No one seems to be writing opinion pieces quite the way I would, so I decided to do it myself.

The name? Taverns are places where one goes to discuss the interesting events and things in the world, so this is my tavern.

I will offer my views on politics, economics, and whatever else strikes my fancy.
I will occasionally publish the entire article from another journal for purposes of causing discussion.

 

Bushies do not know how to run a government

Condi really would have stopped the 9/11 terrorist attack if she could have.

Yeah, sure. If Condi had known that the terrorists were going to attack New York and Washington they would have moved heaven and earth to prevent it.

But - barring a signed letter from bin Laden telling Condi that he was going to attack New York and Washington on 9/11 and giving the flight numbers that were to be hijacked there was never going to be enough information to get Condi and Bush off their dead asses!

Move heaven and Earth? Just doing something would have been an improvement over their ignorant dithering.

These people do not believe in government and so have no idea how it works. More important, they have no idea how to make it work! Clarke does, but they weren't going to listen to him! He was merely a subordinate, and worse, a holdover from the Clinton Administration.

Bosses give orders and underlings carry orders out. Underlings from outside the favored political few do not make plans or tell bosses what to do. Oh, and when bosses give orders, they don't need to follow up to make sure they are carried out. Nor do they need to tell subordinates what to do when given an order. Knowing what to do is a subordinate function, not something a boss needs to bother with.

So the intelligence on increased chatter in the Summer of 2001 doesn't tell what the chattering terrorists might do or when they might to it, so it is useless. It is a waste of time to have principles meet over useless intelligence. Wait until bin Laden sends a telegram telling the date and target of the attack, the names of each hijacker and what flight numbers will be hijacked. No conservative politician from the White House will be able to decide to act with any less information.

Never mind that Clinton was able to prevent three bin Laden attacks planned for the millenium celebration of 2000 based on similar radio/telephone chatter combined competently with other intelligence. That must have been pure luck! No one could plan how to use such useless intell to prevent terrorist attacks!!Besides, Clinton never did anything against terrorists, and what he did failed. No grand plan like the PNAC, you see.

In short, Condi essentially stated that she had no idea how to do her job and that she isn't competent to organize and coordinate a dog-fight with willing, angry dogs!

Bush is, of course, even more ignorant that Condi. Which is why he has to testify to the 9/11 Commission privately, not under oath, with Dick Cheney (his boss) also present to explain what is really going on when Bush gets over his head. Which will be right after someone greets him.

Beverly Mann in the previous (slate) article believes that Condi was asked to fall on her sword for the Cheney/Bush White House. I disagree.

I really don't think that Condi has any clue regarding how the job of National Security Advisor which she holds down could be performed, and should be performed if she were going to be effective. However, with the immenesly stupid Bush occupying the office she reports to, and with the ideologial blindness of Cheney who actually performs the more critical security functions of that job without any connection to Condi, there is no one who could give her any clue what should be done.

They simply do not have any idea how to run a government. Any of them.

posted by Richard at 12:40 AM