Ex-Advisor Says Bush Eyed Bombing of Iraq on 9/11

[Johnny Stew]

Ex-Advisor Says Bush Eyed Bombing of Iraq on 9/11

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former White House anti-terrorism advisor says the Bush administration considered bombing Iraq in retaliation after Sept. 11, 2001 even though it was clear al Qaeda had carried out the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Richard Clarke, who headed a cybersecurity board that gleaned intelligence from the Internet, told CBS "60 Minutes" in an interview to be aired on Sunday he was surprised administration officials turned immediately toward Iraq instead of al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.

"They were talking about Iraq on 9/11. They were talking about it on 9/12," Clarke says.

Clarke said he was briefing President Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld among other top officials in the aftermath of the devastating attacks.

"Rumsfeld was saying we needed to bomb Iraq. ... We all said, 'but no, no. Al Qaeda is in Afghanistan," recounts Clarke, "and Rumsfeld said, 'There aren't any good targets in Afghanistan and there are lots of good targets in Iraq."'

Clarke, an advisor to four presidents, left his position in February 2003 after the White House transferred functions of the cybersecurity board to Homeland Security.

Clarke's comments are the latest to raise the question of the Bush administration's focus on overthrowing Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, fired in a shake-up of Bush's economic team in December 2002, told "60 Minutes" in an interview aired in January he never saw any evidence Iraq had weapons of mass destruction -- Bush's main justification for going to war.

O'Neill also charged that Bush entered office intent on invading Iraq and ousting its leader, Saddam Hussein.

"I think they wanted to believe that there was a connection" between Iraq and al Qaeda, Clarke tells "60 Minutes."

"But the CIA was sitting there, the FBI was sitting there, I was sitting there, saying, 'We've looked at this issue for years. For years we've looked and there's just no connection,"' says Clarke.

[gldstwmn]

Thank God people keep coming out and saying that this has been the case all along. It certainly does open up a whole other line of questioning about the acts of this administration. It's curious to me that we have just now only cornered Osama's right hand man. We've turned Iraq into a cesspool. It's time for the liars to be thrown out.

[darklinensuit]

Originally posted by gldstwmn
Thank God people keep coming out and saying that this has been the case all along. It certainly does open up a whole other line of questioning about the acts of this administration. It's curious to me that we have just now only cornered Osama's right hand man. We've turned Iraq into a cesspool. It's time for the liars to be thrown out.

Now be fair. It's still possible that everybody else is a liar and the president is being honest, right?

- Jake

[Merf]

Originally posted by darklinensuit
Now be fair. It's still possible that everybody else is a liar and the president is being honest, right?

- Jake

I'm not paranoid! Everyone's just out to try to get me!

[DeeGeMe]

I love that this stuff is all starting to come out and that our media are finally getting off their butts and are refusing to give the Repugs any more free publicity.

Kitty Kelly, of the Sinatra, Nancy Regan, and British Royal Family tell-all biographies fame has one on the Bush family coming out in August or September. Michael Moore's new documentary on 9/11 & Shrubbie comes out around then too.

[gldstwmn]

Originally posted by DeeGeMe
I love that this stuff is all starting to come out and that our media are finally getting off their butts and are refusing to give the Repugs any more free publicity.

Kitty Kelly, of the Sinatra, Nancy Regan, and British Royal Family tell-all biographies fame has one on the Bush family coming out in August or September. Michael Moore's new documentary on 9/11 & Shrubbie comes out around then too.

Moore's new film is going to be called Fareheit 911. I guess Larry Flynt is publishing a pol book this summer too.

[Rob67]

Originally posted by gldstwmn
Moore's new film is going to be called Fareheit 911. I guess Larry Flynt is publishing a pol book this summer too.

Great....more unbiased and intelligent views on world events written by obvious “experts� on foreign affairs.

Rob

[dissention]

Originally posted by Rob67
Great....more unbiased and intelligent views on world events written by obvious “experts� on foreign affairs.

Rob

Shrub is no expert on foreign affairs and he's in the f*cking White House!

[sparky]

My prediction - No One Will Care. All the public pays attention to is sex and celebrities. A photo of Bush handing Osama Bin Laden the title to his house would not get the public to turn on him - but a photo of him with his hand up Anna Nicole Smith's skirt might.

[darklinensuit]

Originally posted by sparky
My prediction - No One Will Care. All the public pays attention to is sex and celebrities. A photo of Bush handing Osama Bin Laden the title to his house would not get the public to turn on him - but a photo of him with his hand up Anna Nicole Smith's skirt might.

That's not fair. The first photo would get attention if it showed Bush revealing Osama's red pastie.

- Jake