www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=3558
But we didnt see it on a single piece of paper, the way the President did. Graham added that threats of hijacking in an August 6 memo to President Bush were based on very old intelligence that the committee had seen earlier. The particular report that was in the Presidents Daily Briefing that day was about three years old, Graham said. Grahams comments contradicted combative statements made recently by the Democratic congressional leadership, and confirmed White House assertions that the only specific threats of al Qaeda hijackings known to the President before September 11 came from a memo dating back to the Clinton Administration. Not Surprised A leak to CBS News of some pre-September-11 warnings given to the President in August occasioned fierce political attacks on Bush beginning May 15-even though the basic content of the leaks had long been known. As early as September 18, CNN had already reported that administration officials admitted to being aware of vague threats against United States targets before September 11. Also, a publicly available 1995 government report had even warned that terrorists could use airplanes in suicide attacks.
Both Democrats strongly implied that Bush sat on information that could possibly have been used to prevent the terrorist attacks of September 11. Im gravely concerned that the President received a warning in August about the threat of hijackers by Osama bin Laden and his organization, said Daschle. Why was it not provided to us, and why was it not shared with the general public for the last eight months? Daschle also asserted that Congress did not have the same information as the White House-implying that the White House alone was to blame for not acting on the information. I think it is important to emphasize we did not have identical information, he said in a May 16 news conference, in clear contradiction with Grahams statements to HUMAN EVENTS. On May 22, Daschle again accused Bush of hoarding information, even trying to blame him for the FBIs intelligence failure of September 11. There is an increasing pattern that I find in this administration that reflects an unwillingness to share information not only with us but within their own administration, he told reporters. Gephardt also implied that the administration was blameworthy for its handling of the intelligence reports. The reports are disturbing that we are finding this out now, he said. Invoking language of the Watergate era, he continued, I think what we have to do now is to find out what the President, what the White House knew about the events leading up to 9-11, when they knew it and, most importantly, what was done about it at that time. Gephardt also stated that Congress had not received the same intelligence as the White House. Grahams statement changed his view, Gephardt responded with a simple No before retreating into the House chamber. Again, the following day, Kori Bernards, a spokeswoman for Gephardt, declined to comment for the record on Grahams statement. Other Democrats sensed a political opportunity and went on the attack.
I was not surprised that there was an attack, was surprised at the specificity of this one, Graham said in the interview, hours after the attacks. Expected Backlash As Democrats appeared to back away from the attacks on Bush over the weekend, Republicans went on the offensive to capitalize on an expected backlash. The Republican Study Committee, a group of about 75 conservative Republicans, released a memo detailing House Democrats overwhelming opposition to intelligence funding since 1996. According to the memo, 154 House Democrats voted to cut the United States intelligence budget in 1996, while 158 Democrats did the same in 1997. Although fewer Democrats voted to cut the intelligence budget in 1999 only 61, almost all opposition to intelligence spending came from Democrats. The memo also quotes several Democrats opposing intelligence spending, including Rep.
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