President Bush Imagines He is Like McKinnley and Follows a Failed Policy

A Report on the 9/11 Commissions Press Conference

by Mauricio Rosas and Lorelei Jackson

07.23.04 - After 20 months of agonizing research, open and closed door meetings the September 11 Commission investigating the attacks finally came to several unanimous conclusions. One stands out as most significant, contrary to the innuendos and suggestions by Vice President Cheney and President Bush, the 9/11 Commission found “no relationship whatever between Iraq and the attack on 9/11. That just doesn’t exist.” What the commission did find said Lee Hamilton, Commission Vice Chair, was a critical theme throughout their investigation and inquiry of the difficulty in answering the question. “Who is in charge?” Again, this is contrary to the statement by Bush that as the Commander in Chief, he is in charge. Apparently on 9/11 there was no one at the helm of the ship.

During the press conference Thomas Kean, 9/11 Commission Chair (R) was quite specific in detailing that the government “on that September [morning was] unprepared… we did not grasp the magnitude of a threat …the government failed to protect the American people… the United States government was simply not active enough in combating the terrorist threat.”

Knowing that those threats existed prior to 9/11 why was the Bush administration not prepared? Were they to busy planning a war plan against Iraq, as former Treasury Secretary, Paul O’Neil suggests in his book “The Price of Loyalty”?

Mr. Kean and his colleagues are clear and unanimous in that “this was a failure of policy, management, capability and above all a failure of imagination.”

The commission is also unanimous in that “individuals and institutions cannot be absolved of responsibility any person in a senior position within our government during this time bares some element of responsibility for our government’s actions.” This begs for all of us to ask the question: Is the President the ultimate person responsible to protect the American people and should he be held responsible? According to Bush, he says his “top priority is protecting the American people.” So will the Congress and the Senate take on their responsibility of the system of checks and balances and hold the executive office accountable for its failures? Most likely not.

Protect our Libeties

The Commission Vice Chair, Lee Hamilton also stressed that measures to protect our nation, like the PATRIOT Act, “need to be accompanied by commitment to our open society and the principle of review…. accompanied by vigorous oversight. We must after all is said and done preserve the liberties that we are fighting for.”

History Repeats Itself

The current administration has taken some measures against Al Qaeda but has lost its focus in its floundering attempt to install democracy by force on Iraq. Bush followed the same policy that failed President William McKinley when the U.S. Navy ousted Spain from the Philippines in the Spanish-American War of 1898. The McKinley administration confident by victory in that “splendid little war,” annexed the country and installed a colonial administrator. The United States then waged a brutal war against the same Philippine independence movement it encouraged to fight against Spain. The war dragged on for 14 years. Before it ended, about 120,000 U.S. troops were deployed, more than 4,000 were killed, and more than 200,000 Filipino civilians and soldiers were killed. Resentment still lingered a century later during Bush's visit. (John B. Judis, July/August, 2004 Foreign Policy Magazine)

This administration could learn a lot from reading our history.

”We are not safe”

“We do not have the luxury of time. We must prepare and we must act… the Al Qaeda network and its affiliates are sophisticated, patient, disciplined and lethal.” a determined Thomas Kean said.

The commission is clear and direct in identifying the danger. “Osama Bin Laden… his message and hate filled ideology have instructed and inspired recruits and imitators… he and Al Qaeda despise America and its policies… they exploit political grievances and hopelessness within the Arab and Islamic world…they pervert one of the worlds great religions and they seek creative methods to kill Americans in limitless numbers chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.”

Al Qaeda represents an ideological movement, not a finite group of people. It initiates and inspires, even if it no longer directs. In this way it has transformed itself into a decentralized force. Bin Ladin may be limited in his ability to organize major attacks from his hideouts.Yet killing or capturing him, while extremely important, would not end terror. His message of inspiration to a new generation of terrorists would continue.

Al Qaeda is the threat and with our military forces and intelligence focused on a diversion, Iraq, we may not have the infrastructure, money, personnel and necessary tools to counter what “every expert with whom we spoke told us, "an attack of even greater magnitude is now possible and even probable.” (Kean)

"Because of offensive actions against al Qaeda since 9/11, and defensive actions to improve homeland security, we believe we are safer today...But we are not safe."

Reform Now!

James Thompson a commission member and a republican makes it clear that “our reform recommendations are urgent we have come together with the families to agree on that if these reforms are not the best that can be done for the American people then the Congress and the President need to tell us what’s better but if there is nothing better they need to be enacted and enacted speedily because if something bad happens while these recommendations are sitting there the American people will quickly to fix political responsibility for failure.”

Now more than ever, the Bush administration needs to heed the words of Mr. Hamilton, “We need to sustain a coalition of nations that cooperates bilaterally and multilaterally with us,” emphasizes Mr. Hamilton. This puts more pressure on Bush's unilateral pre-emptive war strategy.

This commission sends a clear message to Congress, the Senate, the Bush administration, and the next administration to rebuild our international coalition of post WWII allies and those post Cold War allies who will “cooperate(s) bilaterally and multilaterally.” And refocus our collaborative energies away from Iraq and stay focused on the enemy, that has made it clear it is waging war against the US, the Osama Bin Laden - Al Qaeda terrorist network.

www.voiceoffreedom.com