Head of 9/11 panel had friends in White House

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The September 11 commission's executive director had closer ties with the White House than publicly disclosed and tried to influence the final report in ways that the staff often perceived as limiting the Bush administration's responsibility, a new book says.

Philip Zelikow, a friend of then-national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, spoke with her several times during the 20-month investigation that closely examined her role in assessing the al-Qaida threat.

He also exchanged frequent calls with the White House, including at least four from Karl Rove, Bush's chief political adviser at the time.

The commission's executive director once tried to push through wording in a draft report that suggested a greater tie between al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and Iraq, in line with White House claims but not with the commission staff's viewpoint, according to Philip Shenon's "The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation."

Shenon, a New York Times reporter, says Zelikow sought to intimidate staff to avoid damaging findings for President Bush -- who at the time was running for re-election -- and Rice. Zelikow and Rice had written a book together in 1995 and he would later work for her after the commission finished its job and she became secretary of state in 2005.

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The only thing left that still surprises me are those suffering from Bush Derangement Syndrome - those twisted misguided sick puppies who will follow their leader right off the edge of the cliff.

A Conservative Republican's View of the events of 9/11

This link leads to a short trailer for this conservative Republican's documentary (also downloadable from this page) on his view of the events of 9/11.

Perhaps his next video will be showing his proof that creationism is an earth/physical science?

Senator: U.S. has become haven for war criminals

This certainly isn't new. Our American government has been providing refuge for war criminals for decades. We shielded many Nazi war criminals after WWII. Only recently has our government admitted to that one and to the fact that the "intelligence gathering value" of said criminals wasn't so valuable, after all.

Donald Rumsfeld (on behalf of President Ronald Reagan) gave WMDs of the chemical and biological kind to Saddam Hussein so that he might commit crimes against his own people, his neighbors and all humanity. A war criminal if ever there was one. So... what does that make the government (ours) that enabled Saddam to do his war crimes?

During the full-on boycott against doing trade with Saddam, Dick Cheney's Halliburton was doing trade with Saddam.

That the current occupier of the White House is into full mouth kissing with a Saudi prince in spite of Saudi Arabia's crimes against humanity beginning with the human sex slave trade should come as no surprise when one considers George Jr. is the spawn of George Sr. whose White House was used for sex parties with children.

Daddy Bush, after all, was being very supportive of good pals the bin Ladens as he watched the events of 9/11 unfold while in the company of Osama bin Laden's brother. No, Osama was not the atypical bad seed of a family of good and pure and sweet people. That very brother who stood next to Daddy Bush and watch 3,000 murders take place is himself a sponsor of terrorism and crimes against humanity.

But, hold on there, Daddy Bush is himself the spawn of Grandpa Bush - Prescott Bush - whose company was found guilty of violating federal law as regards betraying our nation by doing business with Adolph Hitler.

So that this government would give shelter to war criminals and the lowest scum of humanity ought not to be a surprise at all.

Senator: U.S. has become haven for war criminals

WASHINGTON — More than 1,000 people from 85 countries who are accused of such crimes as rape, killings, torture and genocide are living in the United States, according to Department of Homeland Security figures.

America has become a haven for the world's war criminals because it lacks the laws needed to prosecute them, Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., said Wednesday. There's been only one U.S. indictment of someone suspected of a serious human-rights abuse. Durbin said torture was the only serious human-rights violation that was a crime under American law when committed outside the United States by a non-American national.

"This is unacceptable. Our laws must change and our determination to end this shameful situation must become a priority," Durbin, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law, said at a hearing of the subcommittee Wednesday.

READ MORE OF WHAT YOUR GOVERNMENT IS DOING IN YOUR NAME

9-11 families hope to deflate Giuliani's heroic image

WASHINGTON — Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign was supposed to be toast by now, imploded by his hot temper, autocratic ways, tumultuous personal life and moderate views on social issues, which would turn off traditional Republican voters once they got to know the "Real Rudy."

Or so many of Giuliani's critics thought.

Instead, he remains atop the Republican presidential pack in national polls, powered in large part by his image as the steely hero who guided New York through the Sept 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

A small but vocal group of New Yorkers will try to puncture that image Monday when they host a town hall meeting at New Hampshire's Dartmouth College to discuss New York's disaster-preparedness under Giuliani before 9-11.

They say that Giuliani's administration failed to address firefighters' radio communication problems, which first surfaced in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing; didn't provide proper equipment for rescue workers at Ground Zero; and showed poor judgment by putting the city's $13 million emergency center on the 23rd floor of 7 World Trade Center, which was destroyed in the attack.

They claim that Giuliani was callous in November 2001 when he limited the number of firefighters searching Ground Zero for the remains of nearly 300 fallen comrades. They also accuse him of expediting the cleanup of the site and sending rubble mixed with human body parts to a Staten Island landfill.

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Perhaps we ought to listen to the families...?

Hit and Myth: Poll Shows 1 in 3 Americans Still Believe Saddam Involved in 9/11

Six years after the 9/11 terror attacks on the U.S., it seems the media still have some educational work to do. A new CBS/New York Times poll reveals that even today, 1 in 3 Americans believe that "Saddam Hussein was personally involved in the September 11th, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon."

This notion was thoroughly debunked by official sources, including those in the White House, years ago, but the myth endures. Polls have shown that belief in this untruth was a prime component in support for the attack on Iraq.

Four in 10 Republicans still hold this view, compared with 32% of Independents and 27% of Democrats.

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The Real Rudy in 30 Seconds