Saturday, June 19, 2004
Who was in charge on 9/11 ?
NORAD Commander: 9/11 Planes Could Have Been Stopped
Truth Out Editor's Note:
"The release of the 9/11 Commission report on the terror attacks of September 11 has sent an earthquake rolling through Washington D.C. Beyond the repudiation of the Iraq-al Qaeda connections so often touted by the Bush administration as a proper cause for war, the panel has opened a bright window into the actions of the administration on the day the attacks unfolded.
For three years now, many have wondered how it was possible for four commercial airplanes to pierce the most formidable air defenses in the history of the universe. Now, we hear from the commander of NORAD that, indeed, those planes could have been stopped had there been order within the chain of command. For three years, we have been told that George W. Bush was absolutely in command on that day. Now, we hear that Bush sat reading a story about goats as the second plane struck the Towers. Most shockingly, we now hear that it was Cheney who wound up giving the too-late shoot-down order, an order that should have been given by the President himself."
Sources:
• Air Defenses Faltered on 9/11, Panel Finds
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48471-2004Jun17.html
• Cheney Authorized Shooting Down 9/11 Planes
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50745-2004Jun17.html
• Questioning Nearly Every Aspect of the Responses to Sept. 11
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/18/politics/18assess.html
• Panel Says Chaos in Administration Was Wide on 9/11
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/18/politics/18PANE.html
Presidential Classroom Videos:
Below, you will find links to videotape of George W. Bush sitting in the Florida classroom described in our lead article. You will see White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card come forward to inform Bush that the attacks were underway. You will see George W. Bush do absolutely nothing in response.
Note: Depending upon traffic, you may have to go either here or here to see the videos.
Choose your preferred video program
For direct download of the
QuickTime file
Click Here
WMP: http://www.truthout.org/bush-911.htm
QT: http://www.truthout.org/bush-911_qt.htm
Posted at 06:16 AM in Politics, War/Defense | Permalink
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Barry,
I'm not sure I agree with your conclusions. General Eberhart stated, "If the FAA told us as soon as they knew, then, yes, we could have shot down the planes". But the FAA did not inform NORAD as soon as they knew. Eberhart never stated NORAD would have been able to do the same after Bush found out.
Bush wasn't informed of anything amiss until after the first plane hit the tower and even then he wasn't informed there were any hijackings. Many believed it was a small plane and probably pilot error. Further, NORAD was not informed of the second plane hitting the tower until right about the time the plane hit. And that is when Bush was informed we were under attack.
As for the other two planes, "The FAA never asked for any military assistance or notified the military about either Flight 77 or United Airlines Flight 93 before they crashed, the panel's staff found."
In the words of commission member Bob Kerry, "I think [FAA] headquarters blew it".
Posted by: Shane | Jun 21, 2004 12:32:58 AM