Tellme G-Man, how many?

2? 3? 10? 100? 1000?

How many people inside the Bush White House coming forward and revealing Bush's obsession with Iraq and obsession with creating "facts' to support their obsessions will it take before they're not all a bunch of liars trying to sell books?

I find it incredible that people are eager to slander a guy who devoted 30 years to our government and who is immpecabley qualified to discuss the inner workings of government both in this Administration and previous ones, all because they don't like what they're hearing from him.

Sort of like with Paul O'Neil.

sort of like with Joe Wilson.

Sort of like with Hans Blix.

Bottom line. Bush is fucked.

Quote:

Clarke Is Hero to Some Families of 9/11 Victims

By Sue Pleming

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Relatives of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks praised former counter-terrorism official Richard Clarke on Thursday for publicly apologizing for not doing enough to prevent the tragedy.

Clarke, whose credibility has been questioned by the Bush administration, began his testimony on Wednesday to a commission probing the attacks by asking for grieving relatives' forgiveness, prompting clapping and tears from the packed hearing room on Capitol Hill.

"It's the first time we have had a public apology by any of the officials that were in office on that terrible morning," said Patty Casazza, who lost her husband when a hijacked plane rammed into the World Trade Center in New York.

"An apology goes a long way to healing the wounds and moving forward," Casazza told ABC's "Good Morning America" program.

Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon (news - web sites). Relatives of those killed have been pushing for answers and some have voiced criticism over the Bush administration's cooperation with the commission.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims of 9/11. The president has personally met with hundreds of these families to convey his sympathies and he has grieved with them, and his commitment is to do everything we can to ensure we are not attacked again," said White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan.

Clarke, who served the last four U.S. presidents until he quit 13 months ago, has incensed the White House by saying publicly and in a book published this week that President Bush did not take the terrorism threat seriously enough.

EMOTIONAL MOMENT

In his testimony, Clarke turned around to directly face the relatives and said: "Those entrusted with protecting you, failed you. And I failed you. We tried hard but that doesn't matter because we failed."

He added: "I would ask, once all the facts are out, for your understanding and for your forgiveness."

Beverly Eckert, whose husband died in the World Trade Center, said she "totally broke down" at Clarke's apology.

"It was a very emotional moment. As Patty said, no one has ever apologized. Most of the witnesses who come to these hearings come with, I would categorize them, as rather self-serving statements and everything they tried to do."

The commission, which held public hearings for two days in Washington, is billed as a non-partisan body but some relatives said they were upset certain members had attacked Clarke.

Kristen Breitweiser, who lost her husband in the World Trade Center attack, told NBC's "Today" show some of the commission members had "sunk to a level of partisan politics" by criticizing Clarke and questioning his credibility.

Relatives have also voiced disappointment that White House national security advisor Condoleezza Rice has refused to appear publicly at a commission hearing. Others feel the president should also take the stand.

"From the president on down, if they have nothing to hide, they should testify," said Eckert.
Breitweiser was more cutting in her criticism and said she believed the White House had done a "cost benefit analysis" and decided it was better for Rice to take the heat rather than testify publicly about what went wrong.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, speaking at her weekly briefing with reporters, praised Clarke for speaking out and urged Rice to change her mind.

"I think that for the public to have the answers they expect and that the families deserve, that it is important for the national security adviser to testify in public," she said.







Last edited by whomod; 2004-03-25 7:10 PM.