Bush's Fatal Half Hour
By Jay Weidner
c. 2002 Jay Weidner
5-20-2
So
now it is out. George Bush Jr. knew
at least a week ahead of September 11th, 2001 that Muslim men were going
to hijack planes inside the borders of the United States. He was warned,
in clear, concise language, that Arab men were training in American Flight
schools and planning to hijack large airliners.
Bush now says that he did everything that man can do in such a circumstance.
He says that he warned the airports, he warned the law enforcement agencies
and that he warned the military. This is our Commander-in-Chief and his
first responsibility is to protect Americans from harm and, his administration
now tells us, they did their job. Dick Cheney evens goes so far as to
say that we should not invent 'conspiracy theories' to bolster the 'politics'
of the situation. I couldn't agree more. Instead of relying on 'conspiracy
theories', I would suggest that any journalist worth his salt just merely
stick to the facts in the case.
This
article will reveal that George Bush Jr. had ample opportunity
to protect Americans from certain harm and he did absolutely nothing.
In fact he ran like a rabbit from a pack of hungry dogs, leaving the American
people completely defenseless. A quick examination of the chronology of
events on September 11th 2001 reveals that our President utterly failed
in his job, that he left the American people completely defenseless for
at least thirty full minutes.
Let's
go back to that fateful day for a moment. George W. Bush is in
Florida reading a story to a group of children in a classroom. He is told,
a few minutes after nine that a jet has crashed into a tower at the World
Trade Center. Remembering that he had been told, just a week before that
Osama Bin Laden and his gang of terrorists were planning on stealing airplanes,
does our President rise up from his seat, get on the phone and alert the
military that this could be a very serious event occurring in New York?
With his foreknowledge that something bad could happen with terrorists
and airplanes, does he order his subordinates to declare an emergency
of some kind?
No, our President decides to continue reading his children's story to
the group of students.
About 15 minutes later our President is told that another plane has hit
the other tower at the World Trade Center. It is now 9:15 on September
11th 2001. Two planes have hit both towers of the tallest building in
America. Remembering that he was told that terrorists were planning on
hijacking planes just a week before, does our President call the military
and tell them that we are under attack from terrorists and order them
to scramble jets? Does he get on the phone and instruct the FAA to track
down all flights that are not flying on their destined flight paths? Does
he tell the military to track down these airplanes and force them to land
or shoot them down?
No. The President of the United States does not do this.
Remember
there are at least two more flights still hijacked and in the air.
But, for all George W. Bush knows, there could be fifty jets hijacked
and currently in the air above the United States. If it were possible
for the terrorists to hijack two planes and successfully crash them into
the World Trade Center then, certainly, any thinking person would have
to consider that there might be the possibility of more planes being hijacked.
If one is truly interested in protecting the United States then this must
at least have been considered.
Perhaps the President got on the phone and talked to members of the National
Security Agency or members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to discuss these
possibilities. The fact is that we don't know if our President, George
W Bush, did any of these things.
But as the events unfolded that morning it is becoming obvious that he
did nothing.
The
President jumped in Air Force One and began a strange journey around
the United States that seemed to be saying that he, and his staff, was
terrified and confused. Eventually Air Force One landed at Offutt Air
Force base in Omaha where Bush was taken to an underground bomb shelter
built to survive a several megaton hit by a nuclear weapon.
One thing is for sure. While he was in a panic state, flying around the
country trying to protect himself, he forgot to do his job. There is no
other way around it.
Any simple examination of the chronology of events reveals that Bush failed
miserably. The second tower was hit at 9:15 AM, east coast time. That
means that there was at least 25 to 30 minutes before the third plane
hit the Pentagon at 9:45 AM, east coast time. Did Bush scramble military
aircraft to protect America in the intervening half hour that he had in
between the two airplane hits? No he did not. He did absolutely nothing.
Remember, at 9:15 AM, just after the second tower was hit there were at
least two airliners still flying off course from their predestined flight
plans. Both of these flights had already made huge U-turns over the Ohio
and were headed back to Washington DC.
The Trade towers had long been hit by aircraft. Many precious minutes
were slipping away. There had been a prior warning just a week before.
So what does our commander in chief do in this situation? Absolutely nothing!
Not one thing. He doesn't alert the military, he doesn't instruct the
FAA to track all the other flights that might be hijacked. He doesn't
do one thing except to jump in to Air Force One and get out of Dodge fast.
A nuclear weapon, launched from Russia would arrive in our country in
far less than the 30-minute interval between the second tower getting
hit and the third airplane smashing into the Pentagon. If the President,
even with the knowledge of a possible hijacking, did nothing in that time
period to protect us, what does that say about him?
But don't expect any of our nation's top journalists to put together this
chronology. Don't expect Dan Rather or Tom Brokaw to attempt to figure
this out. This type of in-depth analysis is over their heads. The press
corps wags their heads like dogs trying to please their master, never
once even considering the truth.
The
idea that the President, with full knowledge that something very
likely was going to occur, did absolutely nothing to protect America in
the half-hour after the second tower was hit is outrageous.
There is no explanation except that he either let it happen, or he is
a coward and an idiot.
You choose.
