Bush Ignored Terrorism

This article is being written on 28 March 2004. The 2004 presidential campaign is underway. The Republicans have made it clear that they are going to publicly examine John Kerry's record in detail. Fair enough -- when examining a politician, we must look at three factors:

In March 2004, Richard Clarke, who had been a senior adviser on counter-terrorism in Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, and Bush II administrations, went public with charges that the Bush administration paid little or no attention to the growing threat of terrorism, in spite of warnings from Clarke and others. Immediately, the Bush attack dogs started to savage Clarke.

I decided to take a simple step. Speeches made by government officials are published publicly. One needs only to go to the websites for the White House, the Department of Defense, and the Department of State -- and for any other government agency. There, you will find copies of speeches made by senior officials of the respective departments.

I went to the websites for the Department of Defense, State Department, and White House. I then went to the part of the website where speeches are posted and searched for speeches made prior to September 11, 2001.

Here are the speeches made by Department of Defense officials between the inauguration of the Bush administration and 9/11/2001. Read the speeches -- you will find little, very little, almost no mention of terrorism. Note that between 12 and 19 July 2001, there were FIVE speeches about the need for missile defense. Two months before 9/112001 and the Department of Defense was focused on "star wars."

09/10/2001: DOD Acquisition and Logistics Excellence Week Kickoff—Bureaucracy to Battlefield
Remarks as Delivered by Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, The Pentagon , Monday, September 10, 2001.

09/06/2001: Farewell Ceremony for Air Force Chief of Staff General Mike Ryan: Remarks as Delivered by Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld , Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, Thursday, September 6, 2001.

09/05/2001: Testimony Prepared for Delivery Before the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee: By Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, September 5, 2001.

07/19/2001: Testimony Before the House Armed Services Committee on Ballistic Missile Defense: As Given by Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz and Lieutenant General Ronald Kadish, Director, Ballistic Missile Defense Organization , Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C., Thursday, July 19, 2001.

07/19/2001: Prepared Statement for the House Armed Services Committee Hearing on Ballistic Missile Defense: by Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, Thursday, July 18, 2001

07/18/2001: Testimony Prepared for Delivery to the Senate Budget Committee on the 2002 Defense Budget: Budget by Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, Wednesday, July 18, 2001.

07/17/2001: Testimony Before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Ballistic Missile Defense: As Given by Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz and Lieutenant General Ronald Kadish, Director, Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., Tuesday, July 17, 2001.

07/17/2001: Prepared Testimony on Ballistic Missile Defense to the Senate Armed Services Committee: By Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, Hart Senate Office Building , Tuesday, July 17, 2001 .

07/16/2001: Testimony before the House Appropriations Committee: Fiscal Year 2002 Defense Budget Request: As Given by Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Hugh Shelton, and Comptroller Dov Zakheim, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC, Monday, July 16, 2001.

07/16/2001: Testimony Prepared for Delivery on the 2002 Defense Department Amended Budget to the House Appropriations Committee: By Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld , , Monday, July 16, 2001.

07/12/2001: Testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Missile Defense: As Given by Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz and Lieutenant General Ron Kadish, Director, Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, Hart Senate Office Building, Thursday, July 12, 2001.

07/12/2001: Prepared Testimony on Ballistic Missile Defense to the Senate Armed Services Committee: By Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, Hart Senate Office Building, Thursday, July 12, 2001 .

07/11/2001: Testimony before the House Budget Committee on the FY 2002 Defense Budget: As Given by Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz and Comptroller Dov Zakheim , Cannon House Office Building, Wednesday, July 11, 2001.

07/11/2001: Prepared Testimony on the FY 2002 Defense Budget to the House Budget Committee: By Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, Cannon House Office Building, Wednesday, July 11, 2001 .

06/28/2001: Testimony Before the Senate Armed Services Committee: Fiscal Year 2002 National Defense Authorization Budget Request: As Given by Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Hugh Shelton, and Comptroller Dov Zakheim, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC, Thursday, June 28, 2001.

06/28/2001: Testimony Before the House Armed Services Committee: Fiscal Year 2002 National Defense Authorization Budget Request: As Given by Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Hugh Shelton, and Comptroller Dov Zakheim, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC , Thursday, June 28, 2001.

06/28/2001: Prepared Testimony on the 2002 Defense Department Amended Budget To the House and Senate: By Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, Thursday, June 28, 2001.

06/27/2001:

06/27/2001: Testimony before the House Armed Services Committee On Military Training on the Island of Vieques: By Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, Rayburn House Office Building , Wednesday, June 27, 2001.

06/21/2001: Testimony Before the Senate Armed Services Committee: Defense Strategy Review: As Given by Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Hugh Shelton , Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC, Thursday, June 21, 2001.

06/21/2001: Prepared Testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee: By Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, Thursday, June 21, 2001.

06/21/2001: The National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia: Remarks as Delivered by Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, Double Tree Hotel, Crystal City, VA, Thursday, June 21, 2001.

06/07/2001: NATO North Atlantic Council (NAC-D): Prepared Remarks by Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, Brussels, Belgium, June 7, 2001 .

06/05/2001: Remarks to the Men and Women of Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo: As Delivered by Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, Tuesday, June 5, 2001.

06/04/2001: Remarks to the Men and Women of Operation Northern Watch and Incirlik Air Base: As Delivered by Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, Incirlik Air Base, Turkey , Monday, June 4, 2001 .

06/02/2001: Commencement Address at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point: Remarks by Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, Michie Stadium, West Point, NY, Saturday, June 2, 2001.

05/28/2001: Memorial Day/Introduction of the President: Remarks by Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, Arlington National Cemetery, Monday, May 28, 2001 (Check Against Delivery).

05/28/2001: Memorial Day Observance at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum: Remarks as Delivered by Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, New York, NY , Monday, May 28, 2001.

05/18/2001: Armed Forces Day, Joint Services Open House: Remarks as Delivered By Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, May 18, 2001.

05/04/2001: American Jewish Committee: Remarks by Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, Capitol Hilton, Washington, DC, Friday, May 4, 2001.

05/03/2001: Business Executives for National Security: Remarks by Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, Four Seasons Hotel, Washington, DC, Thursday, May 3, 2001.

05/01/2001: Introduction of President George W. Bush at the National Defense University: Remarks by Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., Tuesday, May 1, 2001.

04/25/2001: Memorial Service for American and Vietnamese Servicemen: Remarks by Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, Fort Myer Memorial Chapel, Fort Myer, VA, Wednesday, April 25, 2001.

04/20/2001: Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services: Remarks by Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, Sheraton Premiere Hotel, Tysons Corner, VA, Friday, April 20, 2001 .

03/27/2001: Combined Federal Campaign Awards: Remarks by Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, The Pentagon, Washington, DC, Tuesday, March 27, 2001.

03/26/2001: American-Turkish Council: Remarks by Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Washington, DC, Monday, March 26, 2001.

03/16/2001: Welcoming Ceremony for Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz: Remarks by Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, Pentagon Parade Ground , Friday, March 16, 2001 .

03/16/2001: Welcoming Ceremony: Remarks by Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, Pentagon Parade Ground, Friday, March 16, 2001.

03/10/2001: Memorial Service for Members of the Virginia Air National Guard: Remarks by Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, Rock Church, Virginia Beach, Virginia, Saturday, March 10, 2001.

03/04/2001: Christening of the Ronald Reagan: Remarks as Delivered By Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, Newport News, Virginia, Sunday, March 4, 2001

02/03/2001: Munich Conference on European Security Policy: Remarks as Delivered By Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, Munich, Germany, Saturday, February 3, 2001

01/26/2001: Official Welcoming Ceremony to Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld: Remarks as Delivered By Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Hugh Shelton & Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld , The Pentagon Washington, DC , Friday, January 26, 2001.

01/26/2001: White House Swearing-In of the Secretary of Defense: Remarks as Delivered By Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld , The Oval Office, The White House Washington, DC , Friday, January 26, 2001 .

As of 28 March 2004, this portion of the site is still under construction. I will feature White House and State Department speeches in future articles.

The Bush Defense Department before September 11, 2001: Not A Word About Terrorism

The Bush
Defense Department
before
September 11, 2001:
Not A Word About Terrorism