Sure he should have some blame, but all of it, no. Had our intelligence community worked together it could have been prevented. None of us really know who knew what and when. Bush was not in a winning position because no matter what he did or didnt do, he was criticized. If he had ordered extra security checks for Arab or Muslim looking people at the airport, he could have prevented it but.....he would labeled a racist. And people would be calling it a conspiracy against Islam instead of a conspiracy against the real enemy....Islamofacists! It doesnt matter what he does, Bush will always be labeled something bad in the eyes of liberal thinking people.
1979 Nov. 4, Tehran, Iran: Iranian radical students seized the U.S. embassy, taking 66 hostages. 14 were later released. The remaining 52 were freed after 444 days on the day of President Reagan's inauguration. 1982–1991 Lebanon: Thirty US and other Western hostages kidnapped in Lebanon by Hezbollah. Some were killed, some died in captivity, and some were eventually released. Terry Anderson was held for 2,454 days. 1983 April 18, Beirut, Lebanon: U.S. embassy destroyed in suicide car-bomb attack; 63 dead, including 17 Americans. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility. Oct. 23, Beirut, Lebanon: Shiite suicide bombers exploded truck near U.S. military barracks at Beirut airport, killing 241 Marines. Minutes later a second bomb killed 58 French paratroopers in their barracks in West Beirut. Dec. 12, Kuwait City, Kuwait Shiite truck bombers attacked the U.S. embassy and other targets, killing 5 and injuring 80. 1984 Sept. 20, east Beirut, Lebanon: truck bomb exploded outside the U.S. embassy annex, killing 24, including 2 U.S. military. Dec. 3, Beirut, Lebanon: Kuwait Airways Flight 221, from Kuwait to Pakistan, hijacked and diverted to Tehran. 2 Americans killed. 1985 April 12, Madrid, Spain: Bombing at restaurant frequented by U.S. soldiers, killed 18 Spaniards and injured 82. June 14, Beirut, Lebanon: TWA Flight 847 en route from Athens to Rome hijacked to Beirut by Hezbollah terrorists and held for 17 days. A U.S. Navy diver executed. Oct. 7, Mediterranean Sea: gunmen attack Italian cruise ship, Achille Lauro. One U.S. tourist killed. Hijacking linked to Libya. Dec. 18, Rome, Italy, and Vienna, Austria: airports in Rome and Vienna were bombed, killing 20 people, 5 of whom were Americans. Bombing linked to Libya. 1986 April 2, Athens, Greece:A bomb exploded aboard TWA flight 840 en route from Rome to Athens, killing 4 Americans and injuring 9. April 5, West Berlin, Germany: Libyans bombed a disco frequented by U.S. servicemen, killing 2 and injuring hundreds. 1988 Dec. 21, Lockerbie, Scotland: N.Y.-bound Pan-Am Boeing 747 exploded in flight from a terrorist bomb and crashed into Scottish village, killing all 259 aboard and 11 on the ground. Passengers included 35 Syracuse University students and many U.S. military personnel. Libya formally admitted responsibility 15 years later (Aug. 2003) and offered $2.7 billion compensation to victims' families. 1993 Feb. 26, New York City: bomb exploded in basement garage of World Trade Center, killing 6 and injuring at least 1,040 others. In 1995, militant Islamist Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and 9 others were convicted of conspiracy charges, and in 1998, Ramzi Yousef, believed to have been the mastermind, was convicted of the bombing. Al-Qaeda involvement is suspected. 1995 Nov. 13, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: car bomb exploded at U.S. military headquarters, killing 5 U.S. military servicemen. 1996 June 25, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia: truck bomb exploded outside Khobar Towers military complex, killing 19 American servicemen and injuring hundreds of others. 13 Saudis and a Lebanese, all alleged members of Islamic militant group Hezbollah, were indicted on charges relating to the attack in June 2001. 1998 Aug. 7, Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: truck bombs exploded almost simultaneously near 2 U.S. embassies, killing 224 (213 in Kenya and 11 in Tanzania) and injuring about 4,500. 4 men connected with al-Qaeda 2 of whom had received training at al-Qaeda camps inside Afghanistan, were convicted of the killings in May 2001 and later sentenced to life in prison. A federal grand jury had indicted 22 men in connection with the attacks, including Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, who remained at large. 2000 Oct. 12, Aden, Yemen: U.S. Navy destroyer USS Cole heavily damaged when a small boat loaded with explosives blew up alongside it. 17 sailors killed. Linked to Osama bin Laden, or members of al-Qaeda terrorist network. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001454.html These are facts, no? Undisputed evidence of terrorist aggression towards the US. The only connection between these facts and others' "theories" is that they are both on the Internet. And that is where it stops. If the 9/11 disaster should be blamed on anyone, it should be blamed on Clinton's administration. What did he do after the first WTC bombing? Nothing. Did he really think OBL would just give up and not try again? After the USS Cole bombing? Nothing (he was leaving office, why bother at that point). Oh yes, after the twin bombings of the African embassies he did tomahawk an aspirin factory in Sudan and a few tents in Afghanistan (during his impeachment no less). That showed them not to mess with us! These are facts but because it was before Bush.....some people seem to forget, I did not. Okay, now that I have cured everyone's pre-9/11 amnesia, educate me how Bush is soley responsible for 9/11.
Bush is responsible because he had warnings and as you showed us yourself that even a US destroyer got hit! but what does Bush do to try and protect the States? Nothing! Thats why he is responsible...
Yeah, ofcourse he's responsible. He's a president ... he'll always be to blame even if he has nothing to do with it. It's his country he should do everything he can to protect it, which he didn't at all.
That particular incident (USS Cole bombing) was a direct a result of our own trusting of locals during port visits or refuel stops. I know this because I am ex-Navy and now there are steps taken so boats cannot approach US warships unmolested. Sad but true. Let me do some quick math for you though....Clinton had how many bombings versus US targets during his Presidency? 5 is the number you are looking for....including one on US soil! As I stated before you cannot blame it soley on Bush, your favorite draft dodging, pot smoking, hillbilly of a Prez is just as responsible. If you cannot admit that much then you have no leg to stand on for this subject.
The French government? It sounds to me like you think that most arabs are dangerous. You know, I am muslim and I would be extremely offended if I were pulled aside by airport security because I looked muslim. Yeah, so what if someone wears an abaya or dishdasha?
I dont think most Arabs are dangerous but I do know it was a group of Muslim extremists who hijacked and crashed 4 planes on 9/11. This country is too PC and instead of looking at the obvious we decide to check everyone, including children and grandmas in wheelchairs. I feel so much safer that old ladies are searched, dont you? You feel offended, how about everyone non-Muslim or non-Arab? What group of people have been bombing US targets for 3 decades now? Maybe it is too simple, but screening everyone only delays the inevitable of a bigger act being carried out. The problem with this procedure is it only prevents people from feeling profiled instead of focusing on the bigger picture, something worse than 9/11.
I am not offended right now. I would feel offended if I were pulled aside on the basis of my looks. Would you mind explaining what you meant by the french government or were you just giving examples?
i agree with mali, i would be bloody pissed if someone pulled me aside just becasue i look asian, and just because it happens to be middle-eastern peopl who have been bombing the US, it is still unfair that they are the only ones pulled aside
It was an example but I have a reason or two for it. One, they sell most, if not all, of their missile, radar and jet technology to the Middle East (Same could be said of China too, i.e. silkworm missiles). And second, they just seem to oppose us at every turn when it comes to foreign policy in the Middle East. But as we have seen during the last year, the policy of appeasing the Arab immigrants in their own country has backfired on the French. This should be a warning flag about the immigration problem in this country but that is a subject for a different thread. In addition, I believe they opposed the sanctions against Iraq following the first Gulf War and were caught up in the "Oil-for-food" scandal during said sanctions. Personally, they dont even deserve to be on the UN Security Council as a permanent member. And lest I forget, they wouldnt allow our jets to fly over France during the bombing of Libya back in 1986.