Good Morming America: Dem Jane Harmon Says Clinton Era CHanges Helped Cause 9/11 (my title)

Good Morning America | 7/17/2002 | LS

[LS]

Dem Congresswoman Jane Harmon (CA) was surprisingly candid for a Democrat today as she answered questions about the House's release of its review on "What did the government know" prior to 9/11?

In one stunning rebuttal to Diane Sawyer---"Did Pres. Bush know this attack was coming?"---Harmon gave a flat and emphatic "No." More important, she also specificially cited the changes in 1995 (without mentioning Clinton) as being responsible for our failure to have spies on the ground in many of these terrorist countries. It was as damning as you could get from any Dem except, maybe, Zell Miller or the soon-to-be-incarcerated Trafficant.

[Frank_Discussion]

Hmmm... Perhaps they've started packing their bongs away until the War's over?

[TomGuy]

Congress was not entirely ignorant of the dangers either. As late as YR 2000, Senate and House Intelligence Committees had reports on the dangers of Bin Laden and al-Qaeda. They received warnings from their own membership and other government officials to testified to the dangers.

See What did Congress know? and Why didn't they tell us? Intelligence Hearings from YR2000

[hchutch]

Torricelli leaked some stuff, IIRC, and that caused the changes.

She'll be taken to task on that soon enough, I bet.

[Kermit]

Diane Sawyer's questions puts her out there in McKinneyland, the land of cute commies.

[backhoe]

Bush and Clinton and 911- some facts...

[crystalk]

They say Chandra Levy was trying to get to Jane's home, near RCP, for shelter from Condit, but didn't make it.

Surely Jane's husband would have tried to help Chandra, if he were there...

[Ben Ficklin]

Newt approached Clinton on domestic security and Clinton appointed Hart/Rudman. This report was completed toward the end of Clinton's administration and was mainly ignored by everyone. Some may recall Sec. Cohen's pronouncements that Americans need to get ready to accept a military presence in every day life.

Hart/Rudman presented the report to the Bush administration as it was entering office but it was not acted upon.

It is unfair to criticize either Clinton/Bush or dems/pubs for failure in initiating stricter security in the nation or in the airports because the general public would bitch and moan. Only after 911 is the public willing.

Short summary of Hart/Rudman with link to full report.

[ravingnutter]

They say Chandra Levy was trying to get to Jane's home, near RCP, for shelter from Condit, but didn't make it.

Who is "they"? I did a search but could find no connection.

[moodyskeptic]

My representative Jane better be careful, the democraps don't like their "own" breaking ranks and criticizing the Clintons. Her husband's money cannot protect her. She's a rare thing these days: a liberal woman congressperson struggling with the conflicts of party versus patriotism.

[LS]

Perhaps, but it was CLINTON and CLINTON ALONE who through an executive order instructed the CIA to cease doing business with unsavory types. This, as everyone now knows, took away our eyes and ears on the ground. Clinton IS culpable, big time.

And this is over and above the deal worked out by Mansour Ijaz to hand over Bin Laden to the Sudanese government, who then were to give him to us. We had, according to Ijaz, THREE separate offers for Bin Laden, all of which Clinton ignored.

The man was a worse criminal than we can possibly imagine, and to use him and Bush in the same sentence is a joke.

[Marysecretary]

Who is they? How do you know she was trying to get to Jane's home? Citation please?

[Ben Ficklin]

The sum total of wisdom and knowledge at Free Republic is found in a four line rant. That is why FR is called a Rant Room.

How a Report on Terrorism Flew Under the Radar

Inteiigence Reform 1996

Paved with Good Intentions

[LS]

Jesus was well known for short rants. It didn't make Him any less right.

But I don't see any evidence denying that Mansoor Ijaz negotiated a deal that would have given Bin Laden to the U.S. under Clinton's watch; or two OTHER deals he negotiated, all of which Clinton ignored, or Harmons' (correct) assertion that CLINTON (and ONLY CLINTON) changed the rules on having spies on the ground. Evidence, please.