This all started on the streets of Manhattan, and it has so much to do with this city, which sends so many out of the poor neighborhoods to Iraq.It began with a sheet of paper passed around the Manhattan publishing world in June of 2003. It was an outline of a book proposal by Richard Clarke, who had been a national security adviser for presidents Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Bush. The outline said that in the months before the World Trade Center attack this Bush had ignored the idea of any immediate threat from the al-Qaida leader, Osama bin Laden.
Free Press, a division of Simon and Schuster, bought the rights for $600,000. Clarke then started to write. He knew exactly what he wanted to say but he had trouble saying it. He had to write three drafts over the summer and into the fall. Then a fourth draft, finished in November, was readable.
Under his contract with his government, it was sent to the White House for a security clearance. The administration people read with sixth-grade speed. In January of 2004, they asked for some changes and Clarke made them. Then on Feb. 4, 2004, the book was given clearance.
The publisher worked as fast as possible to get the first printing of 300,000 out.
The book is out a day and there are furious attacks from the White House. They said the book was timed for the election. If they had read it faster it would be gone by now. Clarke had the whole place shrieking. How could they be so upset? All Clarke said was that Bush and his administration missed the World Trade Center attack. Clarke then said that Bush went into Iraq instead of Afghanistan, where bin Laden was, giving bin Laden the chance to settle into some rock garden and do his voice-overs. And our 20-year-olds get killed in Iraq, where they have no reason to be.
The White House attacks caused the book sales to go to 500,000 in a matter of days. More is coming: on Friday, Frist, of Tennessee, the Senate majority leader, got up and said he wanted to investigate Clarke for perjury at a congressional committee hearing.
He described Clarke as a "former State Department civil servant." He used the word lie at least six times. Like Clarke or not, he has a record of serving his government at its highest levels and most dangerous moments. Frist has turned his medical profession into that of a cheap shill.
And as a transcript reader said Friday, "Everything Clarke said is in the transcripts and the book and the testimony he gave at the 9/11 hearing on Wednesday. It looks like the guy is right. That's why they're screaming."
Imagine if Condis slurs on the talking-head circuit were actually subject to the law of the land: She wouldn't last a week in court. But she'll keep on lying, cause the Bush-team will hold on to this plump little prada-bag of squirming totalitarian appetites until she dumps a final load on this crooked administration. She's got one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel and there is nothing she can do about it - not even a whole day on 60 minutes!
Posted by T.H. of Suburbia @ 03/29/2004 07:15 AM NY
