CNN's Pilgrim uncritically repeated Rove's dubious claim that warrantless wiretapping "might have prevented September 11th"
SUMMARY: CNN's Kitty Pilgrim uncritically repeated White House senior adviser Karl Rove's dubious claim that the Bush administration's warrantless domestic wiretapping program "might have prevented" the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. In fact, the Bush administration had information on two of the 9-11 hijackers more than a year before the attacks occurred, and according to the 9-11 Commission and congressional investigators, it was primarily bureaucratic problems -- rather than a lack of information -- that resulted in their escaping detection.
On the August 24 edition of CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight, guest host Kitty Pilgrim uncritically repeated White House senior adviser Karl Rove's dubious claim, as documented by Media Matters for America, that the Bush administration's warrantless domestic wiretapping program "might have prevented" the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. In a segment devoted to current headlines, Pilgrim stated that while "criticizing a federal judge's decision to block the warrantless wiretapping program, Rove says a similar program might have prevented September 11." But as Media Matters documented when an August 24 Associated Press article also uncritically repeated Rove's assertion that there might have been a "different outcome" if the administration "could have done that [warrantless wiretapping] before 9/11," the Bush administration had information on two of the 9-11 hijackers more than a year before the attacks occurred, and according to the 9-11 Commission and congressional investigators, it was primarily bureaucratic problems -- rather than a lack of information -- that resulted in their escaping detection.
From the August 24 edition of CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight:
PILGRIM: But first these headlines.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved the so-called morning-after pill for sale without a prescription. Now, the Plan B emergency contraceptive will now be available over the counter to consumers 18 years of age and older.
Presidential adviser Karl Rove -- criticizing a federal judge's decision to block the warrantless wiretapping program -- Rove says a similar program might have prevented September 11th.
And the crew of the space shuttle Atlantis today arrived at the Kennedy Space Center to prepare for Sunday's launch. The six-person crew will build an addition onto the International Space Station.
If they just keep saying it enough somebody will believe it. Confusion is just as good refutation in getting votes
There is no way in hell a warrantless wiretap (or similar) program would have held up pre 9/11...they needed a 9/11 to make their case, which would have been rendered irrelevant has they gone through the FISA procedures to get a warrant to act on the information they had and maybe prevent 9/11 from occurring. For that to have happened though, they would've had to ACT ON THE INFORMATION TO BEGIN WITH, and not just dismiss it. Do I think that the Republicans were so soulless as to actually let 9/11 happen to use it as an excuse to grab as much power as they possibly could? No..that sounds like something out of a bad "Movie of the Week", but I do wonder sometimes...
You make an excellent point. Had these jokers been on top of their game at that time -- and let's be honest, all conspiracy theories aside... these guys just didn't pay attention to what was shaping up 'pre-9/11' ... which, in my book qualifies as benign (malignant?) neglect (at best!!)
So, to use this inane line of reasoning that says we could have prevented 9/11 by instituting an illegal program that was initiated (supposedly) because of 9/11... is absurd. More lame attempts to make excuses for these criminals who are in charge of our country at the time being.
The movie is bad...yes. But, somehow... every day... it just seems to get worse and more ridiculous. Even bad movie makers allow for an intermission once in a while.
i agree theres no way a wire tap or simular program would have prevented 9/11 thats just rove propaganda, but it could have been prevented with the information they already had. theres a lot of unanwered questions, and no one intends to answer them. i think they were soulless enough to let it happen. no inspections were allowed, not even the architechs or engineers that built it, no evidence was saved[ as normally is ] the steal salvaged was quickly shipped to india and china. it would have taken more than a wire tap. like mabe if certain people had been doing there jobs . sambo
or: The Rovean Stogie Of Malarkey; guaranteed to obfuscate any lingering truth by a soggy pile of crap, which burns well. Unfortunately, the damage to one’s vision is most acute. Tears streaming down one’s face is de rigueur as the appropriate facial jesture [sic]. And thus continues the raping of America’s essence & virtue for the slothful sake of the almighty dollar-profit by a chosen few…ain’t Hamerikah grand!!!
they needed to stop 9-11. Bush was just busy clearing brush the month of August in Crawford while his staff ignored sound advice from Clinton administration officials and professional staff.
I just love the "might have.." "could have.." "some say.." "some have argued...." they constantly set up assertions that have no basis and thus cannot be proven or disproven, and the public buys into it. And they do it all-the-time.
is falling from his lofty perch as head of the Dirty Tricks Department, Part II. He is no longer the man behind the scenes. Let him come out(no pun here) and talk and talk and talk. The more he spouts the wiser everyone gets. The days of "WHINE and ROVE's" are over.
The veil has been lifted and even some of my Repub friends are starting to realize what has happened to their party. More will follow the path back to the Republican Party, not a bunch of crooks running around the White House. And also, Mr. Cheney, why are you investing most of your 100 million dollars outside of America? Looks like outsider-trading to me. What do you know????
The Bush Administration could have EASILY gotten wiretap warrants to pursue anyone acting as the 9/11 conspirators were acting.
There was no need to throw out a wide net in the hope that someone dastardly would get caught up in that net.
Target the plotters, and wiretap them to your heart's content.
Leave the rest of us, for whom you do not have reasonable cause to suspect us, alone.
"Hey, let's use our collaborationist press to scare the American public into letting us spy on them in blatant violation of the Constitution!.....even when legal procedure to do so in case of necessity is in place."
Any American who advocates unwarranted surveillance of US citizens is a traitor, a domestic enemy of the Bill of Rights. They are monarchists who want an absolutist Presidency without any regulation or restriction. Yes, Americans, the King George III-loving Tories are back, even though we thought we had gotten rid of them in 1781.
George I Washington George II Bush George III Bush....and yes, he's as mad as a hatter, just like the original (though that madness was brought on late in life by porphyry, a disease, and was not a natural-born psychopath like our present George III.)
He's a thug and a criminal. Valerie Plame was working on WMD's in Iran, when she was outed. These clowns don't care about anything but enriching their already extremely rich friends. This NSA program has been in existence since what, 1978? King George just doesn't want any oversight. If he's not not interested in catching Osama("Ireally don't think about him.") , why does he want this program free of checks and balances?
My goodness, that's some serious intro music CNN uses. Perhpas instead of playing serious music, CNN should get some serious writers, producers, researchers, editors and newsreaders because this clip demonstrates just how much WH propaganda gets passed along as news. Is it so very hard to either (a) refute Rove's claims or (b) not even mention them, considering the nearly blasphemous nature of them?
And When Oh When will Coward's News Network start telling its viewers the truth about "9/11," the truth the Bush and his pansy-a$$ed regime were asleep or drunk during the run-up to the attacks? Oh! That's right! CNN specializes in Attractive (Or At Least Young) White Womeses in Distress...
Data mining is another term for RANDOM intelligence gathering. How would that have prevented 9/11 or ANY attack? Isn't it preferable for intelligence agencies to focus on TERRORISTS verses looking for some "subversive" content in any and every e-mail and phone call in the United States? I've read a couple of books on US intel gathering and the one thing both books agree on 100% is that we gather TOO MUCH intelligence for intel analysts to sift through. Increasing the "noise" factor by a 1000% and further bottlenecking the analysis does NOT equal a better chance to find terrorists. If anything, it HELPS THE TERRORISTS. Or is that what Rove wants? Another attack to help give his charge a "boost" in the polls so he can blame the Democrats for Republican ineptitude...AGAIN.