Saudis learned of war plan before Powell - Woodward

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N18658977.htm

WASHINGTON, April 18 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell learned about President George W. Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq after Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States had already been informed, journalist Bob Woodward said on Sunday.

Woodward, author of a new book entitled, "Plan of Attack," said in a CBS' "60 Minutes" interview that Bush told national security leader Condoleezza Rice, Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld first about his decision to go to war in January 2003.

"He told Condi Rice. He told Rumsfeld. He knew Cheney wanted to do this. And they realized they haven't told Colin Powell," said Woodward, who described Powell as being opposed to the war.

But before Bush called Powell to the Oval Office, he gave Cheney and Rumsfeld permission to inform Saudi Ambassador Prince Bandar bin Sultan about his decision for war. They even showed him a top-secret map of the war plan, Woodward said.

"They describe in detail the war plan for Bandar," he told "60 Minutes" reporter Mike Wallace.

more

[reprehensor]

1. Oh yeah!

Operation: Woodward Was a Mole for OUR Side, is in the house!

[NewYorkerfromMass]

43. Damn. It sure looks that way.

damn this is too good to be true.

[ewagner]

2. This makes another book terribly important

The book, House of Bush, House of Saud just moved to the top of my reading list.

[Eurobabe]

9. read it, it'll fry your ass

it fried mine.

[Kadie]

3. This is just outrageous!

Are people going to stand for this? If this story doesn't hit the fan in a big way I am scared to think were we will be come November.

[calimary]

15. Makes one wonder why Colin Powell is able to stand for any of this.

MAN does this make him look like a completely useless, impotent, spineless, window-dressing weenie. You gonna stick around for this, Colin? How long do you plan to remain a "good soldier" for these people? The longer he stays, the greater grow my suspicions and revulsion.

[TankLV]

38. The words "good soldier" are not exactly the first words that come to mind

I think another couple are far more appropriate.

[Kadie]

44. Obey your commanding officer and be loyal or

protect the country from all enemies both foreign and domestic.
I wonder if he had to think which direction to turn, or if he thinks now that he made the wrong decision then. I wonder if he has many sleepless nights over the decision he made to stand behind bushie.

[progressivebydesign]

4. Could this be why Powell looks drawn and angry most of the time?

Remember when he used to look rather mellow and pleasant? I have no doubt that the major Bush players are at each other's throats right now. Does it freak anyone else out that the Saudis, as in the nationality of the 9/11 terrorists, know about OUR secret military plans BEFORE the Sec. of State? What is the deal with the Saudis? This is serious, deep shit. Thank you Bob Woodward.. the ghost of Watergate must have visited him on Christmas Eve or something..

[NNN0LHI]

6. More like the ghosts of Mai Lai have caught up to his ass n/t

[0007]

24. Colin has more facial expressions than my old dog of 19 years

Of course he won't set up anymore. Colin will set-up on a thought command.

[Daisey Mae]

5. The Bush Gang EAT THEIR OWN AGAIN

Colin.... now you know that the joke is on you... they used you and soiled you now they are through with you...too bad...." You lay down with the dogs you get up with the fleas".... My Mother taught me that when I was a little kid, too bad your Mother did not......!!!

[daleo]

7. How could Powell stand by these guys

I mean, leaving aside issues of justice, you would think some sense of personal pride would have made him resign.

And to describe a war plan in detail to an ambassador of a country that is not an ally in the venture seems incredible. I wonder how Blair feels about it.

[maddezmom]

8. thought Gen. Myers confirmed it today on CNN

BLITZER: One final question on this new book that has just come out by Bob Woodward, in which he describes a section in the buildup to the war where you and the defense secretary, the president, basically told the Saudi ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar, before you even told the secretary of state Colin Powell, who was once chairman of the Joint Chiefs, about the actual war plan, including showing him maps that had "no foreign distribution" on it in order to get Saudi support.

Is that account, which we see in The Washington Post today, accurate of what happened in the buildup to the war?

MYERS: I haven't read the book. Obviously I haven't had access to the book.

I haven't read the account in The Washington Post, although I'm aware of that account. It sounds basically correct. And, at that time, we were looking for support of our allies and partners in the region. Saudi Arabia's been a strategic partner in the region for a very long time, and we were looking for their support. And so, part of the way we do that is to ask them and show them how and why we need their support in certain areas.

BLITZER: Do you feel comfortable showing a Saudi ambassador the war plan before you even share it with the secretary of state?

MYERS: I don't know about that part of it. I don't know about not sharing it with the secretary of state. I think he was fully aware of the war plan. I don't know that that was the issue. But I felt comfortable, at the time, doing what we were doing with the Saudi ambassador.
http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0404/18/le.00.html

[pinto]

14. "I don't know. I don't know. I don't know" but "I felt comfortable doing

what we were doing with the Suadi Ambassador." (Myers)

I don't "feel comfortable".

[drfemoe]

26. Wouldn't this

piss off a few other Arab nation/states also? And what about the big I (Sharon)? They don't care?

Totally Confused

[tabasco]

36. I wouldn't buy a used car from Bandar.

It's just so great that our "leaders" are showing him our secret war plans. He probably got in touch with his cousin Osama the same day.

[UpInArms]

39. wonder if Saudi Arabia

getting the war plans before Sec of State Powell and the following are connected in some way?

http://www.senate.gov/~gov_affairs/index.cfm?Fuseaction...

July 31, 2003



LIEBERMAN PRESSES FOR ADMINISTRATION LEADERSHIP, ACCOUNTABILITY
PURSUES DECLASSIFICATION OF 27 REDACTED PAGES
Administration Should “Come Clean”


WASHINGTON - Governmental Affairs Committee Ranking Member Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., Thursday, said the Bush Administration’s reluctance to disclose information pertaining to foreign government support of the September 11th terrorists is another example of its failure to lead.

Twenty-seven pages were redacted from the House and Senate Intelligence Committees’ report on failures leading up to the worst terrorist attack in our nation’s history. The Governmental Affairs Committee held a hearing Thursday on foreign funding of terrorists.

“Rather than ducking behind a screen of secrecy,” said Lieberman, “the Administration should come clean on the report, level with the American people, and disclose the information everyone has a right to know… Presidential leadership is needed to guide us out of this morass, to take full responsibility for failures, and to provide the kind of openness and honesty that America needs and deserves.”

Lieberman added that information disclosed in the report is equally as troubling as the information kept secret. For example, the report indicates that FBI Director Robert Mueller was unaware of the contents of the 27 pages until last year. And it appears that very little has been done to follow up on that information.

“Again, I am bewildered as to why the President has not demanded an explanation from the leadership of the CIA and FBI,” Lieberman said. “Why wasn’t the Saudi suspect - Omar al Bayoumi, who is named in the report - extradited to the United States or interviewed by the FBI last year? Why hasn’t the President demanded accountability?”

...more...

[maddezmom]

40. oh yes, the redacted pages

thanks for posting. Has this come up at the 9/11 hearings? Don't remember hearing much about it.

[DemoTex]

10. Top Secret Code-Word (NO FORN).

Treason. Pure and simple. Muster the Congress for multiple impeachments and the start criminal proceedings for treason charges.

[Failure]

12. I like how you think

But you and I both know with Repukes controlling both Houses and the White House that will never ever happen.

[calimary]

16. Probably not possible now, for many reasons.

The only way they'd even start making noises about this is if they perceived their own PR to be at stake. If things just turn irrevocably against bushco because of all this, and it looks like they're all gonna get permanently soiled because of it, they will NOT stand by him. Loyalists that they are, they'll desert him just as their older "brothers and sisters" ran out on Nixon when they could no longer avoid the handwriting on the wall. That handwriting was starting to get all over their faces and their clothing. So they finally got with the program. But that's what it took. Here, probably not, if only because it's too close to the election.

[0007]

25. Don't bet on it!

The Republican's constituency might demand it after tonight and the mess in Iraq.

[Failure]

29. You really think that?

I don't know...the die hard's like you and me on both sides have already made up our minds...so, like I said before, the White House will be able to spin this away like they've done before and it will be forgotten until the next terror attack or the election. (whichever comes first) Besides, did you hear the initial jobless claims rose by 30,000 last week, the biggest jump in 16 months. How can joe beercan worry about iraq when he's not sure if he'll be workin' next year?

[TahitiNut]

34. Well, "SECRET/NO FORN" is a classification above "SECRET" ...

... and below "TOP SECRET." It's my understanding that "TOP SECRET" is implicitly "NO FORN" and I'd be pretty sure that an "Order of Battle" (war plan) would be "TOP SECRET" or "ABOVE TOP SECRET."

AFAIK, the general levels of security classification are still:

1. Above Top Secret
2. Top Secret
3. Secret (No Forn)
4. Secret
5. Confidential
6. Unclassified

As I recall (it's bee a looong time), within a document or other package of information, sections and paragraphs are appended with classification notations, the greatest of which becomes the overall classification.

I agree 100% that it's TREASON. No question about it.

[icymist]

11. Maybe the Secretary of State is 'out of the loop'?

Rice, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and the ambassador to the country which the majority of the hijackers who attacked us are from are told about these top secret plans before Powell? This administration is leading our country down the road to ruin, my friends.

[maggrwaggr]

13. wow. This should be a huge story (how many times have I said THAT?)

nt

[calimary]

17. For whatever it's worth - here's that PRIMO CONTACT INFO again...

Please note, here, The World's Greatest Lists of Media Contacts – updated April 14, 2004 – in the following thread:

LINK:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

IF THEY THINK WE DON’T CARE, THEY WON’T, EITHER!

Note my sig line - TOLL FREE to Congress/the Senate - First Thing In The Morning...

[pinto]

19. thks again calimary, finally bookmarked it.

[boobooday]

18. It came out during truth or dare at the sleepover

Prince Bandar, what a wacky guy!

AARRGGHH. Will the truth ever be set free in this country?



http://www.wgoeshome.com

[PartyPooper]

20. Powell is probably kicking himself in the butt right now.

And, he's thinking, "Gee, I coulda' been president...instead of this incompetent, lying, murdering, stealing, POS George Bush.

The biggest mistake of my life was to become Secretary of State for this Bu$hCo war machine. What was I thinking?"

[GreenGreenLimaBean]

21. This isn't the BIG story of the INTERVIEW

The big story is that Bandar promised to lower OIL PRICES RIGHT
BEFORE THE ELECTION!!!!!!!

SAUDIA ARABIA IS RIGGING THE ELECTION IN NOVEMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOODWARD SAID SO ON 60 MINUTES TONIGHT!!!!!!!

[atre]

32. Why? Could it be tied to the flights for Saudis scheduled during no-flight

orders in the immediate aftermath of 9/11?

[Woodstock]

22. Astonishing

But let's see, another Republican damns Bush with hard evidence...

so instead of impeachment, this will likely equate to a bump in the polls for Bush, since we're living in a land where right is wrong and wrong is right.

There's more here:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/04/15/60minutes/mai...

[0007]

23. If only Colin Powell had listened to his spiritual mentor,

that wise and trusted counselor called Harry Belafonte

Mr. Belafonte had it right goddammit!! Harry even told us what Condi should have done. But she didn't listen either, 'eh Colin?

[Shopaholic]

27. How are the freepers and Fox News spinning this?

I haven't got the heart or the stomach to find out myself. How can it not bother them that Saudi Arabia knew what was going to happen before our Sec of State did? And what about the price fixing on the gas prices? John Dean was right--this is worse than Watergate!

[0007]

28. I don't watch FAUX news

and could care less what the fucking freepers are yapping about.

[yardwork]

30. It's the grandson of Watergate, via Iran-Contra

There is a common thread that connects this all straight back to Watergate. That thread is the Bush family.

I was angry at the time that Poppy Bush got a pass on Iran-Contra. Now I'm starting to wonder how far back it goes.

The Bush family will stop at nothing to make money and consolidate power.

P.S. I've never been a conspiracy buff. If I am becoming one, that means a lot of Americans are starting to wonder. Eventually the truth will be known. I hope that Poppy Bush is alive to see it.

[DeepModem Mom]

31. kick

[dusty64]

33. Kick.

This just proves powell has NO credibility or a shred of dignity.

[DoYouEverWonder]

35. Cheney & Rumsfeld gave Bandar TOP SECRET information

Aren't these the same people who outed a CIA agent?

If Bu$h, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Rice are not the biggest traitors in history, then Hitler wasn't an evil man.

[UpInArms]

41. yeah, and these are the people

that withhold public documents from the American people - anyone see those "Energy Meeting Documents" yet?

[nolabels]

42. My guess them thar Saud's known er little bit more than tellen

Check out who would also benefit a whole lot if 9/11 was kept under wraps. Check out who would benefit if *co invaded Iraq. If you ask me I think *co should have to register as lobby for the House of Saud

http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2004/03/15/unger_3/i...

The Arabian candidate
By Craig Unger

How George W. Bush's close ties to Islamic lobbying groups -- and to an accused supporter of Palestinian terrorism -- may have brought him his razor-thin margin of victory in Florida.

March 15, 2004 | On March 12, 2000, Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, met with Muslim leaders at a local mosque in Tampa, Fla. Among them was Sami Al-Arian, a Kuwaiti-born Palestinian who was an associate professor of engineering at the University of South Florida. George and Laura Bush had their photo taken with him at the Florida Strawberry Festival. Laura Bush made a point of complimenting Al-Arian's wife, Nahla, on her traditional head scarf and asked to meet the family. Nahla told the candidate, "The Muslim people support you." Bush met their lanky son, Abdullah Al-Arian, and, in a typically winning gesture, even nicknamed him "Big Dude." In return, Big Dude's father, Sami Al-Arian, vowed to campaign for Bush -- and he soon made good on his promise in mosques all over Florida.

But Al-Arian had unusual credentials for a Bush campaigner. Since 1995, as the founder and chairman of the board of World and Islam Enterprise (WISE), a Muslim think tank, Al-Arian had been under investigation by the FBI for his associations with Islamic Jihad, the Palestinian terrorist group. Al-Arian brought in Ramadan Abdullah Shallah, the No. 2 leader in Islamic Jihad, to be the director of WISE. A strong advocate of suicide bombings against Israel, Shallah was allegedly responsible for killing scores of Israelis in such attacks
(snip)

They need each other more than ever now and have more dirt on each other than most could or want to hear about it.

[TahitiNut]

37. "...it was exactly what Cheney had told Bush to say."

Got that? "... what Cheney had told Bush to say." Can anyone say s-o-c-k-p-u-p-p-e-t?

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article6046.ht...