[syadasti]

This is from our main Monmouth County paper. A large number of 911 victims reside in Monmouth County.

Dodging responsibility, say some 9/11 families


Published in the Asbury Park Press 4/09/04
By ANDREA ALEXANDER
KEYPORT BUREAU
Many of the families of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were not convinced yesterday when national security adviser Condoleezza Rice testified that nothing could have been done to prevent the tragedy.

Instead, they believe she was trying to avoid admitting the administration made mistakes and trying to hide from any responsibility for the failure of intelligence agencies to connect the clues and warnings in the months before the attacks.

Rice testified yesterday in Washington before the national commission investigating the terrorist attacks. In response to mounting public and political pressure, President Bush reversed his long-standing position last week and agreed to allow Rice to appear.

"I think she did a good job of taking absolutely no responsibility for the death of 3,000 people," said Kristen Breitweiser, 33, of Middletown, whose husband, Ron, died in the attacks. She traveled to Washington yesterday to watch Rice testify.

"Apparently no one was responsible for 9/11, which is mind-boggling," she said.


Not convinced
Mindy Kleinberg, 43, of East Brunswick shared Breitweiser's anger over the federal government's refusal to take responsibility for failing to prevent the attacks.
"Everybody wants to say they did everything they could, and this happened anyway," Kleinberg said yesterday while driving home from the hearings.

"Really, that is not true," she said. "There were ways we could have thwarted this plot. The better way would be to say: 'There were mistakes made. Let's put in on the table, go forward and try not to make the mistakes again.' "

Her husband, Alan, who worked for Cantor Fitzgerald in the World Trade Center, died in the attacks.

"We didn't hear much talk today about where and why the failure occurred," Breitweiser said. "To me, that means it still exists. I am bewildered. I don't understand how it could be 2 1/2 years later, and we have no one taking personal responsibility, and none of these problems have been addressed or fixed. . . . Since 9/11 the only one truly protecting us is God."

The administration can no longer claim there weren't any signs pointing to the possibility of an attack in the United States after the hearing yesterday, said Lorie Van Auken, 49, of East Brunswick. Her husband Kenneth, who died in the attacks, worked for Cantor Fitzgerald on the 105th floor.

She said she was thrilled to hear public discussion about an Aug. 6, 2001, intelligence briefing to Bush, titled "Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States."

"It makes it clear that everyone should have been paying attention the morning of Sept. 11," Van Auken said. "They should have been launching fighter jets because of the warnings."


'Truth will be told'
After the hearing yesterday, Van Auken was more confident that the hearings were making progress.
"Despite everybody's best efforts to the contrary, the truth will be told," she said.

Disputing criticism that the Bush administration was negligent, Rice said "there was no silver bullet that could have prevented" the attacks on New York and the Pentagon and a plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. "If what the government needed was a memo that said, '9/11, 19 terrorists and four planes,' then we are really in trouble," Kleinberg said.

"They should have been able to analyze the information and connect the dots. We were hoping they would be able to pull on the threads -- and there were many, many, many threads -- to unfold the story."

"It is called intelligence for a reason," Breitweiser said. "I don't think there was one silver bullet; there was a handful. I would have hoped the government would have gathered those bullets wherever they were and used the information effectively."

Patty Casazza, 43, of Colts Neck did not accept Rice's statement that there wasn't enough information before Sept. 11 to act against al-Qaida.

Rice said Bush came into office determined to develop a "more robust" policy to combat al-Qaida and told his national security adviser he was "tired of swatting at flies."

Casazza said the government should have taken some action based on intelligence warnings instead of waiting months to formulate a policy.

"If you don't have a plan of your own, you can still maintain some control of the situation. . . . He could have destroyed the training camps and at least slowed some momentum of the enemy," she said. "You still 'swat the flies.' "


Hijacking questions
The discussion fueled anger and sadness for other families.
"It hurts to think they might have been able to do something and didn't," said Dorothy McLaughlin, a Matawan woman whose son, George, was killed in the Trade Center.

She said she watched Rice's testimony on television and was impressed with how well-spoken she appeared. But she said she was unsatisfied three hours later, she said.

"My big thing is, how did they get onto those planes?" she asked. "Why wasn't security tighter there? When all the red flags went up, why didn't they act? Having known (the Trade Center) was a target in '93 -- and my son was in that one, too -- there should have been a little more care given there."

"Why didn't they tell me it was a threat?" asked Bob McIlvaine, of Oreland, Pa., whose son, Bobby, died in the Trade Center. "Maybe my son wouldn't have died if he was told."

"She says nothing could have been done," said Beverly Eckert of Stamford, Conn., whose husband, Sean Rooney, died in the Trade Center. "I'm sorry; I don't accept that. It makes me angry."

Ginny Bauer of Red Bank, executive director of the New Jersey Lottery, lost her husband, David, in the Trade Center attacks. Bauer did not watch Rice's testimony. She was attending meetings in New York yesterday, including one later yesterday representing victims' families for the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. as it moves forward with memorial plans.

She said she and other families still want more information.

"Nothing will ever bring my husband back, but I do have a right to know what happened, what the failures were," Bauer said. "If there's a car accident, they investigate it, check the tires, try to see what went wrong. This was an unprecedented event in our history. The families are anxiously awaiting snippets of information to give us a little more peace about what happened."

 

[N8 v2.0]

Most 9-11 families lost my sympathy durning the big Money Grab of 2002....

Besides, didn't that liar guy, Richard Clarke, already take responsibility? I think he did in his opening statements to the 9-11 Freak Show... so blame him if someone must be blamed.

 

[JRogers]

Originally posted by N8


Most 9-11 families lost my sympathy durning the big Money Grab of 2002....

I agree somewhat. I have not "lost sympathy" for the people but what happened did not impress me much. Reading this article, it seems like they just want someone to blame. Hey, any of them ever travel on a plane before 9-11? Honestly, with a bit of planning and some equally crazy comrades, I bet I could have pulled off what those terrorists did. At the time, with security the way it was and with the weapons that were used, I seriously think it was not "that" hard to do. Basically, there was no staging area to be seen, no big tip offs etc. Sure, maybe they had some clues but what is the gov. going to do, shut down the air transportation system every few days when they feel a breeze?

 

[$tinkle]

Originally posted by JRogers
I agree somewhat. I have not "lost sympathy" for the people but what happened did not impress me much. Reading this article, it seems like they just want someone to blame. Hey, any of them ever travel on a plane before 9-11? Honestly, with a bit of planning and some equally crazy comrades, I bet I could have pulled off what those terrorists did. At the time, with security the way it was and with the weapons that were used, I seriously think it was not "that" hard to do. Basically, there was no staging area to be seen, no big tip offs etc. Sure, maybe they had some clues but what is the gov. going to do, shut down the air transportation system every few days when they feel a breeze?

bear in mind, with the only exception of planning, they were fully compliant with all airline industry guidelines & federal laws, right up until the first throat was slashed.

our transportation system is still quite vulnerable. I won't offer specifics, but all it takes is working 2 blocks from the flight line to realize just how so. The most stark & horrific event is yet to happen: shoulder rocket at a MD-80 taking off.

my wife & i were honeymooning in italy when the shiznit went down. Shudder to think if i had 3 less vacation days to use how that might have more closely affected us.

 

[N8 v2.0]

I'm sick of these anti-Bush, partisian, media whore, widows...

Exploiting a tragic situation for some ill-gotten political gain...

 

[$tinkle]

Originally posted by N8
I'm sick of these anti-Bush, partisian, media whore, widows...

Exploiting a tragic situation for some ill-gotten political gain...

then you must really be sick of having kristen brightwise being trotted out after being heavily coached.
didja see her cradling dick clarke's book Against All Enemies? as if it were holy scripture.

thankfully, she only represents the 9/11 families for this week, however disgusting. I expected much more out of chris matthews. This has been his most partisan 2 weeks that i've ever seen him.

 

[syadasti]

Originally posted by N8
I'm sick of these anti-Bush, partisian, media whore, widows...

Exploiting a tragic situation for some ill-gotten political gain...

A majority of Monmouth County is republican and the press leans that way. The same goes for the people in this area that worked in the WTC, maybe they just realize that party loyality is secondary in importance to serious issues like 9-11.

 

[golgiaparatus]

Sounds like they are looking for someone to pin all the blam on...

As far as Im concerned this was the only useful thing said:

"We didn't hear much talk today about where and why the failure occurred," Breitweiser said. "To me, that means it still exists"

 

[stevew]

Originally posted by $tinkle
then you must really be sick of having kristen brightwise being trotted out after being heavily coached.
didja see her cradling dick clarke's book Against All Enemies? as if it were holy scripture.

Funny that his book will be made into a movie by Sony.

 

[N8 v2.0]

Originally posted by stevew
Funny that his book will be made into a movie by Sony.

..and I thought you were kidding... but noooo.... Sony deals in fiction so its fitting...

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000484839

Hummm...

 

[brenth]

Not sure how in the hell they are going to make that into a book.

 

[BurlyShirley]

Originally posted by brenth
Not sure how in the hell they are going to make that into a book.

i think it already is a book

 

[brenth]

Originally posted by BurlySurly
i think it already is a book

damnit!! . I mean film for cristsakes! thought film typed book. hello dyslexia!