to our enemies. Important ‘chit-chats’ and ‘chatters’ are being intentionally blocked. Why did your report choose to exclude this information and these serious issues despite the evidence and briefings you received? How can budget increases address and resolve this misconduct by mid-level bureaucratic management? How can the addition of a new bureaucratic layer, “Intelligence Czar”, in its cocoon removed from the action lines, address and resolve this problem?

Over three years ago, more than four months prior to the September 11 terrorist attacks, in April 2001, a long-term FBI informant/asset who had been providing the bureau with information since 1990, provided two FBI agents and a translator with specific information regarding a terrorist attack being planned by Osama Bin Laden.

This asset/informant was previously a high-level intelligence officer in Iran in charge of intelligence from Afghanistan. Through his contacts in Afghanistan he received information that: 1) Osama Bin Laden was planning a major terrorist attack in the United States targeting 4-5 major cities, 2) the attack was going to involve airplanes, 3) some of the individuals in charge of carrying out this attack were already in place in the United States, 4) the attack was going to be carried out soon, in a few months.

The agents who received this information reported it to their superior, Special Agent in Charge of Counterterrorism, Thomas Frields, at the FBI Washington Field Office, by filing “302” forms, and the translator translated and documented this information. No action was taken by the Special Agent in Charge, and after 9/11 the agents and the translators were told to ‘keep quiet’ regarding this issue. The translator who was present during the session with the FBI informant, Mr. Behrooz Sarshar, reported this incident to Director Mueller in writing, and later to the Department of Justice Inspector General.

The press reported this incident, and in fact the report in the Chicago Tribune on July 21, 2004 stated that FBI officials had confirmed that this information was received in April 2001, and further, the Chicago Tribune quoted an aide to Director Mueller that he (Mueller) was surprised that the Commission never raised this particular issue with him during the hearing ( Please refer to Chicago Tribune article, dated July 21, 2004). Mr. Sarshar reported this issue to your investigators on February 12, 2004, and provided them with specific dates, location, witness names, and the contact information for that particular Iranian asset and the two special agents who received the information. ( Please refer to the tape-recorded testimony provided to your investigators during a 2.5 hours testimony by Mr. Sarshar on February 12, 2004).

I provided your investigators with a detailed and specific account of this issue, the names of other witnesses, and documents I had seen. ( Please refer to tape-recorded 3.5 hours testimony by Sibel Edmonds, provided to your investigators on February 11, 2004). Mr. Sarshar also provided the Department of Justice Inspector General with specific information regarding this issue ( Please refer to DOJ-IG report Re: Sibel Edmonds and FBI Translation, provided to you prior to the completion of your report).

After almost three years since September 11, many officials still refuse to admit to having specific information regarding the terrorists’ plans to attack the United States. The Phoenix Memo, received months prior to the 9/11 attacks, specifically warned FBI HQ of pilot training and their possible link to terrorist activities against the United States.

Four months prior to the terrorist attacks the Iranian asset provided the FBI with specific information regarding the ‘ use of airplanes’, ‘major US cities as targets’, and ‘Osama Bin Laden issuing the order.’ Coleen Rowley likewise reported that specific information had been provided to FBI HQ. All this information went to the same place: FBI Headquarters in Washington, DC, and the FBI Washington Field Office, in Washington DC. Yet, your report claims that not having a central place where all intelligence could be gathered as one of the main factors in our intelligence failure.

Why did your report choose to exclude the information regarding the Iranian asset and Behrooz Sarshar from its timeline of missed opportunities? Why was this significant incident not mentioned; despite the public confirmation by the FBI, witnesses provided to your investigators, and briefings you received directly?

Why did you surprise even Director Mueller by refraining from asking him questions regarding this significant incident and lapse during your hearing ( Please remember that you ran out of questions during your hearings with Director Mueller and AG John Ashcroft, so please do not cite a ‘time limit’ excuse)? How can budget increases address and resolve these problems and failure to follow up by mid-level bureaucratic management at FBI Headquarters? How can the addition of a new bureaucratic layer, “ Intelligence Czar”, in its cocoon removed from the action lines, address and resolve this problem?

Much more at link

Open Letter To Thomas Kean – Chairman Of The 9/11 Commission - From FBI Whistleblower Sibel Edmonds - August 1, 2004

=============================================

Wikipedia - Sibel Edmonds

Sibel Dinez Edmonds, a Turkish-American, was "hired as a translator by the FBI shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 because of her knowledge of Middle Eastern languages. She was fired less than a year later in March 2002 for reporting shoddy work and security breaches to her supervisors that could have prevented those attacks." [1] (http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=17359&c=206)[2] (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/10/25/60minutes/main526954.shtml) "On January 14, 2004, the Justice Department's Office unclassified summary of the Justice Department's Inspector General's report on Edmonds found that many of her claims 'were supported, that the FBI did not take them seriously enough, and that her allegations were, in fact, the most significant factor in the FBI's decision to terminate her services.'" [3]

Sibel Edmonds' Website

[Lancey Howard]

BUMP!

[BARLF]

http://washingtontimes.com/national/20040712-121949-4162r.htm

Jerry Seper article,"Senators press for release of FBI terrorist report."

[nopardons]

Oh dear, this will probably now get all kinds of press, but just the stuff that happened on President Bush's watch.

[Lancey Howard]

Whoa....
I just read that entire interview. Sibel's case is amazing.
If even half of what she says is true, the incompetence and criminality of the FBI makes me fear for my country.

[nopardons]

Remind me NOT to watch this!

[MNJohnnie]

The 9-11 Commission: gone but not, the commissioners hope, forgotten. Not content to rest on their laurels, after the Commission "disbanded as a government entity" last year, the 10 commissioners believed so strongly in the need for continued public discussion about terrorism that it formed the 9/11 Discourse Project. So the commissioners keep on ticking, like the Energizer Bunny, although without an official charter.

Excellent. They can start by explaining why they sat on the Able Danger information when producing their report last year. Then they explain why Jamie Gorelic is still on the Commission instead of testifying before it? Sorry, until the 9-11 Clowns Commission explains how a Commissioner with a DIRECT role in the event being investigated was allowed to remain on the committee, they have ZERO credibility.

[nopardons]

Many thanks for the ping!

Please make up the list and keep me on it. THANKS!

[MNJohnnie]

Be warned. Sibel did not start working for the FBI until AFTER 9-11. She looks to be another Leftist activist suffering from their Bush hate complex. Anyone who thinks she is credible need to explain how what she supposedly "Saw" AFTER 9-11 proves 9-11 could of been prevented. She is all accusation, no actual proof

Sibel Dinez Edmonds, a Turkish-American, was "hired as a translator by the FBI shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 because of her knowledge of Middle Eastern languages. She was fired less than a year later in March 2002 for reporting shoddy work and security breaches to her supervisors that could have prevented those attacks." [1] (http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=17359&c=206)[2]

(

[MNJohnnie]

Sibel is credible how? Please note, she was hired AFTER 9-11. I also wonder at all this love she has for Cowley Rowley. You know Rowley the Minnesota Democrat Candidate for Congress currently visiting Cindy Sheean Moveon directed "protest" down in Texas? Sorry but their political affiliations raise serious questions to my mind about how much we can trust their "testimony".

[STARWISE]

"unclassified summary of the Justice Department's Inspector General's report on Edmonds found that many of her claims 'were supported, that the FBI did not take them seriously enough,......."

I've not heard of this before, but the statement above from the IG certainly does give some credence to her claims.

I don't agree at all with the tack that Rowley has taken since she's become a candidate; however, there is no disputing that she raised important alarms in her FBI position about Moussaoui that also were credible, and I've personally never understood (except for THE WALL) why her request for his computer to be checked was ignored.

[MNJohnnie]

I don't agree at all with the tack that Rowley has taken since she's become a candidate; however, there is no disputing that she raised important alarms in her FBI position about Moussaoui that also were credible, and I've personally never understood (except for THE WALL) why her request for his computer to be checked was ignored

All I am saying take what these people say with a grain of salt and a wait and see attitude. For all the 20/20 hindsight in the Dinosaur Media being ready to claim Rowley a saint, the fact remains that she did not actually DO anything. It's real easy to look back and claim...coulda,woulda,shoulda based on her memo. It also assumes that they could of gotten anything by cracking his computer. Maybe/Maybe not. Maybe I am just being cynical but after Sheehan, I have no doubts about what the Hysteric Left maybe willing to do. The political allegiance of some of these people troubles me.

[Peach]

Whoa! I don't think I ever read that before. If I didn't question the 9/11 Commission Report before, I certainly do now.

This is the same report that doesn't include mention of Salmon Pak, btw.