Must See TV 2
By Brad Friedman on 4/7/2004, 5:41pm PT  

Condoleezza Rice's testimony to the 9/11 Commission tomorrow morning is shaping up to be even more Must See than Richard Clarke's testimony a few weeks ago.

But in the last week or so, it's all become simply bizarro. This Administration's behavior vis a vis the 9/11 Commission, the disasters unfolding in Iraq and their odd behavior in respect to it. Self-preservation and all of that, I suppose. But it just gets curiouser and curiouser as if these guys seem to be living in an alternate universe or something.

I once again associate myself with the excellent Josh Marshall, who points out the following the quote from an Evening Standard article:

"They have concluded he was so surrounded by sycophants he had no real idea of what was happening in his own country."

Oddly enough, that quote refers to the FBI's interrogation of Saddam, not George W. Bush as one could similarly argue.

In the meantime, the Whitehouse is still fighting to keep Condi's Foreign Policy speech, planned to be given on September 11, 2001, out of the hands of the 9/11 Commission. On what grounds? National Security? Executive Privelege? It was to have been a public speech for crying out loud. What the hell are they so afraid of?

And then there's Richard Clarke again today on Hardball pointing out that Tom Clancy's 1997 book, Debt of Honor featured hijackers that fly a plane into the US Capitol Dome! Again, along with Clarke's admission that he cobbled Anti-Aircraft Defenses into place for the '96 Atlanta Olympics, a stunning counterpoint to Condi's now infamous May 2002 comments: "I don't think anybody could have predicted that these people.. would try to use...a hijacked airplane as a missile." Bush said as much himself this past Monday in his bizaare presser in North Carolina.

Would anybody in America hold it against these guys if they simply said "We under-estimated the terrorist threat before 9/11, but have learned our lesson since?" I understand the current need to lie about the screwups which have now entangled us in Iraq, but surely they could come clean on 9/11. Again, unless they have something even more damaging to hide than what we already can figure out on our own. I don't know that they do, but their bizaare behavior and coverups and constant kicking, screaming participation with the Commission sure doesn't look good.

It's all simply falling apart for these guys. It's Bizarro World.

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