Rice to Give Testimony.........
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| Thu, 04-08-2004 - 10:05am |
President George W Bush understood the threat from al-Qaeda well before 11 September, his national security adviser Condoleezza Rice has said.
Ms Rice is appearing before the body looking into the 2001 attacks.
"President Bush understood the threat, and he understood its importance," she told the commission.
Ms Rice is testifying in public about policy in the months before the attacks after Mr Bush reversed a decision to refuse the commission's request.
In her opening statement she said: "(President Bush) made clear to us that he did not want to respond to al-Qaeda one attack at a time.
"He told me he was 'tired of swatting flies.'"
Ms Rice told the commission: "There was no silver bullet that could have prevented" the devastating attacks on New York and Washington.
The US "simply was not on a war footing", she said.
"For more than 20 years, the terrorist threat was growing, and America's response across several administrations of both parties was insufficient," Ms Rice said.
Observers say Mr Rice's evidence could be vital for Mr Bush's re-election chances.
It is also being seen as a key moment in her own political career, with some tipping her as a future secretary of state or even president.
Her testimony is being covered by all the main US television networks.
She is expected to face intense questioning by the 9/11 commission - a panel of Republicans and Democrats charged with examining all the circumstances of the 2001 attacks, and setting out the lessons to be learned.
They will put to her accusations made by the former White House counter-terrorism chief Richard Clarke two weeks ago.
In his testimony - and in a book on the George Bush presidency - he accused the administration of ignoring his warnings about al-Qaeda, and of being fixated with Iraq.
When he appeared before the commission he made a dramatic apology.
"Your government failed you, and I failed you," he said.
Ms Rice did not offer an apology as the White House said the administration felt it had done all it could to prevent the attacks, based on the information available.
But she said: "As an officer of government on duty that day, I will never forget the sorrow and the anger I felt."
The White House had originally refused to let Ms Rice testify, arguing that she was in a privileged position as a presidential adviser and that it would set the wrong precedent.
However it relented after a political row.
The White House has also hinted it may change course and release a speech Miss Rice was due to give on 11 September 2001, but which was never made because of the atrocities.
The speech apparently stressed the need for missile defence, rather than a war on terrorism.
Mr Bush's national security credentials, which are central to his re-election campaign, may depend on Miss Rice's testimony.
Patty Casazza of New Jersey, whose husband died in the World Trade Center attacks, said she hoped the appearance would make things much clearer.
"Her testimony will either undermine our confidence in this administration or bolster it," she told the Associated Press news agency.


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Sure, it could have been that too, what you said in your first paragraph.
"I was surprised that she didn't tell them to FO"
ROTFL -- I literally had to LOL when I read that!
--Bridgette
You can also check out my L
Sometimes it is though the media outlets feel their viewers / readers are not intelligent enough to make up their own minds.
Also, Andrew Card was the Chief of Staff and Condoleeza Rice was National Security Advisor. Surely the chain of command would be Andrew Card to Condoleeza Rice, not the other way around.
minnie
How much did you know "at the time" about Condoleeza Rice's qualifications to head the NSA other than the way she looked?
I do have one thing to add, though. The FBI and The CIA should have kept up with the terrorists better, agreed, but we do live in a free society and because of our individual freedoms they can't legally invade people's privacy. It's a catch 22 here in America.
minnie
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