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Caveat lector
 | TEN MINUTES FROM DULL-NORMAL! Last night’s event was an awful example of our dull-normal cultural style: |
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 2004
IN RECOVERY: We’re still in shock from last evening’s “press conference,” and we’re doing radio about it today. For that reason, we offer a slightly truncated HOWLER. In “Anything Goes,” we continue to track the howlers about that 8/6 PDB. And in “Ten Minutes from Dull-Normal,” we take a preliminary look at last night’s embarrassing conference.
Rice Under Oath continues tomorrow. And we’ll take a closer look at questions from last night’s event.
HARDBALL’S HOUSE OF CANARDS: We cheered Jim Thompson, the 9/11 commissioner, when he corrected Chris Matthews on last evening’s Hardball. He tackled a pleasing urban legend:
THOMPSON: One correction. Moussaoui did not say that he didn’t care about learning to take off and land. What he did say was he wanted to learn how to fly a 747, and they were amazed by that because he had absolutely no prior training or no prior interest in flights.For the past several weeks, Matthews has showcased his lack of factual knowledge about all things 9/11. The Moussaoui legend has been one of his vehicles. Last night, the Hardball host said it again: “Moussaoui was the interesting guy who was picked up in Minneapolis by the FBI for seeking training on how to command a flight, how to pilot a plane, a big commercial plane, but not how to take off or how to land.” The host has been repeating this tale for weeks, although it was debunked years ago.
How soon after 9/11 was this entertaining tale shot down? In the New York Times of November 17, 2001, Philip Shenon reported an interview with FBI head Robert Mueller:
SHENON: Asked if Mr. Moussaoui had been ruled out as another possible hijacker, Mr. Mueller said, “We have not ruled out any other individual.”…Eight months later, Nicholas Kristoff discussed the Moussaoui canard in his Times op-ed column. He offered more detailed information:Mr. Moussaoui was arrested last summer after a Minnesota flight school alerted the F.B.I. that he was acting suspiciously. Mr. Mueller denied accounts from other law enforcement officials that Mr. Moussaoui had come under suspicion because he had wanted only to guide a plane in flight, not to take off and land.
“I think that was wrong,” Mr. Mueller said, adding that the situation may have been “just the opposite, and there may have been other factors in there as well.”
KRISTOFF: One of the most widespread canards since 9/11 is that [Moussaoui] wanted to learn to fly a 747 but not how to take off or land. That is completely false; on the contrary, repeated F.B.I. statements show that he specifically asked for instruction on taking off and landing.In October 2002, Shenon described a report from the House-Senate intelligence committee which investigated 9/11:Mr. Moussaoui aroused suspicion for much milder behavior: he paid $8,000 in cash for the flight lessons; he expressed “unusual interest” in the notion that a plane’s doors could not be opened during flight; he was a wretched pilot and yet wanted to learn how to fly a jumbo jet.
SHENON: The report includes a more detailed summary of Mr. Moussaoui’s actions in the months before his arrest, when he sought flight training on jumbo jets at the Pan Am International Flight Academy in Eagan, a suburb of Minneapolis, and quickly raised suspicions among his instructors.These facts have been established for years—but people like Matthews repeat old tales. But then, Matthews is a clown/entertainer, not an actual journalist. Last week, the Hardball host had his shorts in a wad about the title of that PDB—a fact which had been public information since early 2002 (see THE DAILY HOWLER, 4/9/04). Last night, he seemed stunned by Janet Reno’s testimony—testimony which suggested that Clinton ordered bin Laden’s assassination. Alas! Sandy Berger discussed this matter in detail at the 9/11 hearings just a few weeks ago. Last night, Matthews also wondered about several points which were clearly explained in yesterday’s hearings. In any other “profession,” can millionaire stars be so thoroughly ignorant of even the simplest facts?“What set Moussaoui apart from all other students was that Moussaoui had no aviation background and, apparently, no pilot’s license,” the report said. “It was also considered odd that Moussaoui indicated that he wished to learn to take off and land the 747 Model 400, which he referred to as an ‘ego boosting thing.’
“In addition, Moussaoui was extremely interested in the operation of the plane’s doors and control panel, which Pan Am found suspicious. Further, Moussaoui reportedly said that he would ‘love’ to fly a simulated flight from Heathrow Airport in England to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York.”
The report said his interest in simulating a flight from Heathrow, the main London airport, to New York was of particular concern to the F.B.I. office in Minneapolis.
But if Thompson was right about one canard, he was eager to peddle another. Moments after correcting Matthews, the commish uncorked a real gem:
THOMPSON: I got to tell you something. Yes. Well, I got to tell you something. And I may get in trouble for saying this, but I’m going to say it anyway because I’ve had it. That August 6 PDB that they want to hang around the president’s neck—it’s a bunch of junk. Look at it. Ninety percent of it dealt with things that were three years old and none of the predictions in there were proved out by September 11. And if you knew—if you knew the circumstances on how it was prepared, you’d be scared.“None of the predictions were proved out by September 11!” Let’s remember one of the things that 8/6 PDB said:
PRESIDENTIAL BRIEF, 8/6/01 (pgh 10): FBI information since [1998] indicates patterns of suspicious activity in this country consistent with preparations for hijackings or other types of attacks…Consistent with preparations for hijackings! Commissioner Thompson may not recall, but four hijackings did occur on the morning on September 11.
But so what? Thompson’s bizarre remark about the PDB only extended the Bush-Rice pattern (see THE DAILY HOWLER, 4/13/04). And why not make such oddball claims? Matthews, impressed with his silly old tales, didn’t manage to say Word The First when Thompson uncorked his new howler.
TEN MINUTES FROM DULL-NORMAL: What can we say about last night’s press conference, in which Bush offered rambling, disjointed, irrelevant “answers” to questions that a high school kid could have composed in her sleep?
How jumbled were the president’s “answers?” Time after time, snatches of irrelevant spin were pasted together in crazy-quilt fashion. Late in the session, for example, ABC’s Ann Compton asked this:
COMPTON: Looking forward about keeping the United States safe, a group representing about several thousand FBI agents today wrote to your administration begging you not to split up the law enforcement and the counterterrorism because they say it ties their hands. Yet you mentioned yesterday that you think, perhaps, the time has come for some real intelligence reforms. That can’t happen without real leadership from the White House. Will you and how will you?According to Compton, FBI agents were urging the White House “not to split up the law enforcement and the counterterrorism.” No, that wasn’t exactly coherent, but it was fairly clear that Compton was asking about possible intelligence reform. But by the time Bush concluded his stream-of-consciousness reply, he was praising the American people for feeding the hungry in Asia:
BUSH: And as the greatest power on the face of the earth, we have an obligation to help the spread of freedom. We have an obligation to help feed the hungry. I think the American people find it interesting that we’re providing food for the North Korea people who starve. We have an obligation to lead the fight on AIDS, on Africa. And we have an obligation to work toward a more free world. That’s our obligation. That is what we have been called to do, as far as I’m concerned.“I think the American people find it interesting that we’re providing food for the North Korea people who starve.” There’s a phrase for that: Deeply embarrassing. Let’s just say it: That’s what happens when a president who is wholly out of his depth runs out of scripted points which are even vaguely relevant.
But it’s also the kind of answer you get when you ask such a man hapless questions. Readers, when you question a public official in a forum like this—a forum which allows no follow-up—you can’t ask questions which are vague and imprecise, and you can’t ask questions with several parts. But the lack of specificity in last night’s questions was truly a sight to behold. Beyond that, five different people asked some variant of the “have you made any mistakes/should you apologize” question. Again: A high school student roused from her sleep could scribble a question like that.
Last night’s session showcased the troubling dull-normal style which increasingly defines American public culture. (Further example: Go see Jersey Girl, praised to the skies by Roger Ebert.) A hapless president met a “press” which is every bit as vacant as he. Tomorrow, we’ll look at individual questions from the conference, and we’ll suggest how those questions should have been phrased. In the meantime, we have a question for the press: Do you think you owe an apology to the American people?
HOW TO TAKE TIME OFF THE CLOCK: Here’s that horrible Compton/Bush Q-and-A. Rambling “answers” of this type were prevalent at last night’s session:
COMPTON: Looking forward about keeping the United States safe, a group representing about several thousand FBI agents today wrote to your administration begging you not to split up the law enforcement and the counterterrorism because they say it ties their hands. Yet you mentioned yesterday that you think, perhaps, the time has come for some real intelligence reforms. That can’t happen without real leadership from the White House. Will you and how will you?Note: Bush’s response to Compton’s actual question ended after two paragraphs. All the rest was a filibuster, designed to take time off the clock. For the record, that one “last question” to Bush was priceless. “I guess I’d like to know if you feel in any way that you’ve failed as a communicator,” a puckish scribe said.BUSH: Well, you’re talking about one aspect of possible. I think you're referring to what they call the MI-5. And I heard a summary of that from Director Mueller, who feels strongly that we — and he’ll testify to that effect, I guess, tomorrow. I shouldn't be prejudging his testimony. But my point was that I'm open for suggestions. I look forward to seeing what the 9/11 commission comes up with. I look forward to seeing what the Silverman-Robb commission comes up with. I'm confident Congress will have some suggestions.
What I'm saying is let the discussions begin. And I won't prejudge the conclusion. As the president, I will encourage and foster these kinds of discussions, because one of the jobs of the president is to leave behind a legacy that will enable other presidents to better deal with the threat that we face. We are in a long war. The war on terror is not going to end immediately.
This is a war against people who have no guilt in killing innocent people. That’s what they’re willing to do. They kill on a moment’s notice because they're trying to shake our will. They're trying to create fear. They're trying to affect people’s behaviors. And we're simply not going to let them do that.
And my fear of course is that this will go on for a while. And therefore, it's incumbent upon us to learn from lessons or mistakes and leave behind a better foundation for presidents to deal with the threats we face. This is the war that other presidents will be facing as we head into the 21st Century.
One of the interesting things people ask me, now that we're asking questions, is can you ever win the war on terror? Of course, you can. That's why it's important for us to spread freedom throughout the Middle East. Free societies are hopeful societies. A hopeful society is one more likely to be able to deal with the frustrations of those who are willing to commit suicide in order to represent a false ideology. A free society is a society in which somebody is more likely to be able to make a living. A free society is a society in which someone is more likely to be able to raise their child in a comfortable environment and see to it that that child gets an education.
That's why I'm pressing the Greater Middle East reform initiative, to work to spread freedom. And we will continue on that. So long as I'm the president, I will press for freedom. I believe so strongly in the power of freedom. You know why I do? Because I've seen freedom work right here in our own country. I also have this belief, strong belief that freedom is not this country's gift to the world. Freedom is the Almighty's gift to every man and woman in this world.
And as the greatest power on the face of the earth, we have an obligation to help the spread of freedom. We have an obligation to help feed the hungry. I think the American people find it interesting that we're providing food for the North Korea people who starve. We have an obligation to lead the fight on AIDS, on Africa. And we have an obligation to work toward a more free world. That's our obligation. That is what we have been called to do, as far as I'm concerned.
And my job as the president is to lead this nation into making the world a better place. And that's exactly what we're doing. Weeks such as we've had in Iraq make some doubt whether or not we're making progress. I understand that. It was a tough, tough period. But we are making progress. And my message today to those in Iraq is we'll stay the course. We'll complete the job. My message to our troops is we'll stay the course and complete the job, and you'll have what you need. And my message to the loved ones who are worried about their, their sons, daughters, husbands, wives is your loved one is performing a noble service for the cause of freedom and peace.
Let’s see, last question. Hold on for a second. Those who yell will not be asked.