Ashcroft blames Clinton's 'failed policy' on bin Laden

WASHINGTON -- In a strong defense of the Bush administration, Attorney General John Ashcroft said Tuesday the nation was stunned by the Sept. 11 attacks because "for nearly a decade our government had blinded itself to our enemies."

Appearing before a commission looking into the worst terror strike in the nation's history, Ashcroft also said he moved quickly once in office to overturn a "failed policy" that allowed American agents to capture terrorist leader Osama bin Laden but not to assassinate him.

In nationally televised testimony, Ashcroft said that a legal wall that had been put in place to separate criminal investigators from intelligence agents. "Even if they could have penetrated bin Laden's training camps, they would have needed a battery of lawyers" to take action, he said dismissively.

Ashcroft slid into the witness chair on a day on which the panel issued reports indicating that a more nimble FBI and CIA working together might have uncovered the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist plot, and laying out an agonizing series of missed opportunities, half measures and bureaucratic inertia.

In a written report, the panel also quoted former Acting FBI Director Thomas Pickard as saying Ashcroft told him in the summer of 2001 that "he did not want to hear" additional information about possible attacks.

Ashcroft denies making the statement, the commission said.

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/0404/13sept11.html

that this administration chose to continue?

with cuteness. I can smile at them and laugh at Ashcough at the same time.

and I'm stealing him from ET the first chance I get ;-)

I keep a close eye on him. . .. when he's not trying to attack my eyes that is :).

then it's 5 :)

...look at those naughty eyes.

he can be a holy terror.

The quote sounds consistent with Ashcroft's MO.

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--In testimony before the Sept. 11 commission in
Washington, former acting FBI Director Thomas Pickard Tuesday confirmed a report
that Attorney General John Ashcroft said in the summer of 2001 that "he did not
want to hear" additional information about a possible terror attack.
That comment was mentioned in a commission staff report released earlier in
the day.
In his testimony, Pickard said, "I told him on two occasions" that "the threat
level was going up and was very high." The former FBI head added that he also
told the attorney general that "the CIA was very concerned that there would be
an attack."
Pickard was then asked whether Ashcroft said that he did not want to hear
about this anymore - to which Pickard said, "That's correct."

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

Why not, instead of blaming Clinton for all your failures (or a Calico Cat, or Senator Carnahan), take some responsibility for your own failings!


Jeeze Ashcroft! What a tool

Ex-FBI Official Doubted Priorities

The former acting director of the FBI testified yesterday that Attorney General John D. Ashcroft rejected any further briefings on terrorist threats in the weeks before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and did not view combating al Qaeda as "a top item on his agenda."
Thomas J. Pickard, who ran the FBI for several months before the attacks, also told the commission investigating the terrorist strikes that Ashcroft rejected a plea that summer for an extra $58 million to combat al Qaeda. Pickard testified that he received the formal denial on Sept. 12, 2001, the day after the attacks.
<snip>
Ashcroft sought to blame the Clinton administration for many of the shortcomings in counterterrorism strategies before the attacks, taking the unusual step of publicly citing the work of a Democratic member of the commission, Jamie Gorelick, who served as a deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration.
<more>
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9653-2004Apr13.html

I wonder.

Hm?

Yes. Who could be lying?

Could it be.....SATAN?

I wonder if she's a Pentecostal Christian?

The one Ben-Veniste asked him about as the reason he was told to stop flying commercial planes on official government business? If so, could you please explain it to me? I heard Ashcroft acknowledge that there was a threat assessment from the FBI but I didn't hear him give any detail regarding what the perceived threat was, what government person told him about the threat, what specific memorandum or documentation informed him of the threat, or any other details.

snip
Three weeks ago there was another warning that a terrorist strike might be imminent - On September 10, Newsweek has learned, a group of top Pentagon officials suddenly canceled travel plans for the next morning, apparently because of security concerns.

A number of business leaders who would normally have been in the World Trade Center, were instead at a meeting hosted by Warren Buffet on September 11th at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska. That group included Anne Tatlock, CEO of Fiduciary Trust Inc., a company that occupied five floors on or above the 90th floor of the South Tower. 3 (This is the same Air Force Base that George W. Bush would fly to later that day. It has an underground command center.) 4

San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown admitted to having received a warning from what he described as his airport security late Monday evening, just hours before the attack. 5

Salman Rushdie, who is under the continuous protection of Scotland Yard, was prevented from flying on September 11th, 2001. Ariel Sharon, who was scheduled to give an address to Israeli support groups in New York City on September 11th, cancelled his plans the day before.

more here
http://911research.wtc7.net/sept11/warnings.html

THE DAILY MIS-LEAD
< http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2066306&l=28143 >
===============================

ASHCROFT'S RECORD OF LYING TO CONGRESS ABOUT 9/11

With Attorney General John Ashcroft testifying before the 9/11 Commission
today, a quick analysis of his previous statements shows he has repeatedly
lied to Congress about the Bush Administration's counterterrorism record.
Specifically, when questioned by Congress in 2002 about why he tried to
de-prioritize and slash funding for counterterrorism before 9/11, Ashcroft
resorted to dishonest denials -- even in the face of budget documents that
proved he was not telling the truth.

For instance, in testimony before the House of Representatives, Ashcroft
said that before 9/11, his "number-one goal" at the Justice Department "was
the prevention of terrorist acts" and that he immediately "began to shape
the department and its efforts in that respect" (1). But according to the
Washington Post, internal Administration documents from before 9/11 "show
that Ashcroft ranked counterterrorism efforts as a lower priority than his
predecessor did" (2). The documents "indicate that before Sept. 11, Ashcroft
did not give terrorism top billing in his strategic plans for the Justice
Department, which includes the FBI. A draft of Ashcroft's 'Strategic Plan'
from Aug. 9, 2001, does not put fighting terrorism as one of the
department's seven goals, ranking it as a sub-goal beneath gun violence and
drugs."

Ashcroft tried to blame his negligence of counterterrorism on the previous
Administration, telling Congress that "the five-year plan that had been put
in place by my predecessor didn't mention counterterrorism" (3). But
according to the New York Times, "the plan issued by Attorney General Janet
Reno in 2000 said the Justice Department would have to devote more attention
and resources to terrorism, citing sophisticated computer and bomb-making
technology and the 'emerging threats of chemical, biological, radiological
and nuclear weapons'" (4).

Ashcroft has even been dishonest about events after 9/11, telling Congress
that when the Administration was writing the emergency counterterrorism
funding bill after the attacks, the FBI "came to me with a $670 million
request, and we counseled them to take that to $1.1 billion" (5). But
according to the Washington Post, "In the early days after the Sept. 11,
2001, attacks, the Bush White House cut by nearly two-thirds an emergency
request for counterterrorism funds by the FBI... The document, dated Oct.
12, 2001, shows that the FBI requested $1.5 billion in additional funds to
enhance its counterterrorism efforts with the creation of 2,024 positions.
But the White House Office of Management and Budget cut that request to $531
million" (6). Ashcroft "cut the FBI's request for items such as computer
networking and foreign language intercepts by half, cut a cyber-security
request by three quarters and eliminated entirely a request for
'collaborative capabilities.'"

Sources listed here:
< http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2066306&l=28145 >

that somehow managed to stop terrorist attacks on US soil during the 1999/2000 New Years celebrations....

I guess he was being truthful when he said he moved quickly to overturn Clinton's policies, but not in the way it is being interpreted in THIS article. He overturned the policy of attempting to prevent terrorist attacks on US soil, he overturned the policy of having the FBI pursue terrorist threats, he overturned the policy of funding FBI counter-terrorism efforts...

maybe surgeons can recycle his brain while implanting a conscience.

They forgot to pound a stake in his chest. A wooden one.

When covering up for oneself the first rule is to ALWAYS blame Clinton. Never ever accept responsibility for anything that you did or should have done and, of course, always pompously preach the need for others to take personal responsibility for THEIR action. :puke: Tell me John who was it prior to 9.11 that was busy busting brothels and not even listing counterterrorism as a top FBI priority to his staff? http://www10.nytimes.com/2004/04/13/politics/13PANE.html?pagewanted=print&position= Was it Clinton? Tell me John was it Clinton that told you not to fly in the summer of 2001 and did Clinton stop you from following up on those threats and investigating them? http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/07/26/national/main303601.shtml Between Aschroft and Pickard, I believe Pickard no question.

bothered to tell us.

While flying on private jets no less.

How evil of them. Let us die for their GAIN? This is not how it supposed to work.

Asscroft was too busy ordering drapes to cover nipples on a statue for gods sake.... How mundane and trivial

They flew on private jets, fished, golfed and hung out at the ranch, all on the taxpayer's dime, secure in the knowledge that they were safe. As for the rest of us "peasants" we were on our own.

Chelsea Clinton had just exited the WTC minutes before the attack. What in the world was she doing there anyway? Someone, someone she trusted, had to have set her up!!

I hope Billy remembers this well, he could have been among the victim's families, and pushes this sword in to the hilt.

Lucky for Chelsea, she had an angel looking out for her that fateful morning!

I remember reading about her whereabouts on 9/11 (not specifically mentioned in the article about her purchasing coffee at the WTC coffee shop that am. Which is what in effect, I was referring to)

I believe Bill was in S. Africa conducting a HIV prevention fundraiser on that day. I also remember mumbling under my breath, those sobs' would have delighted in the opportunity, if Chelsea had been a WTC victim. grrr...

DARRELL HAMMOND mentioned a curious (at least, I thought it was curious) incidence today on LIVE w/Regis and Kelli...(Darrell was guest hosting for Regis) He said, a while back, Cheney hired him to dress as Bill Clinton and appear at a Rethuglican fundraiser, all in the name of fun.

Are these people SICK or What?

asshole can explain why he did not issue ONE SINGLE FISA warrant from January, 2001 to September 10, 2001? Was that Clinton's fault too???

i betcha ashcroft wiLL be on the cover of every newspaper tomorrow, with most saying how 'dignified' and 'articuLate' he was. i haven't seen a response yet from the 9-11 famiLies... is there one?

a typo?

I've noticed in my stay at DU (mostLy as a Lurker) that sniffa capitaLizes aLL of his/her Letter L's.

Don't ask me why, I can't teLL you

and the talking heads on there mentioned how flustered he got with some of the questioning - two questions in particular he couldn't answer :

i. you decided to change policy to move from "capture" to "kill" OBN - on who's advice did you change this policy - "I don't recall exactly"

ii. right at the end, a portly chap asked him who he pulled together to receive a top-to-bottom terrorist threat in Mar 01. Again, he said he took regular briefings, but failed to mention anyone senior who he asked for advice.

After the Clinton-bashing of his prepared speech, he answered the first questioner very assuredly (obviously briefed as he had stats galore about how Clinton cut FBI funding etc etc), but when the Watergate chap started, I felt he just was not very assured at all. The BBC pundit gave him 4/10.

Unfortunately, the viewers of BBC News 24 don't form so large a constituency as to keep Ashcroft/Bush awake at night!!

onto the Clinton administration. It's not goanna work! Hopefully the American people that's paying attention will see thru their bullshit!

all they have done since the beginning of this Commission is blame Clinton - they're going to be yelling that the "truth" is finally getting out.

How is Clinton's "failed policy" bin Laden's fault?

Just curious...

I'd think if anything it was the other way around (bin Laden being the result, not the cause), but far more likely that ALL 'Pukes enjoy a fair ammount of blame, especially since every time WJC tried to take action against terrorists the 'Pukes all screamed "wag the dog!"

before the Commission begins their inquiry.

If they have nothing to hide, whats the problem? hmmm?

His statements contradict those of at least 3 others. Gee, I wonder.

I've been waiting for one of these goons to just come right out and say it was all Clinton's fault. Most of them have been pretty careful about finger pointing and appearing overtly partisan, preferring to covertly leak out their propoganda to Fox News. Asscroft just couldn't keep his huge, fleshy mouth shut though. This will be interesting.

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

He said he didn't tell his aide to stop bothering him with details about Bin Laden, yet the other fellow said he did. There is a contradiction here don't you think.

on edit - not his aide but rather:

"In a written report, the panel also quoted former Acting FBI Director Thomas Pickard as saying Ashcroft told him in the summer of 2001 that "he did not want to hear" additional information about possible attacks."

And so accurate too...

I was expecting fireworks and I got a smokescreen instead. Granted I missed the questioning about the AG's order to his underlings not to bother him with terrorism stuff.

But Kerry and the rest were quite tepid in their questioning. Is it because their accusations might ricochet and implicate them too? I know one commentator said the lady democrat (?) had actually pushed through the legal amendments in the 90s that Ashcroft claims put up a wall between FBI and CIA? She knew he would point that out if she jumped all over him.

edit for sp.

The FBI had 350 agents working for Ken Starr and his sex investigation. Clearly it was more important to determine Clinton's "crimes" than to go after terrorists.

:puke:

Once again, by Clintons enormous penis.....

jesus doesn't like it when his followers lie.

Amazing! The lies these guys spew just sickens me..If Ashcroft is so sure that its Clintons fault why are they working overtime to seal ANYTHING Clinton did or said about terrorism?? I would think that the ever blaming GOP would be leaking the papers to FOX news and Drudge so fast it would make your head spin.
It seems that Ashcroft was too worried about covering up boobies on a statue of JUSTICE than terrorism.
Oh yeah its Clintons fault that the GOP used 350 F.B.I. agents to find out if he got a blowjob..amazing...

Technically, he's right. Some of this is the fault of the Clinton administration. But for what is he really blaming Clinton and his people.

This is from The New York Times version of the story:

Mr. Ashcroft said Al Qaeda was able to plan and carry out the attacks that killed some 3,000 people in large part because of policies of the Clinton administration and its deliberate neglect of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's computer technology . . . .
Mr. Ashcroft also rebutted suggestions that the F.B.I.'s notoriously outmoded computer system — actually, 42 different "antique" systems, he said — could be blamed on Louis J. Freeh, the former F.B.I. director, who is an acknowledged computerphobe. Mr. Freeh testified earlier today.
The real blame, Mr. Ashcroft said, lies on the doorstep of the Clinton administration, whose last fiscal year budget — still in effect on Sept. 11, 2001 — allotted $36 million less for computer development than the budget of the first administration of the first President George Bush eight years earlier.

In a report heard on NPR yesterday, Freeh was portrayed as a poor manager who simply did not appreciate modern computer technology, ath the Times also makes clear in this report. Freeh's idea of budgeting for counter-terrorism was to hire more agents. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but a few good computers and some information technology could have assisted in processing the information brought in by agents.

Nevertheless, budgeting for the FBI was ultimately left to the FBI director. It was Freeh who made the decision to spend the FBI's money on personnel rather than computer equipment. The White House, under Clinton, simply deferred to his judgment.

In other words, Ashcroft, with perfect twenty-twenty hindsight, is blaming Clinton for approving the budget the FBI prepared and for not forcing computer technology down the throat of the FBI director.

Perhaps the Bush White House scrutinizes the budget proposals of every federal bureau as Ashcroft suggests that Clinton White House should have scrutinized the budget of Freeh's FBI. But I doubt it.

...how can it be simultaneously true that the Bushies, in their 230-odd days, could not have stopped 9/11, despite all the threats and warnings, but Clinton is to blame because of what he allegedly didn't do in, say, 1998? Is it so blindingly obvious that no one thought it necessary to mention?

I know what the thug answer is: well, see, he set up the conditions that made it possible blah blah blah...but that's easily refuted so it's not much of an argument. You can't blame Clinton for not bombing...uh, somebody...after the embassy bombings and yet give Bush a pass for the Cole--well, obviously you can, because they're doing it. But you shouldn't. Because it's :silly:

b

Please feel free to use all the logic you want.

I use the logic when I can, even tho it gets me into trouble...:+

BTW, Jack, I'm no Guthrie expert, but I think "1913 Massacre" is one of the best-written songs in the English language.

b

Fuck Ashcroft at the charter plane he rode in on!

Ashcroft = traitor.

...although I love it when these guys resort to playing the 'blame Clinton' card, because all that does is satisy the core of retards that would never vote for a Dem anyway.

Try to find a true independent/swing voter that gives credence to that shit. You won't.

Washington - United States attorney-general John Ashcroft rejected an FBI plea for increased counterterrorism funding the day before the September 11 attacks, the official inquiry into the devastating strikes said on Tuesday.

A preliminary report by the commission on action taken by US intelligence and law enforcement agencies before the 2001 attacks by al-Qaeda said counterterrorism advisors were stunned by the lack of emphasis put on terrorism by Ashcroft's justice department.

Ashcroft was expected to be intensely questioned about the funding and his commitment to fighting terrorism when he appeared before the commission on Tuesday.

The report said that on May 9 2001, Ashcroft told a federal hearing his department's highest priority was to "protect citizens from terrorist attacks".

http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1511846,00.html