It is Aug 6th 2001, YOU are the president, here is your intel brief, what do YOU do?

[MrLars]

Originally posted by Eagler
ask the UN for help - LOL

More like, 'Ask the Whitehouse for the entire brief...

http://www.iht.com/articles/117157.html

Whatever the definition, the document is the innocuously named President's Daily Brief, a 10- to 12-page report produced overnight by the CIA. In recent weeks, it has become the hottest property in Washington.

What the commission got was a slightly redacted version of two pages. If you look at an image of those pages you'll see at the bottom of each there's a redacted line where normaly you'd see 'page one of...' That doesn't mean I think that that is the only answer, but it does raise the question of the documents totality.

I'm not convienced that there are another 10 pages of the PDB but given the fact that this administration is the most secretive of any in my lifetime, this kind of action is understandable.

All in all, I think that the release of this document was bumbled and brought too much attention to the administrations several instances of stonewalling the 911 commission for what I see as purley politcal purposes.

[AKIron]

Originally posted by MrLars
given the fact that this administration is the most secretive of any in my lifetime, this kind of action is understandable.

Even more secretive than Clinton's?

[_Schadenfreude_]

mmmm get them to check carry on luggage the same way they do in Europe......very, very carefully.

[_Schadenfreude_]

Originally posted by Torque
Go on a vacation?

what would you do, not did do.....

[MrLars]

Originally posted by AKIron
Even more secretive than Clinton's?

Absolutely!

The parallels to the Nixon presidency in regards to Bush's secrecy are unmistakeable. Read John Dean's 'Worse than Watergate' for info if you want...pretty damning.

[Westy]

"It is Aug 6th 2001, YOU are the president, here is your intel brief, what do YOU do?"


  Assure all attending the meeting that .....

"Well if Condi says there's not specificness in there. Then we're ok. Nobody messes with Texas. We'll redefine the role of the United States from enablers to keep the peace to enablers to keep the peace from peacekeepers is going to be an assignment.  But should someone be bad. Do anything offensible to America. We'd rain nOOklear bombs on em. For we will be victoriant. With our stupendous use of superior strategery. We will make America what we want it to be — a more literate country and a hopefuller country. Stay the course.  OK now. Enough of this work crap. I'm beat.  Who wants to get a Whattaburger with me?"

[_Schadenfreude_]

Ok that's just scary enough to be vaguely true!!

[Gixer]

Originally posted by AKIron
It's only ironic if you believe the US is in Iraq for purely selfish reasons. Some of us believe it was necessary and beneficial to not only the US but Iraq and many others. I also recall that great effort was expended to unite the UN (admittedly unsuccessfully) in ousting the madman Hussein.

Funny I thought the attempts to unite the UN was for WMD"s and his immediate threat to the world, not ousting a dictator.



...-Gixer

[AKIron]

I said madman, not dictator. The kind that wars with peaceful neighbors and murders his own. You know, kinda like Hitler?

[Otto]

'Nuke' them...

[Torque]

ops...

[Gixer]

Originally posted by AKIron
I said madman, not dictator. The kind that wars with peaceful neighbors and murders his own. You know, kinda like Hitler?

But why was it that prior to 9/11 Powell himself was quoted as saying that Sadam wasn't a threat and was contained.

When he was attacking his neighbours in the 80's and having gased the kurds why wasn't there a big protest then by the administration in charge instead of continuing to support him?

There are so many holes in the stories and spin since 9/11 on Iraq that it's amazing anyone can still argue for the war.




...-Gixer

[Torque]

doh...

[Orig]

What do I do?  I toss a tomahawk missile or two at a camp somewhere sandy and hot while hoping one or more of them don't go off course and hit Iran or Turkey.  Oops.  If it looks like I need more help, I get my wife to say something that makes it sound like she's going to be setting policy on a hotly contested subject, maybe abortion, health care, or education.  Then based on the polls, I either support her, or have an affair showing that I don't support her stand on that controversial subject.  If necessary, I ask someone to leak to the press that my daughter is either pregnant or just lost her virginity, or something to that effect.

If it gets too bad, I hold a rally supporting veterans and find someone elses medals to either symbolically throw away or pin on someone, depending on if the polls say veterans should be proud or pissed off that week.  Then I find ANY decision that a political opponent recently made, and make a media soundbite to the effect of "Only HE would come up with a childish idea like that...  He should have asked a few experts first." regardless of what the decision was.

I'd also send out some memos to the CIA and FBI telling them to "take care of things" regarding the persistent but non-specific threats.  There are a lot of Muslim countries and even some countries with hardcore communist insurgencies so I'm sure they can generate a few headlines in some of them.  I'll make darn sure they don't focus on the Phillipines though, because they're determined to wreck their own country before getting to ours so that's just a waste of effort and good PR opportunities.  At the next round of budget talks, I'll force through a small but noticable funding increase for those who I've told to "do something", just to prove that I increased funding for the groups responsible for national security.  Cutting aid to countries who aren't outwardly hostile but who aren't part of "the club" can help pay for the CIA budget increases.

Then I try to make sure I don't support or object to the policies of any other country until the last few months of my term.  Status quo is my watchword.

I almost forgot - make my party's nomination for the next term look like a fool, and then sell my stocks right after the opposing party's candidate wins.  Buy low a few years later and ride the wave through retirement.

Anything I miss?

[Tumor]

Originally posted by Gixer
Launch an unprovoked war of choice against Iraq even though it posed no threat to the US or anyone else in the world.



...-Gixer

Except the citizens of Iraq.