In the most recent release of 9/11 commission findings, further evidence is given of the Bush Administration's failure to take preventative steps toward a domestic terrorist attack in the run-up to 9/11. Worse, the administration has attempted to hide from the public any findings of that negligence -- purposefully delaying the information until after the 2004 election.

In the months before the Sept. 11 attacks, federal aviation officials reviewed dozens of intelligence reports that warned about Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda, some of which specifically discussed airline hijackings and suicide operations, according to a previously undisclosed report from the 9/11 commission.

But aviation officials were "lulled into a false sense of security," and "intelligence that indicated a real and growing threat leading up to 9/11 did not stimulate significant increases in security procedures," the commission report concluded.

[...]

The report takes the F.A.A. to task for failing to pursue domestic security measures that could conceivably have altered the events of Sept. 11, 2001, like toughening airport screening procedures for weapons or expanding the use of on-flight air marshals. The report, completed last August, said officials appeared more concerned with reducing airline congestion, lessening delays, and easing airlines' financial woes than deterring a terrorist attack.

The Bush administration has blocked the public release of the full, classified version of the report for more than five months, officials said, much to the frustration of former commission members who say it provides a critical understanding of the failures of the civil aviation system

Of course, we who have not been snookered by the administration tend to take a skeptical view of everything delivered by neoconservative minds. From that the burning question persists, did the administration know about 9/11 and allow it to happen? Dismissal as a conspiracy theory is irrelevant since a question is not a theory. it's just a question. But it's a controversial question that implies many horrible things about the administration, neoconservatives and their underlying agenda. Thus, the army of Bush/Neocon apologists are always set afire at the mention of such a query.

Too bad for them. This is an issue that requires scrutiny regardless of partisanship. It stands at the forefront of our nation's standing as free and the liberated.

And such questions are hardly uncalled for. In just the last month and a half the administration was found guilty by the Government Accountability Office of 'Covert Propaganda', three journalists have been outed as administration-paid propagandists, and a web writer with unprecedented access to the president was outed as a pseudonymous, talentless, non-credentialed, tawdry shill. There is no depth to which the administration will not sink...and therefore there is no depth to which our questions should not probe.

In line with that concept is an excellent piece by Carolyn Kay at Make Them Accountable. Resourcefully incorporating a lesson learned from a TV show, she addresses the 9/11 Commission's assertion that the civil aviation system seemed "to have been lulled into a false sense of security":

How were they "lulled into a false sense of security"? I'll bet my ranch that it was one or more officials way high in the Bush administration who did the lulling.

Why am I so certain that someone in the Bush administration played a part in lulling the civil aviation system into a false sense of security? Because I watch Law and Order. When the detectives start trying to figure out who committed the crime, one of the first things they consider is cui bono (note for the Latin impaired: who benefits). And who benefited by the 9/11 attacks, besides the perpetrators and their adherents? Why, the neoconservatives at the Project for the New American Century, that's who. They gained substantial power within the Bush administration. -- Caro

From here, I will take the baton and run with the question of 'who benefits?' The question has been posed, pondered and answered many times before, but never quite so completely as this. And I present this so that everyone can see just how many ways Bush and his cabal have benefited from the ultimate devastation in New York, Pennsylvania and DC...

To those not living under a rock, it is abundantly clear that Bush, his administration and the Republican Party have benefited greatly from the tragedy of 9/11 -- virtually saving the party from certain collapse. Of course, to suggest that the proximity of the administration's need for a savior to the events of 9/11 were any more than a miraculous coincidence is to invite accusations of conspiracy theories, however well documented.

Apologists be damned, Bush and the GOP benefited -- big time! Hell Bush even admitted as much when he gleefully boasted of his catastrophe-induced "Trifecta". Lucky boy!

So, let's firmly establish that Bush has no regrets about the attack.

1) Rocketing Approval Ratings - Even as he sat listening to his intellectual peers read the literary masterpiece, "My Pet Goat", the nation was being attacked and Bush's approval ratings were rocketing from sub-50% to 92%. See what great leadership can do for you.

2) Republican Control - What good is an absolute disaster if you can't fool everyone into thinking they are doomed if they don't vote for your party. Well, the public fell for it hook, line, and sinker this time. Of course, Democrats didn't seem to help themselves much here. In addition to the Election 2002 fiasco, Bush decided that it was well within his power to institute a secret, "Shadow Government" made exclusively of... ...You guessed it. Republicans. Of course there was no need to tell congress. Don't want to rile anyone's nerves. How thoughtful.

3) Distraction - Economy? What economy? Hey look! Terrorists! Quick! Everyone focus on this and nothing else. We must be vigilant. Let nothing non-war related distract us from our goal of battling terrorism and tin-pot dictators.

4) Rationalization - 9/11 gave Bush a reason (at least in his own mind) to do absolutely anything. All he had to say was, "It's in the interest of national security," and it was done. ANWR drilling? National Security. Tax cuts for the wealthy? National Security. Double the military budget? National Security. Eliminate public education, Social Security and the spotted owl? NATIONAL SECURITY. Get it?

5) Central Asian Oil - According to intelligence analysts Jean-Charles Brisard and Guillaume Dasquie (as written in their book "Forbidden Truth"), the administration threatened the Taliban with threats of a "carpet of bombs" if they did not accept a "carpet of gold" in exchange for their cooperation in helping the US attain central Asian oil. In the book "Black Gold Hot Gold", the authors report that the oil expected to flow from the vast oilfields under the Russian Caspian Sea, discovered about 20 years ago remains undrilled and untapped. The only possible oil pipeline routes at the present time to handle the massive flow of oil from the Caspian Sea region is either through Kosovo to the Mediterranean Sea, or through Afghanistan and Pakistan to the Indian Ocean."

6) Iraq Oil - This is what it's all about. Everything boils down to oil, Iraqi oil -- the second largest known reserve of oil on the planet (Only our despotic, women-stoning, gay-murdering buddies from the House of Saud have more). The ultimate (but not the only) goal of this whole charade.

7) Tax Cuts - When we were posting record surpluses, Bush cited the fiscal condition as a reason to offer bold tax cuts. When the economy started tanking and the surpluses turned to deficits, Bush cited this precarious fiscal condition as a reason to offer bold tax cuts. So, it is not surprising that, in the event of a war on terrorism, an imminent war in Iraq and a possible war with North Korea (and Iran and Syria?), Bush cites tax cuts as the perfect remedy to the situation.

8) Common Enemy - Ahhh, there is nothing like a common enemy to force your adversaries in line behind you.. This is the mantra of the post-cold-war Republican. They lose to the Democrats on every issue, so they have to invent a source of fear that paralyzes the populace and forces them into right-wing compliance.

9) Military Budget - Missile Defense System - Homeland Security - Here was another reason that the administration was salivating over 9/11. This was just what the doctor ordered to justify a $400+ Billion Military Budget when the federal government currently spends only $42 billion on education, $26 billion on housing and $1 billion on school construction. And then there is the Missile Defense System. Try and stop it now. In fact, this is where North Korea truly begins to hold some value for Bush. We certainly can't let those pesky North Koreans start lobbing bombs on America.

10) Cuts to (and eventual elimination of) Social Programs -- Explain to a conservative how a wealthy, advanced society such as ours should provide a safety net for its most vulnerable citizens and you will see a cringe-fest like none you could imagine. It's true, if it were up to the hard-liners, there would be no Social Security or unemployment insurance or Medicaid. Don't even mention 'Welfare'. Heck. Public School is just a social program for those that can't afford a private school. Thus the insistence on 'vouchers' -- a total scam. Luckily for Republicans, terrorists attacked on 9/11. Now, social programs must be 'reformed' to allow for national security expenses (and massive tax cuts to the ultra-wealthy)

11) Never-ending War - Orwell and others have noted that nothing puts the citizenry in line like never-ending war. It makes "getting your way" a simple proposition (as long as you are an advocate of never-ending war). Indeed, according to the Times of London (9/20/01), "America and Britain are producing secret plans to launch a ten year 'war on terrorism'. They even gave it a catchy name, 'Operation Noble Eagle'. Isn't that nice?

12) Black and White - Nuances have never been a friend of the Republicans. Such things are for the wishy-washy, non-decision-making policy wonks. They offer no value in conservative-style reality. The situation is never as simple and clear cut as the GOP would like you to believe -- but along comes 9/11 and Voila! "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists."

13) Quash Dissent - Ugh! If there's one thing that the administration can't handle, it's dissent. It exposes the administration as the illegitimate, non-mandated farce that it is. That's why they: instituted "First-Amendment zones", rarely let Bush loose unscripted, and frequently disallow the press from asking questions (except pseudonymous, no-talent shills like Jeff-Jim-Gannon-Guckert). Thankfully, 9/11 smoothed this out a bit. Republicans now make it painfully well known that anyone who is not 100% behind the President is considered a traitor. (as if they didn't do that prior to 9/11)

14) Corporate Interests - For Republicans, life isn't worth living if they aren't serving corporate interests. 9/11 just gave them a few more opportunities to serve their masters. For example, the Bush government ordered 40 million doses of smallpox vaccine for $343 million in preparation for a possible bioterrorism assault. The contract has been given to a small, Cambridge-based firm, Acambis, a British biotechnology company who reported a net loss of $8 million in the six months prior to the announcement. Thanks G. W. ("Preparing the Population For Bioterrorism" Reuters News, London 9-20-01 ). Remember that Bush quickly agreed to bail out the airlines with billions of dollars, an industry that was swimming in red ink long before the 9/11 attacks. And let's also not forget that Bush Sr. benefits from military spending via the Carlyle Group and that the Administration's numerous oil connections benefit heavily from the central Asian and Iraqi oil seized.

15) Identify and Crush the Opposition -- Republicans hate government control and intervention...but not so much once the focus is taken off 'big bidness' and put upon the individual. The recent increase in government surveillance capabilities, although useful in finding terrorists, also serves the dual purpose of 'keeping an eye on' government opposition. How are they doing this?

* They instituted a Homeland Defense Czar who "would probably not need Senate confirmation, which other Cabinet jobs require, nor legislation to create," White House officials said. Thus, there would be no investigation, oversight or accountability. (Reuters - Washington 9-21-01)

* FBI agents, using a system dubbed "CARNIVORE", can now legally spy on Internet users without a court order. The "Combating Terrorism Act of 2001", passed only two days after 9/11, enhanced police wiretap powers and permitted monitoring in more situations.

* A global surveillance system known as 'ECHELON' has the ability to eavesdrop on telephone calls, faxes and e-mail messages, (Lycos Network 9-20-01)

* Face-ID Technology and National ID cards both gained new support. Right after 9/11, the Denver Post Capitol Bureau reported (9-20-01), "State lawmakers who were planning to sponsor legislation restricting [the use of face ID] now say they are reassessing their plans."

* "Experts See a High-Security America of Surveillance & Seizures": Security experts in the United States are describing a new kind of country that could emerge, where electronic identification might become the norm, immigrants might be tracked far more closely and the airspace over cities like New York and Washington might be off-limits to all civilian aircraft." (The International Herald Tribune 9-19-01)

* Bush Suspended Habeas Corpus. Legal Immigrants May Be Held Without Cause:

"The Bush Administration today announced it is using its powers under the National Emergency Act to suspend the right of Habeas Corpus for all immigrants in the country, including legal immigrants, meaning that any immigrant in the U.S. right now can be held indefinitely by the police or government without trial or demonstration of cause to hold them."

This has also been implemented in the U.S. os far affecting those citizens that government labels as "Enemy combatants". What are the criteria necessary to be labeled an "enemy combatant"? Only the government knows.

16) Global Influence - We need go no further than our own backyard to see how the administration wants to involve themselves with the international community. The Bush-Administration-backed, failed coup of the democratically elected leader of Venezuela is evidence. Since 9/11, Bush has followed up by, among other things, reversing the 25-year ban on using covert agents to assassinate foreigners. (New York Times, 9/16/01)

17) Secrecy - Setting the standard for secrecy, the Bush Administration concealed the details of the Cheney Energy Task Force, sequestered all documents from the Reagan-Bush 1 era due for public release, and moved Governor Bush's Documents to the secret caverns of the Bush 1 presidential library. This was all prior to 9/11. Following the attacks, courtrooms become secret and more documents were sealed:

"The U.S. terror investigation that has hauled in hundreds of Middle Easterners is being conducted with closed court hearings and sealed documents on a scale legal experts say may be unprecedented. Federal authorities have detained more than 500 people without releasing the paperwork that usually accompanies nearly any type of court proceeding." (Associated press, Sacramento Bee, 10/5/01)

18) Control - Remember the details surrounding Bush's dealings with the Texas Rangers? Recall the Texas-sized, criminal land-grab that Bush pulled off in order to build a taxpayer created baseball stadium. Recall that Bush and his cronies made millions from this crime. Well, that's what you can do when you have influence and control:

"The President has the power to seize property, organize and control the means of production, seize commodities, assign military forces abroad, call reserve forces amounting to 2 1/2 million men to duty, institute martial law, seize and control all means of transportation, regulate all private enterprise, restrict travel, and in a plethora of particular ways, control the lives of ALL Americans...While the danger of a dictatorship arising through legal means may seem remote to us today..."

This was a prophetic, joint statement by Senators Frank Church (D-ID) and Charles McMathias (R-MD) made back in September 30, 1973. The only thing missing for the Bush Administration was a compelling reason to institute these powers. 9/11 provided that reason.

19) New Bigotry - With racism and even homophobia and religious intolerance finding less public acceptance as the years go by, Republicans have been struggling to find a new, socially acceptable target for their hatred and intolerance. Thanks to 9/11, they can show their disgust with the "diaper heads", "bomb Mecca" and force them to rescind their "evil" beliefs in favor of conversion to Christianity. After all, as Tom Delay has reminded us over and over again, "The United States is a Christian Nation."

So yeah, they benefited all right. And yes, they express outrage at the mere mention of their alleged purposeful apathy toward the pre-9/11 threats of attack. Nevertheless, these questions must be asked and more importantly these questions have to be sufficiently answered. To date they have not and I doubt they ever will. So let the 'conspiracy theories' roll.