"Out, out damn spot!"
www.911citizenswatch.org: "There was an across-the-board failure of every possible warning, prevention, interception and defense system simultaneously that made 9/11 possible. This goes beyond simple incompetence or failure of agencies to cooperate. Routine procedures were breached that had
the potential to save thousands of lives, and systems
were inexplicably blind to known threats. Standard
defenses were never mobilized on 9/11," said Kyle
Hence, the group's co-founder.
Repudiate the 9/11 Cover-Up and the Iraq War Lies,
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Press Releases: 9/11: Foreign Policy, Advance Response
and Emergency Preparedness
Tuesday, May 18, 2004 - 12:34 AM
Posted by: khence For immediate release:
Contacts:
Kyle Hence
401-935-7715
John Judge
202-277-1992
9/11 Disaster Could Have Been Prevented by Advance
Responses
Emergency Preparedness and Massive Security Are Much
More Costly
(Washington, DC) 9/11 CitizensWatch, a public group
working to monitor the national 9/11 Commission and
demand transparency, accountability and a thorough
investigation agrees with Commission Chair Gov. Thomas
Kean that 9/11 "was not something that had to happen".
"If normal procedures had been followed by FAA and
NORAD, numerous and specific warnings and forewarnings
had been acted on, and investigative leads had been
allowed to be properly followed, it is certainly
possible that the plot could have been foiled," notes
John Judge, a co-founder of CitizensWatch.
"There was an across-the-board failure of every
possible warning, prevention, interception and defense
system simultaneously that made 9/11 possible. This
goes beyond simple incompetence or failure of agencies
to cooperate. Routine procedures were breached that
had the potential to save thousands of lives, and
systems were inexplicably blind to known threats.
Standard defenses were never mobilized on 9/11," said
Kyle Hence, the group's co-founder.
* FBI, CIA and US Military Intelligence agencies were
alerted by over a dozen foreign intelligence agencies
as well as their own assets and agents about the
possibility of such an attack. These agencies were on
a state of high alert in the months preceding the
event. FBI field agents suggested or began
investigations that could easily have led to the
plotters or those backing them. Several FBI
investigations were called off. Reporting procedures
were violated across agency lines. Leads and warnings
that should have led to full investigations were never
followed up.
* FAA and NORAD regulations and procedures for simple
air emergencies were never implemented. NORAD was on
full alert at the time due to an exercise, yet no
planes were scrambled in timely fashion to intercept
multiple commercial airliners that had violated
communication and command procedures. These
interceptions do not require hijackings or shootdown
orders, and they routinely occur within minutes of the
first sign of trouble. Both NORAD and the Pentagon had
planned exercises and simulations regarding the use of
planes as weapons against the actual targets of 9/11,
well in advance of the event. The Pentagon and the
Secret Service had taken special precautions against
such an attack as early as 1998 and as recently as the
Genoa summit meeting in the summer of 2001.
* Airline security procedures were apparently lax, but
had they been followed that day there were
opportunities to foil the plotters. Warning lists and
profiling could have identified several of the
plotters in advance of boarding, and regular
procedures caused a few of them some delay.
US foreign policy in the past decades, as well as US
funding of covert operations abroad led to the arming
and training of many of the terrorist groups that are
attacking the US today. Ongoing military and covert
interventions and operations continue to create new
enemies abroad. Nothing condones the acts of
terrorists against innocent civilians, but these
actions have not prevented ongoing covert funding and
arming of these groups by US intelligence agencies
over the years.
"A full investigation of the history of Osama bin
Laden, the Al Qaeda, the Taliban and the mujehaddin
resistance inside Afghanistan to the Soviet Union will
reveal ties to Pakistani intelligence (ISI), the Bank
of Credit and Commerce International (now defunct),
certain Saudi royal families and intelligence links,
the bin Laden family, and illegal drug profits and
operations in the region. These connections continue
up to the attacks of 9/11 and beyond. We hope the
Commission will pick up where the Congressional Joint
Inquiry left off on these matters. Our current foreign
policy has as much to do with the prevention of future
attacks and the growth of terrorism as does any
security precautions taken now," Judge noted.
The families of victims of 9/11 have raised legitimate
questions about the emergency response of 9/11, The
courageous rescue workers, and police and fire
prevention teams that risked and lost their lives to
save others that day deserve our praise. Improper
building structure and fire systems, poor
communication equipment, and inadequate protection
from toxic chemical waste created by the fire and the
collapse hampered their efforts. "A complete forensic
investigation into the collapse of the Trade Center
towers, including Building 7, should be required by
the Commission in order to understand and prevent
future disasters," Hence said.
CitizensWatch supports adequate funding and equipment
for building safety and local emergency response to
disasters, as well as legal liability for failures.
"However," Hence said, "massive and costly security
procedures that invade privacy and incur on basic
civil liberties and a foreign policy that does not
gain international support and cooperation, and
increases hostility will not prevent future attacks.
Common sense precautions, unhampered investigations,
and sharing of intelligence information can uncover
criminal plots, create reasonable precautions, and
alert adequate defenses. The breakdown of these
standard procedures is what allowed 9/11 to happen.
Holding those accountable responsible and restoring a
healthy ability to respond in advance will do more to
protect us than excessive security measures, and it
will obviate the need for an emergency response."
9/11 CitizensWatch will continue to pursue a thorough
and transparent investigation. We have called many
times for the public testimony under oath of key
officials in the last several administrations. We have
called for full release of all forensic evidence
collected to the public, since films, photos and
evidence reports should not be classified data. "We
were disappointed by the limitations placed on the
Commission regarding access to documents as well as
witnesses, and surprised to learn that two of the
Commissioners left the closed testimony of presidents
Bush and Cheney before they concluded. We are also
aware that the Commissioners had to agree to allow
only one person to take notes, Director Philip
Zelikow, and that these notes were confiscated by
White House counsel for editing before release to the
Commission," Judge noted.
9/11 CitizensWatch, PO Box 772, Washington, DC 20004 -
www.911citizenswatch.org
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