Todays John Dean column (must read)

Bush's Claim Of Executive Privilege For His Daily Intelligence Briefing

One of the most important sets of documents that the Congressional Inquiry sought was a set of copies of the President's Daily Brief (PDB), which is prepared each night by the CIA. In the Appendix of the 9/11 Report we learn that on August 12, 2002, after getting nowhere with informal discussions, Congress formally requested that the Bush White House provide this information.

More specifically, the Joint Inquiry asked about the process by which the Daily Brief is prepared, and sought several specific Daily Brief items. In particular, it asked for information about the August 6, 2001 Daily Brief relating to Osama Bin Laden's terrorist threats against the United States, and other Daily Brief items regarding Bin Laden, Al Qaeda, and pre-September 11 terrorism threats.

The Joint Inquiry explained the basis for its request: "the public has a compelling interest ... in understanding how well the Intelligence Community was performing its principal function of advising the President and NSC of threats to U.S. national security."

In short, the Joint Inquiry wanted to see the records. Bush's public assertion that his intelligence was "darn good" was not sufficient.

EDITED BY ADMIN: COPYRIGHT

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20030729.html

Dean is the man!

John and Howard. ;-)

Eloriel

It's all coming home on Bush.*

Reading these words of Dean's make me think. Here is a Republican revealing the ugly truth about another Republican. It's the right thing to do.

We spend a lot of time here criticising Dems who criticize Dems. But there are times, as Dean has now twice publicly demonstrated, that there are issues clearly above party lines. If a politician within one's own party is damaging the government, the Democratic process, or is simply a threat to the people knowing the truth, that person needs to be confronted. He sets a wonderful example for us all to follow.

Thanks for posting this great read.

And if anyone knows it is John Dean. He lived the secrecy and executive privilege with Nixon. But unless this is in the mainstream press, no one will know, except on the internet (and thank heavens for the internet.) Is the press just lazy? They hint at things, but never come out and say it. If just one person on TV comes out and says. "Folks, we have been had--the president has lied and here is what he lied about." But I will not hold my breath.

The bushies certainly are a study in contrasts.

When it comes to Saddam, they adopt a "leopard can't change his spots" argument. Since Saddam HAD a nuke program, since he WAS an evil despot who gassed his own people and since he DID invade Kuwait - even though all of these things occured a decade ago - why, then he must STILL be doing the same things. And, if he isn't actively doing them, then he must be planning or, at the least, HOPING he can do them again. For those reasons, we need to take him out.

On the other hand, when it comes to Bin Laden, the bushies had no idea that he might attack the WTC - even though he did so in 1993. They have no idea that he might use airplanes as weapons, even though the French foiled his plot to fly an airplane into the Tour Eiffel and, more recently, even though the security for the G8 summit in Genoa only MONTHS before 9/11 was set up for exactly that purpose, ie: to foil Al Qaeda attacks from the air. AND, as Dean's article points out, even though their own briefing papers immediately before the 9/11 attack cited American SKYSCRAPERS as very likely targets.

Even though the Hart-Rudman Report warned them in explicit detail of such attacks. Even though Sandy Berger told Condi Rice TO HER FACE that terrorism would take up most of their time in the new administration, and on, and on and on. But according to Condi Rice, the bushies - yea, the WORLD - would NEVER imagined that such things could happen. Glory-oski!

Yes, it seems that the bin Laden leopard simply had no spots at all! No wonder they couldn't connect the dots!

Troublingly, it seems that President Bush trusts foreign heads of state with the information in this daily CIA briefing, but not the United States Congress. It has become part of his routine, when hosting foreign dignitaries at his Crawford, Texas ranch, to invite them to attend his CIA briefing.

poster who really knows a great deal about what may have happened.
Interesting stuff.

I wouldn't be surprised if he comes up with something really big and damaging to Bush.

I mean, absolutely incredible. I can't beleive he's not being picked up by more mainstream sources. He's impeccable. It's absloutely incredible. The stuff he writes is so filled w/ detail, sources and sound logic and argument, I mean, I'm astounded he's not writing for the Post or NYT or even being referenced much by them. Unreal.

Three cheers for John Dean. :toast::toast::toast:

From John Dean's article:

...Bluntly stated, either the Bush White House knew about the potential of terrorists flying airplanes into skyscrapers (notwithstanding their claims to the contrary), or the CIA failed to give the White House this essential information, which it possessed and provided to others...