I had hopes when I saw this wasn't a q post. I guess excerptitus is spreading.
Posted on 06/26/2004 8:43:03 AM PDT by anita
The big news out of the report was, as the Washington Post headline had it, "Al-Qaida-Hussein Link Is Dismissed." As it happens, the report didn't "dismiss" anything, but you can't blame the media for rushing out special commemorative editions and sending out 11-year old newsboys to shout, "Uxtry! Uxtry! New Bush Lie! Vote Kerry!"
The actual report put it this way:
"We have no credible evidence that Iraq and al-Qaida cooperated on attacks against the United States."
That means what it says: As intelligence types always say, the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence. And, insofar as there was a lack of evidence, it was only for specific links between Saddam and specific attacks against the United States.
June 27, 2004
BY MARK STEYN SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST
Been following the 9/11 Commission? Me neither. But every so often I zap the remote and every third channel seems to be carrying Bob Kerrey or Richard Ben Veniste badgering some federal, state or local official about his or her agency's preparedness for the events of Sept. 11.
Well, the other week the showboating hacks of the Ben Veniste Anti-Social Club stopped preening themselves on Wolf and Larry and the other cable yakfests long enough to issue a 9/11 interim report. And for me it raises serious questions about whether America's commissions are ready for the challenges of this new war on terror. I'm tempted to call on the president to appoint a blue-ribbon commission to lead a thorough investigation into blue-ribbon commissions. Perhaps he needs to consider appointing a cabinet-level Secretary of the Department of Commissions to coordinate commission strategy.
The big news out of the report was, as the Washington Post headline had it, "Al-Qaida-Hussein Link Is Dismissed." As it happens, the report didn't "dismiss" anything, but you can't blame the media for rushing out special commemorative editions and sending out 11-year old newsboys to shout, "Uxtry! Uxtry! New Bush Lie! Vote Kerry!"
The actual report put it this way:
"We have no credible evidence that Iraq and al-Qaida cooperated on attacks against the United States."
That means what it says: As intelligence types always say, the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence. And, insofar as there was a lack of evidence, it was only for specific links between Saddam and specific attacks against the United States.
But what nobody except Michael Moore and the rest of the conspirazoids would dispute is that there is a significant accumulation of circumstantial links between al-Qaida and Iraq -- including meetings between Osama bin Laden himself and Iraqi officials, the presence of al-Qaida operatives at Iraqi embassy functions, the presence of al-Qaida associates within Iraq, etc. The Czechs are sticking to their story that Mohammed Atta met with a big-shot Iraqi in Prague.
Meanwhile, the CIA is sticking to its story that Mohammed Atta was in America at the time of the alleged meeting -- the basis for this assertion being that his U.S. cell phone was used that day. That, of course, is no proof of anything, except perhaps of what's wrong with U.S. intelligence. Oh, and also of the inadequacy of U.S. immigration "records."
But, by now the New York Times, Washington Post and the rest of the gang were in full "Bush Battered By Devastating 9/11 Report!" mode, even as the commission chairmen patiently tried to explain that, in fact, they largely see eye-to-eye with the battered presidential liar on this one. Well, they should have thought about that before they put their carelessly worded typescript on the photocopier.
A couple of days later, on June 21, commission member John Lehman went on "Meet the Press" and mentioned a lieutenant-colonel in Saddam's Fedayeen who had significant ties to al-Qaida, including sitting in on a three-day meeting in Malaysia in January 2001 with several of the 9/11 hijackers. This, said Lehman, is "new intelligence, and this has come since our staff report has been written."
Really? I mentioned the lieutenant-colonel in question in a column in the Australian a month ago. I first heard of it months before that. And I'm just a third-rate pundit, not a big commission with gazillions of dollars and unlimited access.
The reality is this: There are connections between Saddam and al-Qaida. A mere 14 months after the liberation of Iraq, we don't yet know enough to reach a definitive conclusion about those connections. The jury is still out, and so should the commission's camera-hoggers have been.
These poseurs have blown it so badly they've become the definitive example of what they're meant to be investigating: a culture so stuck in its way it's unable to change even in the most extreme circumstances. Take this example from their report on Sept. 11:
FAA Command Center: "Do we want to think about scrambling aircraft?"
FAA Headquarters: "God, I don't know."
FAA Command Center: "That's a decision somebody's going to have to make, probably in the next 10 minutes."
FAA Headquarters: "You know, everybody just left the room."
What's going on there? Well, the guys at HQ didn't understand this was their rendezvous with history, and they were unable to rise to the occasion. Isn't that just what the 9/11 Commission's done? They were appointed to take a cool, dispassionate look at the government's response to an act of war, but they were unable to rise above the most pointless partisan point-scoring.
But I'd go further. I'd say the underlying assumption behind all the whiny point-scoring is false, and deeply dangerous. Most of what went wrong on Sept. 11 we knew about in the first days after. Generally, it falls into two categories: a) Government agencies didn't enforce their own rules (as in the terrorists' laughably inadequate visa applications); or b) The agencies' rules were out of date --three out of those four planes reached their targets because their crews, passengers and ground staff all blindly followed the FAA's 1970s hijack procedures until it was too late, as the terrorists knew they would.
The next time a terrorist gets through and pulls off an attack, it will be for the same reasons: There'll be a bunch of new post-9/11 regulations, and some bureaucrat somewhere will have neglected to follow them, or some wily Islamist will have rendered them as obsolete as his predecessors made all those 30-year old hijack rules. That's the nature of government: 90 percent of its agencies just aren't very good and, if you put your life in their hands, more fool you.
Giving bureaucrats new acronyms and smarter shoulder insignia won't make America more secure. What makes America more secure is going to where the terrorists are, killing large numbers of them, and fixing -- or at least neutralizing -- the dysfunctional states in whose murky waters they breed. Remember Sheikh Muqtada al-Sadr, the Khomeini-wannabe with the 10,000-strong Mahdi Army? He threw in the towel last week. And, of that 10,000, the 1st Armored Division estimates it killed "at least several thousand."
You haven't heard about that on the network news? Well, there's a surprise.
Remember Sheikh Muqtada al-Sadr, the Khomeini-wannabe with the 10,000-strong Mahdi Army? He threw in the towel last week. And, of that 10,000, the 1st Armored Division estimates it killed "at least several thousand."
You haven't heard about that on the network news? Well, there's a surprise.
Steyn ping
Bump
BUMP!
bump
FAA Command Center: "Do we want to think about scrambling aircraft?"
FAA Headquarters: "God, I don't know."
FAA Command Center: "That's a decision somebody's going to have to make, probably in the next 10 minutes."
FAA Headquarters: "You know, everybody just left the room."
I missed this one, somehow or other. Talk about a serious comedy of errors.
FMCDH(BITS)
Algore was named head of US airport security by the Clinton Administration. Nice going, Aldork.
I also read somewhere that Ben-Venista was meeting with Bill Clinton on a regular basis since the commission started.
If this is true .. this whole commission was nothing more than a MAKE CLINTON LOOK GOOD AND BUSH LOOK BAD.
This commission is a joke.
These poseurs have blown it so badly they've become the definitive example of what they're meant to be investigating: a culture so stuck in its way it's unable to change even in the most extreme circumstances.
More and more, I'm seeing a parallel between America and Islam as two calcified civilizations, albeit in different ways. Islam is mired in a calcified theocracy, while we are mired in a calcified bureaucracy, both in the public and private sectors.
So now, when are they going to arrest Gorelick for treason?
If I'm not mistaken, you were not obliged to excerpt this. Please do not be fooled into following the terrible example of The Excerptor, who refuses to ever post full articles, and who for some perverse reason gets off on getting to Mark Steyn articles before anyone else can get to and properly post them.
Al-Qaida links to the New York Times is more important than links to Iraq, these days..... and some other papers too.. If Bin Laden is not the manageing editor(s) then some "Binny" groupie is.. many articles could have come from "Binnys think tank" in the outer reaches of Chaosville.. Wonder who Binny is supporting in November.?.
I had hopes when I saw this wasn't a q post. I guess excerptitus is spreading.
steyn ping
 |
Might be because BenVeniste is a Clinton bagboy and pond scum to boot. |
And I'm being charitable. And compassionate.
This commission is a monumental FAILURE of epic proportions.
THere were enough screeches about Cheney's remark to Leaker--which was not only well-earned by Leaky, but voiced on behalf of MILLIONS of Americans...
An excellent point, but not IMHO, the most important one. We are calcified--or a significant portion of the voting population is--along intellectual/political/cultural lines. In a word (or two): PC. And we are Balkanized, to boot.
BTTT
BTTT
Great Steyn article !How the Sept. 11 commission blew it
Excerpt:
What's going on there? Well, the guys at HQ didn't understand this was their rendezvous with history, and they were unable to rise to the occasion. Isn't that just what the 9/11 Commission's done? They were appointed to take a cool, dispassionate look at the government's response to an act of war, but they were unable to rise above the most pointless partisan point-scoring.
But I'd go further. I'd say the underlying assumption behind all the whiny point-scoring is false, and deeply dangerous. Most of what went wrong on Sept. 11 we knew about in the first days after. Generally, it falls into two categories: a) Government agencies didn't enforce their own rules (as in the terrorists' laughably inadequate visa applications); or b) The agencies' rules were out of date --three out of those four planes reached their targets because their crews, passengers and ground staff all blindly followed the FAA's 1970s hijack procedures until it was too late, as the terrorists knew they would.
The next time a terrorist gets through and pulls off an attack, it will be for the same reasons: There'll be a bunch of new post-9/11 regulations, and some bureaucrat somewhere will have neglected to follow them, or some wily Islamist will have rendered them as obsolete as his predecessors made all those 30-year old hijack rules. That's the nature of government: 90 percent of its agencies just aren't very good and, if you put your life in their hands, more fool you.
Giving bureaucrats new acronyms and smarter shoulder insignia won't make America more secure. What makes America more secure is going to where the terrorists are, killing large numbers of them, and fixing -- or at least neutralizing -- the dysfunctional states in whose murky waters they breed. Remember Sheikh Muqtada al-Sadr, the Khomeini-wannabe with the 10,000-strong Mahdi Army? He threw in the towel last week. And, of that 10,000, the 1st Armored Division estimates it killed "at least several thousand."
You haven't heard about that on the network news? Well, there's a surprise.
Thanks for posting the full text !! :^D
Veniste has been a Clinton a$$ covering specialist for years.
"So Seal went over their heads. Again he was rebuffed. Eventually, with help from his lawyer, Richard Ben-Veniste, he went over everybody's heads, to Washington, DC. "I did my part by launching him into the arms of Vice President Bush, who embraced him as an undercover operative," Ben-Veniste later told the Wall Street Journal. Seal appeared before Bush's Vice Presidential Task Force on Drugs in Washington, where he appeared to dazzle them with smuggling lore and how he had made millions in the "trade," as he called it. But what caught the panel's attention was the bombshell he dropped during his closed-door testimony: that the Sandinistas were directly involved in drug trafficking into the United States. According to Seal, the Medellin Cartel had made a deal with the Sandinistas, awarding them hefty cuts of drug profits in exchange for the use of an airfield in Managua as a transshipment point for narcotics.. . .The web of connections that such investigation uncovers seems to be nearly endless. Ben-Veniste, to cite but one example, had another client whose name may ring a bell. It was William Jefferson Clinton. He was governor of the state where Mena is located during the height of the shenanigans that went on there. Then there's Ben-Veniste's close friend and associate Alvin Malnik, a man regarded as Meyer Lansky's "heir apparent." Hopsicker calls him "Alvin of Arabia" because, unlike most Jews, he converted to Islam, took an Arabic name and married his son into the Saudi royal family. Both he and his son have taken up residence in the kingdom, where he acts as an advisor to the royal family. It's an odd little tale, but what does it have to do with Barry Seal? In 1982 Seal began flying weapons to the Contras from Mena, Arkansas which had been paid for with Saudi Royal family money. Coincidence? Perhaps. Small world? Without a doubt."The saga of Barry Seal 6/18/01
That was from a June 2001 article. Note how Ben-Veniste's story about his role in turning Seal into a DEA informant has changed since then--this is from an interview after Ben-Veniste was appointed to the 9-11 Commission:
I did represent Barry Seal, who was convicted. He thereafter, on his own, became a government informant.Exclusive Interview with R. Ben-Veniste, Commissioner on 9/11 4/24/03
More details:
"Major Democratic Party figures doing business with drug traffickers and intelligence agencies is not as surprising as it might sound. Hopsicker also interviewed Iran-Contra insiders who told him that Democratic powerhouse attorney Richard Ben Veniste had - also in 1982 - incorporated a company named Trinity Oil for Barry Seal as a vehicle to launder Seal's enormous cocaine cash flow.": The Democratic Party's Presidential Drug Money Pipeline
"Capital Consultants LLC of Portland has lent at least $6 million -- much of it from union pension funds -- to a Georgia-based auto lender linked to a businessman with reputed ties to organized crime. Alvin Malnik, a Boca Raton, Fla., lawyer and investor, is the beneficiary of two trusts that hold 100 percent of the stock of Title Loans of America, the nation's largest title-lending chain, according to Don Tucker, a Title Loans lobbyist in Florida. . .The New Jersey Casino Control Commission denied Malnik a casino license in 1980, citing, among other things, his long association with mob financier Meyer Lansky. The commission ruled that Malnik was "a person of unsuitable character and unsuitable reputation." And in 1993 the commission disciplined two Atlantic City casinos for allowing Malnik to set foot in them.": Firm Linked To Reputed Mob Figure Got Loans
"Alvin Malnik's son, "Shareef" - formerly known as Mark - was a young - Jewish - married man.* He was also an adviser and confidante to Prince Turki. Malnik controlled the Prince's schedule and contacts.* Prince Turki created a two-story apartment in Malnik's North Miami condominium, the Cricket Club, directly below Alvin's penthouse.*. . .Young Mark took to carrying the Koran around with him.*Then a devastating blow struck the Saudi Prince and his entourage.* Miami police, acting on a complaint that servants were being held as slaves, stormed the Cricket Club sancturary.*But the cops never got a chance to carry out their search.* One of the Princesses' began shouting very unroyal obscenities at them, biting a policewoman deep enough to leave toothmarks for days.*Family bodyguards quickly came to the rescue.* A stand-off ensued, and startled police were forced to retreat.*As suits and counter-suits began to fly between Saudi Prince Turki and an outraged Florida State Attorney, the U.S. State Department rushed in a former ambassador to Saudi Arabia to serve as intermediary.* He secured face-saving diplomatic immunity for the Prince.*Then the Prince's brother-in-law Al-Fassi offered to sell a stolen $1.2 million emerald-and-diamond ring to an undercover FBI agent.* He did not have diplomatic immunity, and was charged with interstate and international transportation of stolen goods, a felony punishable by amaximum of 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.*The lucky Sheik had, at least, a well-connected lawyer: Richard Ben-Veniste.* When all this bad news reached the ear of the Saudi King back in Riyadh, he ordered the Prince to end his lolng exile and return home.* Once at home, the Prince's family circle broadened to include their friends formerly named Malnik.*Both father and son were said to have taken Arabic names and converted to Islam.*What pertinance does the story of Attorney Alvin Malnik, heir to Meyer Lansky, converting to Islam and living in Saudi Arabia as an adviser to a member of the Saudi royal family have to do with all this? *In 1982 Barry Seal began flying weapons to the Contras from Mena, Arkansas which had been paid for with Saudi Royal family money. Michael Fugler was Seal's frontman and attorney. Fugler also has insider shares to Khasshogi's GENI being shorted by Amr Elgindy."REUTERS: Saudis Plan to Sue U.S. over Sept. 11
So if Ben-Veniste represented a client tied to the Saudis, wouldn't that give him a conflict of interests in the 9-11 Commission?
BTW if you click on that last link, there's a list of the Malniks' corporate assets--handy.
<< Talk about a serious comedy of errors. >>
Nah.
The feral bureaucracy is a serious error of comedians.
In our nation 25,000 corporations, companies and small businesses get to fish, trawl and long line the talent pool long long long before the ferals get to dredge the bottom feeders that make up its mindlessly-moronic mobbed-up unionized ranks.
Mr Steyn is being way too kind saying 90% of them are "just not very good."
One Hundred Per Cent of them are at best bloody awful --and most, especially the bastard offspring of the Soviet-agent-infiltrated Communist Party of America, that comprises Foggy Bottom's self-annointed, self-appointed and self-perpetuating Brahmanas -- are incredibly dangerous to boot.
And are our deadly enemies.
The hapless FAA are the tailplane and tailcone trailing edge static wicks in a science, field of engineering and industry in which Our beloved FRaternal Republic provides the shock wave far far far ahead of the rest of the worlds leading edge.
Thanks for the post, Dog.
Blessings -- Brian
BUMPping
Brilliant!
He has always looked like a mafia godfather to me.
Bump for later.
Ping
Thanks for "de-q-ing" original post.
Not at all. It has succeeded at its purpose: pushing down Bush's poll numbers (though they're not down as far as the DNC/old-media gang hoped).
An excellent point, but not IMHO, the most important one. We are calcified--or a significant portion of the voting population is--along intellectual/political/cultural lines. In a word (or two): PC. And we are Balkanized, to boot.
Sorry, I wasn't clear. I was thinking in terms of pc, but pc is (largely) a bureaucratic phenomenon. When most people start jobs now in large (and even not-so-large) organizations, right off the bat they are given sensitivity training where they are taught that if they interact with people in a normal fashion, they will be fired for "discrimination," "harassment," etc. But it goes beyond political lines. Well-to-do Republicans tend to be pc in matters or race and immigration, though for different reasons. There's a story that I believe comes from Peter Brimelow. Some wealthy, Upper East Side matron was telling a story at a party about getting mugged. A guest with limited diplomatic skills (I believe it was Brimelow's late wife, Maggie) asked, "Was he [the mugger] black?" The matron answered yes, but that that wasn't relevant. The un-pc guest continued, "But aren't most robberies committed by blacks?" And this was no party full of Democrats.
I'm beginning to think q should be limited to gotta-excerpt publications. I am now in the habit of scrolling down a few posts to see if someone has posted full text. So a big thanks also to Dog Gone for posting full text!
AMONG OTHER REASONS TO HATE EXERPTING, MANY EXTERNAL WEBSITES DON'T ALLOW A READER TO ADJUST TYPE SIZE. </rant>
WELL, I HATE EXCERPTING, TOO!
Yes he does .. LOL! I guess I just never thought about it because I was not that aware of his ties to the mob.
Where's Cheney?? We need an F-bomb thrown at this puke.
We should thank him.
Ben Veniste's televised slimey attacks on Rice really doomed the 9-11 commission's reputation.
His smarmy accusations and Condi's great responses really were the highlight of the commission's testimonies.
Yes! Mafia written all over him. Especially when he was wearing that awful, cheesy pinstriped suit.
Thanks for the ping.
Another FReeper put it best: When she becomes a Republican.
Beer.
Beach.
Barbecue.
The good ol' Steyn ping list.
Thanks Poke, Rob & Dog!
If there's any truth to what you say, it seems as though Ben Veniste has a possible conflict of interest.
If there is in fact no conflict of interest, then Ben Veniste (and Gorelick) need to put themselves in a position where there is not even the slightest appearance of impropriety.
By attending the Fahrenheit 911 premiere (and meeting w/Clinton), Ben Veniste has failed that test.
Why isn't the media reporting this?!
"'Panel Finds No Qaida-Iraq Tie' went the Times headline," Safire wrote. "'Al Qaida-Hussein Link Is Dismissed' front-paged The Washington Post. The A.P. led with the thrilling words 'Bluntly contradicting the Bush Administration, the commission. ... ' This understandably caused my editorial-page colleagues to draw the conclusion that 'there was never any evidence of a link between Iraq and al Qaida. ...'"
Thrilling but untrue, the columnist notes. It was not the judgment of the commissioners, but merely an assertion of the "runaway" staff headed by ex-N.S.C. [National Security Council] aide Philip Zelikow. "After Vice President Dick Cheney's outraged objection, the staff's sweeping conclusion was soon disavowed by both commission chairman Tom Kean and vice chairman Lee Hamilton," Safire reported.
"Yesterday, Governor Kean passed along this stunner about 'no collaborative relationship' to ABC's George Stephanopoulos: 'Members do not get involved in staff reports.'" Safire: 9/11 Commission's Runaway Staff
Couldn't have said it better.
Interesting article for your "Salman Pak, etc." Archives, xzins; Steyn Ping.
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