The families of those who died on 9/11 have formed an ad hoc organization whose purpose is to elucidate what exactly happened leading up to, during, and after 9/11/.
They have a fascinating web site that I urge you to visit.
In light of the fact that our President and Vice President have agreed to answer questions of the Special Committee Investigating 9/11, I thought you should see what questions the families of the dead would like answered by the two top men responsible for our nation's safety.
(It should be interesting to see how many of these important questions surface during the questioning of Bush and Cheney by the Commissioners.)
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The Family Steering Committee Statement and Questions
Regarding the 9/11 Commission Interview with President Bush
February 16, 2004
The Family Steering Committee believes that President Bush should provide sworn public testimony to the full ten-member panel of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. Collectively, the Commissioners are responsible for fulfilling the Congressional mandate. Therefore, each Commissioner must have full access to the testimony of all individuals and the critical information that will enable informed decisions and recommendations.
Before an audience of the American people, the Commission must ask President Bush in sworn testimony, the following questions:
1. As Commander-in-Chief on the morning of 9/11, why didn't you return immediately to Washington, D.C. or the National Military Command Center once you became aware that America was under attack? At specifically what time did you become aware that America was under attack? Who informed you of this fact?
2. On the morning of 9/11, who was in charge of our country while you were away from the National Military Command Center? Were you informed or consulted about all decisions made in your absence?
3. What defensive action did you personally order to protect our nation during the crisis on September 11th? What time were these orders given, and to whom? What orders were carried out? What was the result of such orders? Were any such orders not carried out?
4. In your opinion, why was our nation so utterly unprepared for an attack on our own soil?
5. U.S. Navy Captain Deborah Loewer, the Director of the White House Situation Room, informed you of the first airliner hitting Tower One of the World Trade Center before you entered the Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida. Please explain the reason why you decided to continue with the scheduled classroom visit, fifteen minutes after learning the first hijacked airliner had hit the World Trade Center.
6. Is it normal procedure for the Director of the White House Situation Room to travel with you? If so, please cite any prior examples of when this occurred. If not normal procedure, please explain the circumstances that led to the Director of the White House Situation Room being asked to accompany you to Florida during the week of September 11th.
Article comments
1 - Tom
I am not blaming Clinton or Bush for 9/11, but Bush had 9 months in office, half of that time he was in transition, held up by you libs still bitching from the 2000 election.
Clinton had 8 years in office. After the first world trade center, USS Cole, and Embassy bombings, he should have acted.
The fact that you guys continually bring this up like this makes me believe that YOU are politicizing 9/11 and using the 9/11 families as props because of your hatred of George Bush.
You, Shark and others like you, totally disgust me.
2 - Mark Saleski
TalkRadioRegurgitation(tm)
3 - Shark
Hey Tom,
"I'M" NOT BRINGING IT UP.
It's the families of those who perished. Tell them how disgusting they are.
BTW: This is par for the course -- just like the Clarke stuff; you guys never address the issues, just shoot the messenger.
And disgusting? I would never dare stoop SO FUCKING LOW as to suggest that conservatives value life less than liberals. (See Mark Mannings disengenous load of shit)
That's BEYOND DISGUSTING.
4 - Shark
Hey Tom,
"I'M" NOT BRINGING IT UP.
It's the families of those who perished. Tell them how disgusting they are.
BTW: This is par for the course -- just like the Clarke stuff; you guys never address the issues, just shoot the messenger.
And disgusting? I would never dare disingenuous
Is that right???
...sorry, I'm on the fly here...
5 - Ms. Tek
Shark,
Tom is disgusted by anyone who does not think (if you call repeating Limbaugh, Couitler, and any other one of those yahoos thinking) like he does.
He's got a boner for liberals... he spends most of his time trying to say what he thinks are witty things to be insulting when most of the time you read it and think "Huh? What was he smoking in that stogie?"
Be careful that you don't ruin his game or scare him because then he'll resort to "Aww, what I said was in good fun.. have a sense of humor, guys".
They don't address they issues because they cannot. When you bring up facts to dispute their claims, they still insist that red is blue. I've noticed it and it sure is frustrating.
6 - Craig Lyndall
For one of the biggest screw-ups in American history, there is plenty of blame to go around. Asking for the man at the top at the time to sit down and talk it out after the fact isn't such a big deal. Anyone who thinks Bush is 100% responsible is goofy. There are a lot of organizations and wings of the government which completes our system of checks and balances. You can't blame Clinton for this either.
The problem that we always have with this issue is that Liberals (I am not pointing any fingers here) want to blame it 100% on Bush and Republicans want to deflect 100% of the blame off of Bush. Nobody is every 100% right, so we can spread it around in a nice creamy thin layer, like cream cheese on a bagel. Why a bagel? Because no matter how carefully we spread, some stuff will invariably fall through the hole.
7 - Shark
Craig,
Just for the record: Neither Shark nor anybody with any sense (IMO) blames Bush and/or Clinton.
I've read everything I could on the subject, and it's pretty obvious the biggest F-ups were with the CIA and the FBI. They both skipped past a trail a blind man could have read, and most of that was obvious in the first few months after 9/11.
I think it's legitimate for hearings, commissions, reports, testimony, etc on exactly what happened before, during, and after the event, so that conclusions and recommendations can be made. Not that I have any faith it's going to make one iota of difference, but Dems and Repubs alike will have a 'cover-yer-ass' moment to point to when the next major terrorist attack occurs.
BTW: My problem w/Bush is he's trying to make it sound like he's the only person who can 'protect' America...
Which is a) nonsense, and b) not too well represented by evidence of Bush's actions SINCE 9/11.
I urge everybody within reading distance (all 2 or 3 of you?) to read "TERRORIST HUNTER" -- about an (Iraqi-born Jew) American housewife who basically did all the work on terrorist networks in America YEARS before the CIA and FBI even knew they existed.
The problem is: the book was finished in mid-2003, and the author says that the same problems with the CIA/FBI that lead to 9/11 and the build-up of terrorists STILL EXIST.