So then, it would be more accurate to say that Bush and Cheney hampered all investigations (in one way or another) than to say that "they did not want 9/11 investigated" (which wording would likely be interpreted by "debunkers" as a claim that Bush and Cheney did not want 9/11 investigation at all, even a limited investigation of the alleged hijackers by the FBI). It is also accurate to say that they did not want an investigation into what went wrong on the U.S. government's end.
This is somewhat tangential but worth noting: Philip Zelikow said the primary reason for invading Iraq was Israel.Quote:
Originally Posted by Diane
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0329-11.htm
”Why would Iraq attack America or use nuclear weapons against us? I'll tell you what I think the real threat (is) and actually has been since 1990 -- it's the threat against Israel,” Zelikow told a crowd at the University of Virginia on Sep. 10, 2002, speaking on a panel of foreign policy experts assessing the impact of 9/11 and the future of the war on the al-Qaeda terrorist organization.
”And this is the threat that dare not speak its name, because the Europeans don't care deeply about that threat, I will tell you frankly. And the American government doesn't want to lean too hard on it rhetorically, because it is not a popular sell,” said Zelikow.
So, "protection of Israel" has been an overriding theme of the Bush neocons, many of whom belonged to the Project for the New American Century, and some of whom drafted the Clean Break doctrine.
9/11 generated significant anti-Muslim sentiment worldwide, which continues to be mined for the purpose of militarization. Any anti-Muslim sentiment is a good thing for Israel, because it gives pro-Israel hawks the sheen of legitimacy in the face of "Muslim terrorism".
It doesn't prove anything specific about Israel and 9/11, of course, but it adds to the context.
Fact #15
The Bush Administration was the families’ “biggest adversary” when it came to the creation of a so-called Independent 9/11 Commission. The families had to fight “tooth and nail,” and lobby to get an investigation because the Bush Administration clearly did not want one. Dick Cheney and George Bush refused to testify under oath before select individuals of the 9/11 Commission even though the families wanted them to. They testified together, not in public, and no recordings were allowed. The families requested the transcripts of their meeting, but were denied. They made it difficult for the commission to get funding. They tried to make Henry Kissinger the Chairman of the commission, but he resigned after the families started asking too many questions. Alberto Gonzales “stonewalled” the 9/11 Commission’s access to the White House. They appointed Thomas Kean as Chairman, someone “who will be easily controlled by the administration,” and Lee Hamilton, a long time friend of Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld to be the co-chair. Hamilton participated in two inquiries that resulted in cover-ups. The Iran/Contra Affair inquiry, and the October Surprise inquiry.
The Clean Break doctrine article suggests that the point (in terms of defense of Israel) of encouraging the U.S. to invade Iraq was to strengthen Jordan at the expense of Syria. This article says:
Quote:
Were the Hashemites to control Iraq, they could use their influence over Najf to help Israel wean the south Lebanese Shia away from Hizballah, Iran, and Syria. Shia retain strong ties to the Hashemites: the Shia venerate foremost the Prophet’s family, the direct descendants of which — and in whose veins the blood of the Prophet flows — is King Hussein."
Have you ever read the piece from Harvard Diane?
"Unwillingness to investigate..." is what I said. Listen to Dick Cheney... Also, give this a read.
Jon wrote:
No, I hadn't. Thanks for calling my attention to it. I notice that it appears in a thread containing different points of view about the relationship between the U.S. and Israel. I'll have to look at all these articles in more detail later.Quote:
Diane... one thing you'll find about this site is that there is a RIDICULOUS amount of information. A RIDICULOUS amount of information.