Ellen Mariani On Scarborough Country - Transcript Inside
Ellen Mariani On Scarborough Country
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10348461/
12/5/2005
SCARBOROUGH: Ellen, let me bring you in here.
Obviously, September 11 struck very closely to you, your husband killed on that tragic day. Four years later, you have obviously been following this very closely. What are your thoughts as you hear the 9/11 Commission saying that our government really hasn‘t learned any lessons from that tragic day?
ELLEN MARIANI, HUSBAND KILLED IN SEPTEMBER 11 ATTACKS: Well, first of all, Joe, I‘m pulling a few things out of my Pandora box.
And my feeling, my heart feels that 9/11 is nothing more than obstruction of justice and a continuing—a covering up by Bush. And, furthermore, the 9/11 commissioners were all handpicked, as you all know. I‘m reading this, because I was told just a few hours ago. They were all picked by Mr. Bush to obstruct justice and maintain a cover-up of the facts.
(CROSSTALK)
SCARBOROUGH: But, Ellen, they‘re actually attacking—they‘re attacking the president, though, tonight, aren‘t they? They‘re saying that this president and Congress and Washington, D.C., haven‘t done enough to protect our country from the type of tragedy that was visited on your family. You certainly would agree with that, right?
MARIANI: To a certain point.
But let‘s talk about the Able Danger, the scripted 9/11 attack on America, the Oklahoma bombing with direct ties to the Philippines, and Watuba Bank (ph), also known as Project Bojinka. There‘s a lot of things here. Let‘s connect the dots of Oklahoma City, 9/11, and the Able Danger.
Project Bojinka, Oklahoma City—in New York, Oklahoma was rehabilitated—it helped Clinton.
(CROSSTALK)
SCARBOROUGH: Greg, yes, go ahead.
MARIANI: No.
MINITER: Well, look, Project Bojinka. I have been to the Philippines. I‘m aware of the Philippine investigation. That was a 1994 plot by al Qaeda to blow up 11 airlines simultaneously over the Philippines. That was defeated, and through excellent police work by the Philippines, nothing—very little help by the U.S.
But the fact is, we have learned a lot since 1994. We have learned how they take over planes; we have learned a lot about how they assemble cells, and we have been able to defeat plots. We defeated a plot to blow up U.S. warships off the coasts of Africa, near the Straits of Gibraltar in Spain. We defeated a plot to blow up the U.S. Embassy in Paris. We defeated a plot to blow up the U.S. Embassy in Singapore.
So, we are learning and a lot. A lot has happened since Project Bojinka.
(CROSSTALK)
SCARBOROUGH: And let me ask you, Greg, despite the fact that we‘re doing—Greg, we are doing a lot of things right, if you listen to Richard, but, at the same time, you‘re also saying, though, that all of this money that‘s being spent on the Department of Homeland Security, most of it at least being wasted, right?
VEIS: I mean, we are doing a lot of things right. And that is important. It‘s important to know. And it‘s important to know that DHS is a very young organization, so there is some leeway that we should be giving it.
But the question is, are we safer than we were on 9/11? The question is, are we safe enough? And largely because of this federal—financial mismanagement, I would have to say the answer is no.
SCARBOROUGH: All right. Thank you so much.
Ellen, thank you.
