The National Security Archive has just released a Load of Files Electronic Briefing Book No. 253 Posted - August 20, 2008 under the title: 1998 Missile Strikes on Bin Laden May Have Backfired with a subtitle: Extensive 1999 Report on Al-Qaeda Threat Released by U.S. Dept of Energy,
Taliban Told U.S. They Wanted to Bomb Washington

With backlinks to the PDF's and more links in the sidebar on the left.

As the presidential campaign gains momentum in favor of change, it would appear that the neo-cons, the hierarchy of the status quo, remain curiously calm. The Democratic frontrunners and the National Committee would collectively commit a grave error by breathing any sigh of relief upon the departure of Karl Rove from his perch in the Oval Office.

Do you believe in coincidences? Of course, they happen all the time, and with this government, coincidence and incompetence are the bread and butter of the Bush administration. When I quoted "Le Canard Enchaîné" which I found in The New York Sun that predicted an attack on Iran would occur on October the 15th, I was then unaware that NORTHCOM was Planning a 5 Day anti-terrorism exercise called Vigilant Shield 08. I noted that members from the site George W. Bush - Terrorist in the White House were following a link to my article on the subject, Attack On Iran Slated For October 15th, Prepare For Disaster. Being my usual curious self, I went to their site, and I found this link staring me in the face - and when I read it, a chill ran up my spine as I attempted to grasp the magnitude of the "coincidence.":

A radical faction of the right is attempting to reconstitute McCarthyism in the 21st century by spreading exaggerated falsehoods to college campuses, eschewing accuracy and espousing hysteria about Islam and the honest threat of terrorism.

Ronald Reagan had a vision. You might not agree with his vision. You might not even agree with the premises of his vision but you can not say that he did not have a vision. His vision was based on the propaganda that he voiced through out World War II. His propaganda ignored the reality that many Americans faced every day.

Here we are, on the eve of another commemorative anniversary of 9/11.

Six years later, what has changed since the day after this fateful and tragic morning?

Wake of 9/11 anniversary

This is just an observation from a concerned American citizen. In the wake of the anniversary of the horrific event of the 9/11 attacks, one must review the efforts of America to resolve this crime.

I don't have any problem understanding the Bush administration's approach to executive power - it wants more, period. It seems much more focused on that than its predecessors which I explain via amateur psychology. I think George Bush understands in some locked subterranean corner of his brain that he failed the nation in the summer of 2001, and his refusal to act on the intelligence in front of him contributed to the deaths of thousands of his countrymen. Unfortunately he also has a native lack of curiosity. Most people would dive head first into the details to make sure it never happened again. Bush seems satisfied with his store of knowledge so the remedy becomes "let's grab everything we can and have our folks sort through it."

Cross-posted to DailyKos.

Recently, Congress passed a law that would require, within a few years, 100% of U.S. bound cargo containers to be scanned at their points of origin. President Bush, while signing the law, has also criticized the requirement, questioning its "technical feasibility."

It's interesting, in the face of this reluctance, to consider another largely "infeasible" project that's being considered by the federal government. For, while the Bush administration is all too willing to stall on the matter of securing America's ports, it was all too anxious, a mere four years ago, to make the almost incomprehensibly difficult idea of sending a manned mission to Mars a national goal.

Is this a double standard or what?
Is it all well and good for right-wing yahoos and their mainstream media protectors to call for a boycott of the Dixie Chicks years ago because the group's lead singer said she was ashamed that George W. Bush was president while ignoring this flagerent act of calling for the murder of public officials?

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Frank Smitha wrote it best: "We can know about gruesome instances in the past and remain specific in our animosities. Collective animosities are primitive. Collective guilt - ages old - is one of humanity's dumber ideas (...) Let us leave guilt with the fathers, grandfathers and great grandfathers and not collectively. We need not forgive everybody. Let us be specific."

In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, America had a choice: stay strong in its principles and resolve, or give into the pain, grief and blind desire for vengeance. In other words: walk the high road or tumble down the low road. Despite an unprecedented international outpouring of sympathy, compassion and support, America chose the latter.

Jose Padilla, center, is escorted to a waiting police vechicle by federal marshals in this Jan. 5, 2006, file photo. He has been on trial in Miami for most of this year, charged with conspiring with al Qaeda to detonate a "dirty bomb" in the United States. Photo by J. Pat Carter, AP

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Pakistan has often been praised by the Bush administration, among others, for its role in the Global War on Terror(TM). President Bush even once proclaimed a broad and lasting strategic partnership with Pakistan to this effect.

Despite evidence to the contrary.

The contentious and conservative, erstwhile Speaker of the House bemoans how Bush has helped America become a country that is “no longer serious”, harshly criticizes the Bush administration's handling of terrorist groups, calling the war on terror “phony”, and claims hyper-partisanship is a “stupid way to run a country”.

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A little more than two years ago, on July 22nd 2005, Jean Charles de Menezes - an electrician of Brazilian origin - was shot in the head (and eight times overall) at point blank by London police. You see - the day just before, on July 21st 2005, a terrorist London transit system bombing plot had been thwarted. It was quite a close call - consequently, fear, insecurity, paranoia and outright hysteria reigned supreme in the wake of this failed plot.

Thus Menezes was summarily shot at a London Underground train station, on July 22nd 2005, by hyper-vigilant and trigger-happy police officers who had been following him, because: A) his clothing and "behavior" were somehow deemed suspicious; B) he was mistaken to be of Middle Eastern origins; and therefore C) he was suspected to be a suicide bomber with an explosive belt around his waist.