IPW Daily Report – Thursday, March 25, 2004
DNC Unity Dinner tonight
(barf alert)
MoveOn.org seeks $$$ via Clarke
DNC Unity Dinner tonight
(barf alert)
Tonight, Sen. John Kerry is sure to blast Bush
with Richard Clarke's new book, “Against All
Enemies,” along with his former contenders for
the Presidency. The most interesting comments to
watch will come from Former President Jimmy
Carter, who will also be in attendance at the
National Democrat Party's "Unity Dinner" in
Washington D.C.
Here is the DNC’s latest e-mail asking for funds
in conjunction with the dinner:
Tonight in Washington, D.C., I'll be joined at a
Unity dinner by Presidents Carter and Clinton, as
well as the 2004 Democratic presidential
candidates. Together we are sending a message
across America: Democrats are united and
determined to win the most important presidential
battle of our lifetime.
During the campaign, my fellow candidates were
opponents, but they are friends first, and today
I'm honored that they're standing with me in our
fight to take back the White House. I pledge to
them, as I pledge to you: I will fight every step
of the way until we win.
We are in the midst of an unprecedented
fundraising drive -- $10 Million in 10 Days. We're
almost there. We need $450,000 by 5 p.m. to reach
our goal and are counting on each of you to make a
commitment to this campaign. You can bet the
special interests who support George Bush are
doing everything they can to help him. We have to
not only match, but exceed, their effort.
MoveOn.org seeks $$$ via Clarke
MoveOn.org is launching a new Bush bashing effort
based on Richard Clarke's attacks on President
Bush, despite the counterclaims of Clarke's many
instances in which he said that Bush was doing a
better job than the former President Clinton in
handling the terrorist threat.
Here is MoveOn.org's latest appeal for more money
to bash Bush:
Dear MoveOn member,
As you may have heard, Richard Clarke, a former
counter-terrorism advisor to Bush, and a
registered Republican who has worked in every
administration since Reagan, has exposed Bush's
mishandling of 9/11 and the war on Iraq.1
In his book "Against All Enemies," Clarke does an
amazing job of presenting the facts and connecting
the dots. Instead of refuting Clarke's claims, the
Bush Administration has launched a campaign of
character assassination, hoping that the story
will just go away.
We're committed to stopping that from happening by
making sure that the American public hears
Clarke's extraordinary comments. If we can raise
$300,000 in the next few days, we can run a
hard-hitting ad nationally that highlights his
message. You can see a rough story board of the ad
and donate to get it on the air at:
https://www.moveonpac.org/clarkead.html?id=2491-3383857-brk0zWFvj12jEywzSw7eCA
When the World Trade Center was hit on the morning
of 9/11, National Security Advisor Condoleezza
Rice dubbed Richard Clarke, the administration's
top counter-terrorism official, "crisis manager."
As the White House, which was thought to be the
next target, was evacuated, Clarke heroically
stayed on, coordinating the government's response
from the Situation Room in the West Wing.
Clarke is viewed by colleagues as a hawk, a "true
believer" who doesn't play partisan politics.
So the shocking facts he revealed about the Bush
administration's approach to terrorism before 9/11
and its response after must be taken seriously. On
Sunday, Clarke told reporters that the President
and Defense Secretary downgraded counter-terrorism
and ignored repeated warnings about an al Qaeda
attack prior to 9/11. And, perhaps even more
explosive, Clarke revealed that President Bush and
senior administration officials wanted to bomb
Iraq after 9/11 even though they knew that it had
no connection to al Qaeda, and that al Qaeda was
responsible for the attacks.
Already, the White House spin machine is in
overdrive. Since they can't rebut Clarke's facts
-- which independent witnesses have confirmed
-- they're trying to paint him as an angry
partisan, even though he's a Republican. But
Clarke's words remain a searing indictment of the
Bush Administration's campaign against terrorism.
Together, if we act today, we can beat back the
spin by widely airing a TV ad which gets these
uniquely credible comments directly to TV viewers.
You can view a story board of the ad and help us
get it on the air now at:
https://www.moveonpac.org/clarkead.html?id=2491-3383857-brk0zWFvj12jEywzSw7eCA
In his own words, here are some of Clarke's
revelations:
-
Clarke repeatedly warned the Bush Administration
about attacks from al Qaeda, starting in the
first days of Bush's term.
"But on January 24th, 2001, I wrote a memo to
Condoleezza Rice asking for, urgently --
underlined urgently -- a Cabinet-level meeting
to deal with the impending al Qaeda attack. And
that urgent memo-- wasn't acted on."
According to another Bush administration
security official, Clarke "was the guy pushing
hardest, saying again and again that something
big was going to happen, including possibly here
in the U.S." The official added that Clarke was
likely sidelined because he had served in the
previous (Clinton) administration.
-
In face-to-face meetings, CIA Director George
Tenet warned President Bush repeatedly in the
months before 9/11 that an attack was coming.
According to Clarke, Tenet told the President
that "A major al-Qaeda attack is going to happen
against the United States somewhere in the world
in the weeks and months ahead."
-
On September 12, 2001, Donald Rumsfeld pushed to
bomb Iraq even though they knew that al Qaeda
was in Afghanistan.
"Rumsfeld was saying that we needed to bomb
Iraq," Clarke said. "And we all said ... no, no.
Al-Qaeda is in Afghanistan. We need to bomb
Afghanistan. And Rumsfeld said there aren't any
good targets in Afghanistan. And there are lots
of good targets in Iraq. I said, 'Well, there
are lots of good targets in lots of places, but
Iraq had nothing to do with it.'"
-
Also on September 12, 2001, President Bush
personally pushed Clarke to find evidence that
Iraq was behind the attacks.
From the New York Times: "'I want you, as soon
as you can, to go back over everything,
everything,' Mr. Clarke writes that Mr. Bush
told him. 'See if Saddam did this. See if he's
linked in any way.' When Mr. Clarke protested
that the culprit was Al Qaeda, not Iraq, Mr.
Bush testily ordered him, he writes, to 'look
into Iraq, Saddam,' and then left the room."
-
The Bush Administration knew from the beginning
that there was no connection between Iraq and
9/11, but created the misperception in order to
push their policy goals.
"[Rumsfeld, Cheney and Bush] did know better.
They did know better. They did know better. We
told them, the CIA told them, the FBI told them.
They did know better. And the tragedy here is
that Americans went to their death in Iraq
thinking that they were avenging September 11th,
when Iraq had nothing to do with September 11th.
I think for a commander-in-chief and a vice
president to allow that to happen is
unconscionable."
-
The war on Iraq has increased the danger of
terrorism.
In his book, he writes that shifting from al
Qaeda to Iraq "launched an unnecessary and
costly war in Iraq that strengthened the
fundamentalist, radical Islamic terrorist
movement worldwide."
It's been well reported that President Bush
intends to run on his record as a wartime
President. Clarke's revelations show how deeply
flawed that record is. But if we don't act fast,
the public may not have a chance to evaluate the
facts for themselves -- the story could go away
quickly. With an ad, we can take Clarke's comments
directly to the public. Can you help? Check out
the script and donate whatever you can to get this
story out there at:
https://www.moveonpac.org/clarkead.html?id=2491-3383857-brk0zWFvj12jEywzSw7eCA
(By the way, if we're unable to use your
contribution for the ad you specify, either
because of oversubscription or for another
unforeseen reason, it is our policy to use your
contribution for other advertising, public
relations, and advocacy activities.)
Richard Clarke had an intimate view -- perhaps the
best view -- of how the Bush Administration
responded to terrorism. So we should all listen
carefully when he says:
"Frankly, I find it outrageous that the president
is running for re-election on the grounds that
he's done such great things about terrorism. He
ignored it. He ignored terrorism for months, when
maybe we could have done something to stop 9/11.
Maybe. We'll never know. . . I think the way he
has responded to al-Qaeda, both before 9/11 by
doing nothing, and by what he's done after 9/11
has made us less safe, absolutely. I think he's
done a terrible job on the war against terrorism."
Together, we can make sure every American knows
what President Bush's true record on terrorism
really is.
Sincerely,
--Adam, Carrie, Eli, James, Joan, Laura, Wes, and
Zack
The MoveOn PAC Team
March 24th, 2004
P.S. Salon has recently published a new interview
with Clarke. You can read it at:
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/03/24/clarke_moveon/
P.P.S. As the Administration strikes back, our
friends at the Center for American Progress have
put together an excellent rebuttal to their
claims. Here's an example:
CLAIM #1: "Richard Clarke had plenty of
opportunities to tell us in the administration
that he thought the war on terrorism was moving in
the wrong direction and he chose not to." --
National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice,
3/22/04
FACT: Clarke sent a memo to Rice principals on
1/24/01 marked "urgent" asking for a Cabinet-level
meeting to deal with an impending Al Qaeda attack.
The White House acknowledges this, but says
"principals did not need to have a formal meeting
to discuss the threat." No meeting occurred until
one week before 9/11. -- White House Press
Release, 3/21/04
For the whole document, go to:
http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=39828
Footnotes:
1. "Dissent from within on Iraq war," Philadelphia
Inquirer, 3/24/04
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/front/8260216.htm?1c
(Registration required)
2. "Bush Aides Blast Ex-Terror Chief," CBS News,
3/22/04
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/23/terror/main608107.shtml
3. "The book on Richard Clarke," Washington Post,
3/23/04
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16192-2004Mar22.html
(Registration required)
4. "Clarke's Take On Terror," CBS, 3/21/04
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/19/60minutes/main607356.shtml
5. See 3, above.
6. "60 Minutes" interview; see 4, above.
7. "Ex-Bush Aide Sets Off Debate as 9/11 Hearing
Opens," New York Times, 3/23/04
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/23/politics/23CLAR.html?hp
(Registration required)
8. "60 Minutes" interview; see 4, above.
9. See 7, above.
10. "60 Minutes" interview; see 4, above.
11. "Sept. 11: Before And After," CBS News,
3/20/04
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/20/60minutes/main607622.shtml
12. "Excerpts from 'Against All Enemies: Inside
America's War on Terror' by Richard A. Clarke,"
posted on NYTimes.com, 3/23/04
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/23/politics/23CWOR.html
(Registration required)
13. "60 Minutes" interview; see 4, above.
14. "Memoir Criticizes Bush 9/11 Response,"
Washington Post, 3/22/04
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13607-2004Mar21.html
(Registration required)
15. "60 Minutes" interview; see 4, above.
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