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Cheney on 911: Don't intercept plane that flew into Pentagon

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Th1onein Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 04:30 AM
Original message
Cheney on 911: Don't intercept plane that flew into Pentagon
Repost:

This really concerns me....

Before you read the testimony of Norman Mineta, below, please realize that he is talking about events of 911, just after the second plane hit the second World Trade Tower, and right before the third plane hit the Pentagon. Keep in mind that, at this point, Cheney knew that the third plane was headed for a Washington target. This is very frightening.

The testimony of Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta on May 23 about Cheney's actions is revealing. Mineta said he arrived at the Presidential Emergency Operating Center (PEOC) at 9:20 a.m. where he observed the Vice President taking charge:

Mineta: There was a young man who had come in and said to the vice president, "The plane is 50 miles out.The plane is 30 miles out." And when it got down to, "The plane is 10 miles out," the young man also said to the vice president, "Do the orders still stand?"

And the vice president turned and whipped his neck around and said, "Of course the orders still stand. Have you heard anything to the contrary?" Well, at the time I didn't know what all that meant. And.

Hamilton: The flight you're referring to is the.

Mineta: The flight that came into the Pentagon.

After some discussion of whether Cheney's orders meant to shoot down the hijacked aircraft, it was clearly stated on the record that there were no such orders to do so, which raises the obvious question of what "the orders" were:

Hamilton: And so there was no specific order there to shoot that plane down.

Mineta: No, sir.

Hamilton: But there were military planes in the air in position to shoot down commercial aircraft.

Mineta: That's right. The planes had been scrambled, I believe, from Otis at that point.






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arcos Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 04:34 AM
Response to Original message
1. wow...
:wow:

do you have a link with more info?
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Th1onein Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 04:38 AM
Response to Reply #1
2. Here is the link
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arcos Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 04:40 AM
Response to Reply #2
3. thanks a lot!
:hi:
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aquart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 04:41 AM
Response to Reply #2
4. I'm getting Page Not Found.
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radfringe Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 04:49 AM
Response to Reply #4
6. go here
http://www.9-11commission.gov/

The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (also known as the 9-11 Commission), an independent, bipartisan commission created by congressional legislation and the signature of President George W. Bush in late 2002, is chartered to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, including preparedness for and the immediate response to the attacks. The Commission is also mandated to provide recommendations designed to guard against future attacks.

The Commission's Chair and Vice Chair released a statement on February 4, 2004. <--- click here on the page

statement is in PDF format
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0007 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 07:43 AM
Response to Reply #2
13. Page not found
"The page you requested was not found on our site. Please notify the webmaster or use our search below to find the page you are seeking."

Got something else?
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izzie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 08:46 AM
Response to Reply #2
30. So much for planes on run ways to protect us.
Maybe he hoped to save Barbara Olson at the very end. The whole thing is shameful as I sat in Maine and watched this I kept wondering why they were not shot out of the sky. That is all we heard for 20 years in side the Navy life.These so called planes could be in the sky in one minute or what ever it was. Maybe all the people flying were from the Texas National Guard?
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ComerPerro Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 04:43 AM
Response to Original message
5. This is the link
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BeFree Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 01:37 PM
Response to Reply #5
43. His story don't jibe
Edited on Tue Feb-10-04 01:40 PM by BeFree
While Mr. Flaherty was briefing me, I watched as a large commercial jet flew into the second tower of the World Trade Center. At this point things began to happen quickly. I once more returned to the conference room and informed the minister of what had happened and ended the meeting. I received a telephone call from the CEO of United Airlines, Jack Goodman, telling me that one of United's flights was missing. I then called Don Carty, the CEO of American Airlines, and asked him to see if American Airlines could account for all of its aircraft. Mr. Flaherty reported to me that Jane Garvey had phoned to report that the CEO of Delta Airlines had called the FAA and said it could not yet account for all of its aircraft.


Then, later, in response to Mr. Kean



MR. MINETA: Absolutely. And in terms of what motivated me to bring all the aircraft down, as you see one thing happen, that's an accident. When you see two of the same thing occur, it's a pattern. But when you see three of the same thing occur, it's a program. And so at that point I decided to bring all the aircraft down.

Wrong!! After you had heard from the three airline heads, right after the second plane hit the WTC, you went to the WH, then LATER, shut down the skies.

Here is the secretary's timeline:


Within a few minutes, American Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon. At this time, as we discussed the situation with the North American Aerospace Defense commander and his staff, we considered implementing an emergency system of coordinated air traffic management to allow maximum use for defensive activities.

It was clear that we had to clear the air space as soon as possible to stop any further attacks and ensure domestic air space was available for emergency and defensive use. And so at approximately 9:45 a.m., less than one hour after I had first been notified of an airplane crash in New York, I gave the FAA the final order for all civil aircraft to land at the nearest airport as soon as possible. It was the first shutdown of civil aviation in the history of the United States.

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Serenity-NOW Donating Member (301 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 04:55 AM
Response to Original message
7. Absolutely disgusting traitors in our midst
Edited on Tue Feb-10-04 05:42 AM by Serenity-NOW
they need to be tried in an international court and locked up for life if only for their own safety. What on Earth possessed them to turn on their own country like this, it makes me want to vomit. I'm putting this up on our website: www.lakecountydemocrats.org

If there's one thing worse than a stupid leader it's a stupid, vicious leader.

Treason is the word.


http://www.9-11commission.gov/archive/hearing2/9-11Commission_Hearing_2003-05-23.htm#panel_one

Edited for misspelling.
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0007 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 07:46 AM
Response to Reply #7
16. Got it! Thanks
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liberalnurse Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 05:02 AM
Response to Original message
8. The page is gone.....
Did they remove it because dahhhh people might read it?
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Th1onein Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 05:08 AM
Response to Reply #8
9. Try the second link
The first one is no good.
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DoYouEverWonder Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 05:51 AM
Response to Original message
10. Your cut and paste job
Edited on Tue Feb-10-04 05:57 AM by DoYouEverWonder
leaves out some important information?

From the testimony, it is hard to tell exactly what 'orders' Cheney had given or was referring to. However, Mineta assumes that Cheney had already given shoot down orders for the plane that hit the Pentagon, not the other way around. Despite Mineta's assumption, it is not possible to tell whether Cheney ordered the plane to be shot down or not.

When Mineta said there were no specific order to shoot that plane down, he was referring to the plane that crashed in PA, not the plane that hit the Pentagon.



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Devils Advocate NZ Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 07:39 AM
Response to Reply #10
12. There was no such shoot down order though...
If you read further down, where the Generals in command of NORAD then and now testify, they make it clear that no order to shoot down Flt 77 was EVER received, and that an order to shoot down Flt 93 only arrived 5 minutes AFTER 93 had crashed, and well after this overheard conversation that Mineta talked about.

So the question is, what was the order that Mineta heard being discussed? If it was to shoot down Flt 77, why was it not transmitted to NORAD? If it was to shoot down Flt 93, why was it transmitted so late? If it was neither of those, what WAS it about?
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freestatevet Donating Member (226 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 07:43 AM
Response to Reply #12
14. Not only that
but Otis ANGB is NO WHERE NEAR the Pentagon. No way would planes "scrambled" out of Otis (as Mineta supposedly alleged according to the first post)be in response to a plane taking off from DCA and then slamming into the Pentagon.
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John_H Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:55 PM
Response to Reply #14
69. The Otis planes had been in the air long enough to get to chicago
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freestatevet Donating Member (226 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 07:45 AM
Response to Reply #12
15. Also, DCA is less than 3 miles from the Pentagon
So would could Cheney have been referring to a plane that was 50, then 30, then 10 miles out?

Am I reading this article (wherever it came from) all wrong?
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BeFree Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 01:49 PM
Response to Reply #15
46. Yeah Cheney was on top of things, wasn't he?
Yet, I'm a little confused, eh?

I mean, if Cheney was on top of things, one would think that, as the plane flew closer and closer to DC, Cheney would be screaming "Why in the hell has that plane not been stopped? It's headed right for us.... what in hell is the Air Force doing? I ordered them to stop the damn thing!"

Ya see why I'm confused? If I didn't know better, I'd have to think it was MIHOP!! But I'm sure Cheney has a real good explanation for all this. He'll get too it just as soon as he gets the energy papers thing squared away. He is a very busy man, what with pulling the * strings and all.
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berry Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 11:31 AM
Response to Reply #15
54. That plane didn't go directly to the Pentagon
It started out on its scheduled path west and only turned around later. So the 50-30-10 miles out stuff is not odd.
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John_H Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:52 PM
Response to Reply #15
68. because it got damn near to ohio before they turned it around.
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DoYouEverWonder Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 08:47 AM
Response to Reply #12
31. My comments were in regards to Mineta's testimony
The impression I got from the way the information was presented was that Mineta's was saying that Cheney had issued an order not to shoot down, which very well may be the case. However, Mineta himself is assuming that the order Cheney is ranting about, was a shoot down order for the plane heading to the Pentagon. Mineta does seem to contradict himself later on when he acknowledges that there was no shoot down order for the plane in PA.


The point of my comments to the original post, was that we just need to be more careful and clearer about how we interpret and present information. Technically, there should be a little <snip> between the parts that were left out and personal comments should be posted in a way that it is clear that they are comments and not part of the original post. Sorry, to be such a nitpicker.



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WhoCountsTheVotes Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 07:37 AM
Response to Original message
11. kick
:grr:
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OneTwentyoNine Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 07:53 AM
Response to Original message
17. Yeah,planes scrambled from Otis--which is in Massachusetts
They wanted to make damn sure any jets scrambled would have a long distance flight so they couldn't do anything. What,no AFB in and around NY city? Give me a break......


David
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freestatevet Donating Member (226 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 08:01 AM
Response to Reply #17
20. Uhhh, that may be correct
Otis may have been the nearest base with fighters on "strip alert" or ANY type of alert for that matter. What AFBs (with fighters) do you know of in and around NYC???
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OneTwentyoNine Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 08:32 AM
Response to Reply #20
26. Two bases are Mitchel NY and McGuire in Jersey....
Edited on Tue Feb-10-04 08:32 AM by OneTwentyoFive
We'll need someone from that area to chime in and see if they are equiped with fighter jets. I'm having a hard time believeing that the closest jets to a major city like NY are over a hundred miles away.

David

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freestatevet Donating Member (226 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 08:43 AM
Response to Reply #26
29. Why would that be hard to believe
Fighter interceptor bases are there to protect from an OUTSIDE threat, not an internal one. We've had to learn a lot since 9-11. BTW, neither of those bases has fighters assigned. The 177th FW at Atlantic City, NJ is probably the nearest fighter unit to NYC.
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DoYouEverWonder Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 04:06 PM
Response to Reply #29
71. Please see my post regarding General Myers
Congressional testimony. It is on record that there were a number of fighters already in the air all along the East Coast. No one needed to be scrambled, there were already plenty of jets up there. Even if they weren't armed, they could have flown interception and if necessary turn themselves into missiles in order to stop the planes from hitting their targets. That is SOP, isn't it?

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izzie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 09:01 AM
Response to Reply #20
32. Come one have you ever looked at the bases that sit on the edge of DC?
It is an armed camp.
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freestatevet Donating Member (226 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 09:07 AM
Response to Reply #32
34. First of all
my post was in response to one asking about fighter bases in and around NYC, not DC. Secondly, the only base with fighter aircraft near DC is Andrews, and many of the other bases are administrative in nature (Bolling AFB, Henderson Hall, Ft McNair, Ft Belvoir, etc). It's not as if they could have done anything to stop an airplane that took off from DCA from crashing into the Pentagon.
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DoYouEverWonder Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 04:00 PM
Response to Reply #20
70. General Myers testified
at his confirmation hearing, that there were already a number of fighters in the air because it was a beautiful fall morning and a perfect day for flying.

Plus there were a number of fighters in the air for the 'fake' terror attack that the Pentagon was having that morning.
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Media_Lies_Daily Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 08:06 AM
Response to Reply #17
21. Otis ANG base is 120 miles east of New York City....
...two planes were dispatched from Otis. The other two fighters were scrambled from Langley AFB near Hampton, VA...about 120 miles SSE of Washington, DC.

None of the planes exceeded 650 mph...and those fighters are capable of 1500 mph.

Why was there a delay of 30 minutes before NORAD was officially notified by the FAA that hijackings of commercial airliners were taking place?

Why weren't any planes scrambled from Andrews AFB outside Washington DC?

Why weren't any planes scrambled from any bases closer to the eventual targets? Why were only four planes launced?

Lots of additional questions, and not very many good answers.

Treason.
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freestatevet Donating Member (226 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 08:09 AM
Response to Reply #21
23. Maybe just confusion
And not treason.
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Media_Lies_Daily Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 08:12 AM
Response to Reply #23
24. Bull. Read the FAA directives on hijackings.
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freestatevet Donating Member (226 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 08:16 AM
Response to Reply #24
25. I did,
and I find no case for treason. I see a lot of confusion for something the FAA and military had never really practiced or prepared for.
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Media_Lies_Daily Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:16 PM
Response to Reply #25
62. Oh, please...don't give me that apologist nonsense...
Do you know how many airfields were capable of launching interceptors on 911?

LIST OF AVAILABLE FIGHTER SQUADRONS CAPABLE OF INTERCEPTING THE FOUR AIRLINERS ON SEPTEMBER 11,2001
====================================================

MARYLAND:

321ST USMC VMFA(F/A-18)Andrews Air Force Base,MD
121ST ANG Fighter Squadron(F-16)Andrews Air Force Base,MD

OHIO:

112TH ANG Fighter Squadron(F-16)Toledo Express Airport,OH
162ND ANG Fighter Squadron(F-16)Springfield-Beckley Int’l Airport,OH

MASSACHUSETTS:

101ST ANG Fighter Squadron(F-15)Otis ANGB,MA

NEW JERSEY:

119TH ANG Fighter Squadron(F-16)Atlantic City Int’l Airport,NJ

NEW YORK:

138TH ANG Fighter Squadron(F-16)Syracuse Hancock Int’l Airport,NY

VERMONT:

134TH ANG Fighter Squadron(F-16)Burlington Int’l Airport,VT

VIRGINIA:

149TH ANG Fighter Squadron(F-16)Richmond Int’l Airport,VA
27TH USAF Fighter Squadron(F-15)Langley Air Force Base,VA
71ST USAF Fighter Squadron(F-15)Langley Air Force Base,VA
94TH USAF Fighter Squadron(F-15)Langley Air Force Base,VA
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freestatevet Donating Member (226 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:42 PM
Response to Reply #62
66. And your
point? I never said they weren't myriad airfields available from which to LAUNCH fighters, but how many of those were on strip alert to defend against commercial airliners???
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leesa Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 09:04 AM
Response to Reply #23
33. Right. Keep buying the official snake oil. The fighters were ready to go
but kept on the ground. It's the old coincidence theory raising its ugly head. People may have been very confused IN NYC, but I don't think that was the case in the surrounding bases.
They were tracking all these flights very carefully, why would there be confusion?? Giant lapses of time between the hijackings, crash 1, crash 2 and crash 3. Why so much confusion? It was all occuring at a rather leisurely pace. Are you saying our fighter pilots and their command are that incompetent? If they are, why no discipline?
Sorry, you're coincidence theory just doesn't work. If it did, why hasn't anyone been fired for incompetence since the official protocol wasn't followed? Why are Cheney and Bush obstructing any investigation into what happened that day.

You can only bury your head in the sand for so long...
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freestatevet Donating Member (226 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 09:11 AM
Response to Reply #33
35. Leesa
Show me what "official protocol" was not followed. Show me the Tactics, Training, and Procedures that were in-place for the military to shoot down civilian airliners that were not followed. What AF or ANG regulations cover this, and which of those were not applied? Sorry, I don't think we were prepared for anything like this. Confusion and lack of training/coordination were to blame; not treason.
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soothsayer Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 10:06 AM
Response to Reply #35
36. when the 2nd plane hit, even joe sixpack knew it was deliberate---that
left 50 minutes to do something about the plane headed to the pentagon, but noooooooooo. Nothing was done, it seems. Even the pilots who were scrambled flew at nowhere near their top speed to try to intercept, or so we hear.
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Bandit Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 11:15 AM
Response to Reply #35
37. You are completely correct "We were not Prepared"
But why is that? When President Clinton left office his administration briefed the incoming Administration of security matters and the greatest concern was terrorism. The Rudman Hart report was on Bush*'s desk in March and it stated very plainly that terrorism was the greatest risk facing America and in fact included some scenerios one of which was hi-jacked planes being used as weapons. So I ask again Why were we not Prepared? I guess a month long vacation was far more important than doing one's job.
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NoKingGeorge Donating Member (442 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 11:18 AM
Response to Reply #35
38. We will have all the answers as soon as cHeney
Edited on Tue Feb-10-04 11:40 AM by NoKingGeorge
authorizes the release of documents. The information concerning the biggest attack in our history ,will be made available to everyone someday.... maybe... In the mean time the commision, that our elected officials appointed to get these answers, will go through the legal system by subpeona to get some information.
Does something not seem right here?


edit:trying to spell subpeona.
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OneTwentyoNine Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 01:43 PM
Response to Reply #35
44. Your kidding right??
If all the events of 9/11 had gone down in 10-15 minutes I'd agree with you but thats not the way it went. Air traffic control new something was wrong almost from the get-go. You have commercial aircraft following a strict route suddenly turns around and heads back toward NYC.

David
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freestatevet Donating Member (226 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 01:44 PM
Response to Reply #44
45. Not kidding at all
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Media_Lies_Daily Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:29 PM
Response to Reply #45
63. For decades our home-based fighter squadrons have practiced how to...
...get off the ground and intercept enemy aircraft and hijacked airliners in the quickest possible times using the fighter squadrons from the closest Air Force and ANG airfields. Sometimes they've had to send planes up for real to intercept recon flights by other countries, and to investigate problems with commercial aircraft as reported by the FAA to NORAD.

So, is it correct to say that you believe that everyone was just confused by the events of 911 and that they all just forgot their training honed by decades of drill and/or real events? And that, in turn, led to the 30 minute delay in sending interceptors into the air?

Okay. Would you like to buy some bridges?

Treason by any other word is still treason.
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freestatevet Donating Member (226 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:46 PM
Response to Reply #63
67. Sigh
Actually the Air Force/ANG/ and FAA DID NOT have the TTP in place to shoot down commercial airliners in this type of scenario. Should they have? Probably. Did they? No. In order to do this right you need to have the right coordination, communications, and PRACTICE. We didn't. There is a huge difference between the procedure we have of intercepting outside threats versus those he have for "internal" threats.
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Th1onein Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Feb-12-04 12:44 AM
Response to Reply #35
74. Come ON now!
When that golfer guy's (don't remember his name off the top of my head)plane went off course, it took them ten minutes to get planes up in the air to intercept it! You're telling me that they are going to wait almost an HOUR after FOUR simultaneously hijacked planes have gone off course, and TWO of those have ALREADY hit the twin towers? Come on, now, that is absolutely incredible.
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rman Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 11:48 AM
Response to Reply #23
41. "maybe" is not good enough
in effect you're saying "maybe it is treason" - that alone should be reason for serious concern, and thorough investigation of the matter.

"maybe" certainly is not a good reason to just drop it.
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freestatevet Donating Member (226 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 11:57 AM
Response to Reply #41
42. I'm not saying drop it
I'm saying no one has convinced me (or even lead me to believe)it was treason. That is all.
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alfredo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 04:36 PM
Response to Reply #42
72. Go to post 16 and read
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Hubert Flottz Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 07:54 AM
Response to Original message
18. Why would he?
He was needing a trifecta too!
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dbt Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 07:59 AM
Response to Original message
19. Anyone notice a glaring absence?
I believe the phrase is, "Where was George?"

:freak:
dbt
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maddezmom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 08:07 AM
Response to Reply #19
22. pooping his drawers somewhere in the air? n/t
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0007 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 08:39 AM
Response to Reply #19
28. When Air Force One received intell that they were a terrorist
target, junior tricked 'em and laid low, LOL!!
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lovedems Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 11:23 AM
Response to Reply #19
39. Well, he had to finish his Caterpillar book and then he felt like a game
of "hide and go seek".

He is such a brave soul, that Commander in Theif! Ha!
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boobooday Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 08:35 AM
Response to Original message
27. A dark and murky soul
From deep in the bowels of the earth. THE scariest man ever to inhabit the White House. Invade the White House? That's what it is starting to look over.

When will people realize that we have had a COUP??? That these people will stop at nothing???

Everything about the man sends cold chills down my spine and fills me with dread. A walking horror movie.

Cheney-face -- he lurks in the night. He will rape your horses and kill your women. And then sell what's left to the highest bidder.

http://www.wgoeshome.com

Jeanette
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jburton Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 11:27 AM
Response to Original message
40. kick n/t
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Brian Sweat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 01:56 PM
Response to Original message
47. You people are missing an important issue here.
Under what authority did Cheney issue any orders and just who the hell is running the White House?
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Stuckinthebush Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 02:02 PM
Response to Reply #47
48. THAT is a key point!
You are so right, Brian.
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maggrwaggr Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Feb-10-04 02:07 PM
Response to Reply #47
49. c'mon, we've always known that Cheney's the real president
Bush is just the front man, the puppet. Literally the chimp.

This proves it.
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Brian Sweat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:37 PM
Response to Reply #49
57. Cheney does not have the power to issue these commands directly.
He could tell Bush to issue the command, but he cannot issue them directly. It is a serious legal breach. Even if we know who is the real power in the Whitehouse, this is a serious issue.
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KansDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:58 PM
Response to Reply #57
61. Perhaps the VP is a graduate from the Al Haig School of Government...
"I'm in charge!"
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IkeWarnedUs Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 08:45 AM
Response to Original message
50. I finally had a chance to read the link to Mineta's testimony
It starts off with a statement that alarms me:

<snip>
On Tuesday morning, September 11th, 2001, I was meeting with the Belgian transport minister in my conference room adjacent to my office, discussing aviation issues. Because of the agenda, FAA Administrator Jane Garvey was also in attendance.

A little after 8:45 a.m., my chief of staff, John Flaherty, interrupted the meeting. He asked Administrator Garvey and me to step into my office, where he told me that news agencies were reporting that some type of aircraft had flown into one of the towers of New York's World Trade Center.

Information was preliminary, so we did not know what kind of aircraft nor whether or not it was intentional. Jane Garvey immediately went to a telephone and contacted the FAA operations center. I asked to be kept informed of any developments and returned to the conference room to explain to the Belgian prime minister that our meeting might have to be postponed.
<snip>

By 8:15 American Airlines flight 11 quit communicating with air traffic control and went off course. By 8:25 AA received at least 2 phone calls from flight attendents that passengers and crew on that flight had been stabbed and killed and the pilot activated the talk back button so the air traffic controllers could hear they hijackers speak. By 8:40 NORAD had been notified of the hijacking and that the plane was headed toward NY. By 8:42 the FAA realized United flight 175 was hijacked and by 8:43 NORAD was notified of this.

But it wasn't until after 8:45 that the office of the Secretary of Transportation had any idea there was a problem - and then it was just because of news agency reports?!?

And what was Mineta's reaction? To go back to his meeting with the Belgium Prime Minister.

Mineta further testified:

<snip>
A few minutes after my return to the conference room, my chief of staff again asked me to step back into my office. He then told me that the aircraft was a commercial aircraft and that the FAA had received an unconfirmed report that a hijacking of an American Airlines flight had occurred.
<snip>

Unconfirmed? The FAA had already informed NORAD that at least two planes had been hijacked at that point.

WTF?

One more thing - has the commission spoken to the "young man" who questioned Cheney about the orders? Do they plan to? Do they even know who he was?

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Minstrel Boy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 09:31 AM
Response to Original message
51. The order definitely wasn't to shoot down, because Cheney
Edited on Wed Feb-11-04 09:48 AM by Minstrel Boy
did not have the conversation with Bush in which he recommended a shoot down until nearly 20 minutes after the Pentagon was struck. And Mineta's testimony describes events before the crash of Flight 77.

From the timeline:

After 9:56: After flying off in Air Force One, Bush talks to Vice President Cheney on the phone. Cheney recommends that Bush authorize the military to shoot down any plane under control of the hijackers. "I said, 'You bet'" Bush later recalls. "We had a little discussion, but not much."

The order to shoot down the planes came AFTER the Pentagon was struck.

Now, logically, just because we can rule out a shoot down order doesn't give us conclusive proof that "Do the orders still stand?" "Of course the orders still stand. Have you heard anything to the contrary?" must refer to a stand down, but it does make the exchange that much more suspicious. And what else, in the context, could be the explanation?

The meaning of "the orders" is understood between Cheney and the aide. The orders remain unnamed in front of Mineta. The Orders is clear enough for them to avoid confusion. And since confirmation was requested, it's likely they were outside Standard Operating Procedure.

The aide, who's been counting down the approach, is compelled to confirm the order with Cheney as the plane is almost upon the target. Since nothing was done to impede the aircraft, Bush did not authorize shoot down until 20 minutes later, and Cheney said, heatedly, that the order stood, I'm inclined to think the order was to do nothing. This interpretation is, I think, supported by the aide's second guessing Cheney.
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Minstrel Boy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 10:40 AM
Response to Original message
52. kicking Cheney in the ass n/t
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Braden Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 11:10 AM
Response to Original message
53. wow
Dick came on Meet the Press and said that no orders were given to shoot down a civilian airliner. Which I never believed.

Typical DC committee, He has Mineta really churning out information then stops and asks:

MR. HAMILTON: A final question and then we'll let other commissioners ask a question. And this is kind of a broad, sweeping one. What worries you most about transportation safety today? What are the most vulnerable points, do you think, in our transportation system today? A lot of steps have been taken, obviously, to improve security, a lot of progress made. What would be towards the top of your list? Or would there be two or three items that worry you the most?

Mineta is detailing one of the most significant decisions the white house has ever had to make and he lays this softball out there?

How about: Did Mr. Cheney give an order to shoot down a commercial jet?




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Merlin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 11:50 AM
Response to Original message
55. Failure to issue a shoot-down order would be a political plus for them.
Imo, US official, but secret, policy is not to issue a shoot-down if the plane is already in a populated area. The damage done by a suicide collision is more localized than the damage that could otherwise be done in a shoot-down.

Btw, I'm sure the PA plane WAS a shoot-down.

My point is, if Cheyney were to be criticized for NOT shooting down the Pentagon plane, he would easily be able to defend his actions.
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evil_orange_cat Donating Member (910 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 12:05 PM
Response to Original message
56. sorry guys... I think you are misinterpretting Cheney's statement...
he's an evil piece of shit... but guys, he had given the order to shoot the plane down, and was CONFIRMING that order to the guy Mineta was talking about.

I know you guys want to find something to hold Cheney accountable... but it's not here.
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Minstrel Boy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:40 PM
Response to Reply #56
58. The order to shoot down was not given until 20 minutes after
the Pentagon was hit. That's when Cheney spoke to Bush by phone, and recommended Bush authorize planes be shot down. See my post #51.
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Guaranteed Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:41 PM
Response to Original message
59. Yes...this concerns me too. I think about the one that was headed to the
capitol- the plan was, of course, to take out Congress.

We would have been left with only an executive and legislative branch, really. And the executive branch would have been the Bush administration, and they would have had all the power they wanted.

MIHOP? Man, I hate to think that.
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Minstrel Boy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 02:46 PM
Response to Reply #59
60. Flight 93 had been delayed 41 minutes.
If it had departed on time, I have no doubt it would have hit the capitol.

The delay took it out of the window of plausible deniability. It had to be shot down.
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Media_Lies_Daily Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:34 PM
Response to Reply #60
64. IMHO, that eight-mile debris trail rules out Flight 93 crashing...
...straight into the ground as the government claims.

So does the eyewitness statement about flames coming from the aircraft as it flew overhead toward its' eventual crash site.

So does the fact that the government will only release typed transcripts of the voices heard on Flight 93 instead of releasing the original tape as requested by the survivors.
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Lydia Leftcoast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 03:38 PM
Response to Original message
65. They should have known something was wrong
the minute a Boston-California flight made a sharp left turn and started heading down the Hudson River. That is NOT the normal route.

Domestic flight are tracked on radar all across the country. Has the 9/11 Commission interviewed the air traffic controllers who were monitoring the radar for upstate and downstate New York that day?
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Name removed Donating Member (0 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Feb-11-04 04:46 PM
Response to Original message
73. Deleted message
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