Secrets of Timothy McVeigh Lingering questions about the Oklahoma City bombing by Jim Crogan MARCH 26 - APRIL 1, 2004 + Powerlines: Drip. Drip. Drip. Former counter-terrorism honcho Richard Clarke is the latest high-level tattler from the Bush administration. BY HAROLD MEYERSON # Dissonance: Oh, stop the gloating over Richard Clarke. The fiends who want to do us in are still out there. BY MARC COOPER

Subject: Urgent: Spread 9/11 and Iraq Revelations

Several days ago, former White House counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke revealed how the Bush administration systematically mishandled 9/11 and Iraq. Help us get Clarke's comments in front of the American people in a new hard-hitting ad.
Dear MoveOn member,

As you may have heard, Richard Clarke, a former counter-terrorism advisor to Bush, and a registered Republican who has worked in every administration since Reagan, has exposed Bush's mishandling of 9/11 and the war on Iraq.1 In his book "Against All Enemies," Clarke does an amazing job of presenting the facts and connecting the dots. Instead of refuting Clarke's claims, the Bush Administration has launched a campaign of character assassination, hoping that the story will just go away.2

We're committed to stopping that from happening by making sure that the American public hears Clarke's extraordinary comments. If we can raise $300,000 in the next few days, we can run a hard-hitting ad nationally that highlights his message. You can see a rough story board of the ad and donate to get it on the air at:
https://www.moveonpac.org/clarkead.html?id=2487-3261555-xE9LEb2n3CqsdZQRdaDWEA

When the World Trade Center was hit on the morning of 9/11, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice dubbed Richard Clarke, the administration's top counter-terrorism official, "crisis manager."3 As the White House, which was thought to be the next target, was evacuated, Clarke heroically stayed on, coordinating the government's response from the Situation Room in the West Wing.4

Clarke is viewed by colleagues as a hawk, a "true believer" who doesn't play partisan politics.5 So the shocking facts he revealed about the Bush administration's approach to terrorism before 9/11 and its response after must be taken seriously. On Sunday, Clarke told reporters that the President and Defense Secretary downgraded counter-terrorism and ignored repeated warnings about an al Qaeda attack prior to 9/11. And, perhaps even more explosive, Clarke revealed that President Bush and senior administration officials wanted to bomb Iraq after 9/11 even though they knew that it had no connection to al Qaeda, and that al Qaeda was responsible for the attacks.6

Already, the White House spin machine is in overdrive. Since they can't rebut Clarke's facts -- which independent witnesses have confirmed7 -- they're trying to paint him as an angry partisan, even though he's a Republican. But Clarke's words remain a searing indictment of the Bush Administration's campaign against terrorism. Together, if we act today, we can beat back the spin by widely airing a TV ad which gets these uniquely credible comments directly to TV viewers.

You can view a story board of the ad and help us get it on the air now at:
https://www.moveonpac.org/clarkead.html?id=2487-3261555-xE9LEb2n3CqsdZQRdaDWEA

In his own words, here are some of Clarke's revelations:

* Clarke repeatedly warned the Bush Administration about attacks from al Qaeda, starting in the first days of Bush's term. "But on January 24th, 2001, I wrote a memo to Condoleezza Rice asking for, urgently -- underlined urgently -- a Cabinet-level meeting to deal with the impending al Qaeda attack. And that urgent memo-- wasn't acted on."8 According to another Bush administration security official, Clarke "was the guy pushing hardest, saying again and again that something big was going to happen, including possibly here in the U.S." The official added that Clarke was likely sidelined because he had served in the previous (Clinton) administration.9

* In face-to-face meetings, CIA Director George Tenet warned President Bush repeatedly in the months before 9/11 that an attack was coming. According to Clarke, Tenet told the President that "A major al-Qaeda attack is going to happen against the United States somewhere in the world in the weeks and months ahead."10

* On September 12, 2001, Donald Rumsfeld pushed to bomb Iraq even though they knew that al Qaeda was in Afghanistan. "Rumsfeld was saying that we needed to bomb Iraq," Clarke said. "And we all said ... no, no. Al-Qaeda is in Afghanistan. We need to bomb Afghanistan. And Rumsfeld said there aren't any good targets in Afghanistan. And there are lots of good targets in Iraq. I said, 'Well, there are lots of good targets in lots of places, but Iraq had nothing to do with it.'"11

* Also on September 12, 2001, President Bush personally pushed Clarke to find evidence that Iraq was behind the attacks. From the New York Times: "'I want you, as soon as you can, to go back over everything, everything,' Mr. Clarke writes that Mr. Bush told him. 'See if Saddam did this. See if he's linked in any way.' When Mr. Clarke protested that the culprit was Al Qaeda, not Iraq, Mr. Bush testily ordered him, he writes, to 'look into Iraq, Saddam,' and then left the room."12

* The Bush Administration knew from the beginning that there was no connection between Iraq and 9/11, but created the misperception in order to push their policy goals. "[Rumsfeld, Cheney and Bush] did know better. They did know better. They did know better. We told them, the CIA told them, the FBI told them. They did know better. And the tragedy here is that Americans went to their death in Iraq thinking that they were avenging September 11th, when Iraq had nothing to do with September 11th. I think for a commander-in-chief and a vice president to allow that to happen is unconscionable."13

* The war on Iraq has increased the danger of terrorism. In his book, he writes that shifting from al Qaeda to Iraq "launched an unnecessary and costly war in Iraq that strengthened the fundamentalist, radical Islamic terrorist movement worldwide."14

It's been well reported that President Bush intends to run on his record as a wartime President. Clarke's revelations show how deeply flawed that record is. But if we don't act fast, the public may not have a chance to evaluate the facts for themselves -- the story could go away quickly. With an ad, we can take Clarke's comments directly to the public. Can you help? Check out the script and donate whatever you can to get this story out there at:
https://www.moveonpac.org/clarkead.html?id=2487-3261555-xE9LEb2n3CqsdZQRdaDWEA

(By the way, if we're unable to use your contribution for the ad you specify, either because of oversubscription or for another unforeseen reason, it is our policy to use your contribution for other advertising, public relations, and advocacy activities.)

Richard Clarke had an intimate view -- perhaps the best view -- of how the Bush Administration responded to terrorism. So we should all listen carefully when he says:

"Frankly, I find it outrageous that the president is running for re-election on the grounds that he's done such great things about terrorism. He ignored it. He ignored terrorism for months, when maybe we could have done something to stop 9/11. Maybe. We'll never know. . . I think the way he has responded to al-Qaeda, both before 9/11 by doing nothing, and by what he's done after 9/11 has made us less safe, absolutely. I think he's done a terrible job on the war against terrorism."15

Together, we can make sure every American knows what President Bush's true record on terrorism really is.

Sincerely,
--Adam, Carrie, Eli, James, Joan, Laura, Wes, and Zack
The MoveOn PAC Team
March 24th, 2004

P.S. Salon has recently published a new interview with Clarke. You can read it at:
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/03/24/clarke_moveon/

P.P.S. As the Administration strikes back, our friends at the Center for American Progress have put together an excellent rebuttal to their claims. Here's an example:

CLAIM #1: "Richard Clarke had plenty of opportunities to tell us in the administration that he thought the war on terrorism was moving in the wrong direction and he chose not to." -- National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, 3/22/04

FACT: Clarke sent a memo to Rice principals on 1/24/01 marked "urgent" asking for a Cabinet-level meeting to deal with an impending Al Qaeda attack. The White House acknowledges this, but says "principals did not need to have a formal meeting to discuss the threat." No meeting occurred until one week before 9/11. -- White House Press Release, 3/21/04

For the whole document, go to:
http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=39828

Footnotes:

1. "Dissent from within on Iraq war," Philadelphia Inquirer, 3/24/04
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/front/8260216.htm?1c (Registration required)

2. "Bush Aides Blast Ex-Terror Chief," CBS News, 3/22/04
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/23/terror/main608107.shtml

3. "The book on Richard Clarke," Washington Post, 3/23/04
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16192-2004Mar22.html (Registration required)

4. "Clarke's Take On Terror," CBS, 3/21/04
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/19/60minutes/main607356.shtml

5. See 3, above.

6. "60 Minutes" interview; see 4, above.

7. "Ex-Bush Aide Sets Off Debate as 9/11 Hearing Opens," New York Times, 3/23/04
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/23/politics/23CLAR.html?hp (Registration required)

8. "60 Minutes" interview; see 4, above.

9. See 7, above.

10. "60 Minutes" interview; see 4, above.

11. "Sept. 11: Before And After," CBS News, 3/20/04
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/20/60minutes/main607622.shtml

12. "Excerpts from 'Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror' by Richard A. Clarke," posted on NYTimes.com, 3/23/04
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/23/politics/23CWOR.html (Registration required)

13. "60 Minutes" interview; see 4, above.

14. "Memoir Criticizes Bush 9/11 Response," Washington Post, 3/22/04
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13607-2004Mar21.html (Registration required)

15. "60 Minutes" interview; see 4, above.

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March 2004

.. Iraq, an overview; Kurdistan, what degree of separation? why Haiti’s revolution failed; Algeria, traumatised by past grief; Russia, nostalgic for the cosy old Soviet days; Balkans, democracy wobbles.. plus Germany remembers exodus and exile; France’s intolerance of Islam starts at school; Julio Cortázar, artist of encounters.. and more..

Next issue, April 12th

Bush attacked on terrorism record Aides have rejected the criticism of President Bush A former White House security expert has accused President Bush of doing a "terrible job" of tackling terrorism.

Carter savages Blair and Bush: 'Their war was based on lies' By Andrew Buncombe in Atlanta, 22 March 2004

Subject: Honoring our troops

Dear MoveOn member,

Tomorrow is the anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq. It's a good time to take a moment to honor the sacrifices our troops there and their families are making. More than 100,000 American troops are serving in Iraq today.

Here's the story of one mother, Adele Kubein, whose daughter was injured while serving in Iraq:

When my daughter enlisted in the National Guard I was proud of her, for having the discipline to make it through basic training. But I had friends who went to Vietnam, and I said: "Baby, are you sure you want to do this? And she said: "Oh, mom, I'm going to fight fires in Oregon, build roads, and there's never going to
be another war."

When she called me after her unit went from Kuwait to Mosul in a convoy and told me that she had gone through roads with depleted uranium dust and tanks with dead bodies in them, I was afraid. I knew that my daughter was facing mortal danger. I cried for joy that she was alive when her helicopter was shot down because the one in front of her, everybody died on. But when she called me up and told me, "mom, I had to kill someone today, and I looked in his eyes and I saw him die," I cried with her because I knew there was no going back then.

I want to know that there’s a good reason for what happened to my daughter, and to all the other kids that have been killed and injured in Iraq. My daughter told me stories about the Iraqi people, their casualties are just as high as ours, and they love their families just as much as we love ours. When my daughter was injured, I cried, I wept with joy to know that she was coming home, because I knew that so many other people were not going to come home. My daughter accounted for herself; she did her duties regardless of her fears and feelings. She thought she was going to Iraq to build houses and schools for people who needed them. That’s what they told them in the Oregon National Guard. Instead she ended up in an ever-escalating cycle of violence.

Our nation is based on accountability. I want to know that what our loved ones are going through is for a good reason. When I visit my daughter once more and hold her as she weeps about the things that she has seen and done, I will tell her that she did the right thing. But I want to know that the people who lead this country are doing the right thing also. [1]

Of course, this is just one story. Thousands of our troops in Iraq have been injured, and hundreds have been killed. Countless Iraqis have also been killed. [2]

One simple way to show our respect and gratitude for our soldiers' service, and our hope for their safe return, is to put a candle (or a light resembling one) in a window tomorrow night.

Our troops and their families are making incredible sacrifices. Many reservists serving in Iraq left with as little as a week's notice, and have been told they'll be there for a year, at constant risk to life and limb. At the same time, the Bush administration has tried to short-change soldiers, veterans, and their families on combat pay,
[3] health care, [4] and education funding. [5]

One way we can help is by giving to a fund called the Armed Forces Relief Trust, which helps military servicemembers and their families with emergency expenses, medical bills, flights home, and education costs. If you'd like, you can give at:

http://www.afrtrust.org/aboutcontributing.asp

Please take a few minutes to honor our troops tomorrow by putting a light in your window. And if you can help some families in need, that's great too.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

- Carrie, Joan, Noah, Peter, and Wes
The MoveOn.org team
Friday, March 19th, 2004

[1] Adele made this statement at a press conference announcing our Censure campaign, on February 10th.

[2] According to an editorial in today's New York Times, "The innocent Iraqi casualties of Mr. Bush's war are literally countless because the Pentagon refuses to estimate their number."
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/19/opinion/19FRI1.html?hp

[3]
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/0803/14paycut.html

[4]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A4064-2003Jan16

[5]
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/110009_military25.shtml

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