Creative Speculation?

[Bolo Boffin]

15. "It clearly states numerous times that they were planning to HIJACK airplanes..." It says nothing

of the sort.

I don't know why you would say otherwise. The PDF of the PDB is right there to verify what you say or show it wrong.

Twice it mentions hijacking, not "numerous times." The first time puts a report of trying to hijack a plane in with "some of the more sensational threat reporting," and further sequesters this threat with two caveats - the intelligence community had not been able to corroborate it, and the hijacking was to be used to help gain the freedom of the Blind Sheik and other prisoners. A hijacking of that sort would have to maintain control of the aircraft in order to force release of prisoners. The 9/11 attack, where passenger airplanes are diverted and used as missiles, would not fit the type of airline hijacking described in the PDB.

The other mention is that surveillance had picked up activity consistent with prep for hijacking or other types of attacks. Coming as it does under the heading of "hijacking as leverage for prisoner release," again the 9/11 hijacking and destruction isn't contemplated in this PDB.

What the PDB does show is that the intelligence community was desperately trying to convince the Bush Administration that Bin Laden did indeed intend to mount a terrorist attack in the United States. He was not just a concern in the domestic field. Condi Rice's "historical nature" comment is pure bullshit. Yes, it goes into a lot of history about Bin Laden -- in order to knock some heads together so they understood that some kind of attack would be happening within the United States. Bin Laden and Al Qaeda would eventually pull one off.

Every indication we have been given is that Bush and company blew this off. There's the Ron Suskind account of another attempt by the CIA after this PDB to convince Bush that something was not only in the works, but was imminent, and we got the famous quote: "OK, you've covered your ass."

One only can wonder what might have happened if the response to the Aug 6 PDB had been: "OK, find me the most specific threat indicators you can and put a shape around any possible attack inside this country." A directive like that might have caught the July 10 Phoenix memo about possible Al Qaeda operatives attending flight school in the area. The 9/11 pilots took lessons in Florida, but taking the Phoenix memo more seriously could have led to them being flagged. And of course Moussaoui's capture with the similar circumstances might have gotten a search of his laptop higher on the priority list.

If, if, if. Even at that point, the attack would be successful enough - without even the first plane being hijacked. The plan was set to go. They were that far along. That could have been shocking enough to the American public without the actual attacks and loss of life.