From the Bar©
I am sitting in my internet cafe, and Colin Powell is on CNN, testifying in front of the 9-11 Commission. I have to admire the man, a curious sort of doomed admiration. He sits there, giving a speech that, on the TDNAC Scale of Bullshit*, must rate at least a seven, maybe an eight. And he knows it, but he says it anyway, because he is loyal to the President of the United States of America.He is like one of David Weber's 'citizen captains' who will go down fighting for Rob Pierre and the Committee for Public Safety. There is a poetry to his speech, a tragedy fit only for the grand melodramas of Shakespeare and Science Fiction.
Godspeed, Mr. Powell; Godspeed.
Er, now _that_ is out of my system ... what do we think will be the result of the 9/11 commission? A whitewash on behalf of the administration? An election-year broadside victor for the democrats? Not a balanced look at the facts, surely.
THE GUARDIAN's initial report on the commission
The preliminary report said the U.S. government had determined bin Laden was a key terrorist financier as early as 1995, but that efforts to expel him from Sudan stalled after Clinton officials determined he couldn't be brought to the United States without an indictment. A year later, bin Laden left Sudan and set up his base in Afghanistan without resistance.Score one for the Bushies. Most of the criticism of the administration is just a reiteration of Richard Clarke's book; but that story will play for a while. Meanwhile, Condoleezza Rice won't be testifying in front of the commission "with the White House citing separation of power concerns involving its staff appearing before a legislative body," which seems fairly specious reasoning to me, but I'm sure there it's been an excuse used by administrations of both parties.
The 9/11 Commission’s official website is here. At first glance, not much there, just schedules and opening statements. Seating, it seems, is on a first come first serve basis for the media and members of the public. The commission's general counsel was for many years a partner in the Washington law firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering.
Eight more months of this folks, and then either John Kerry is president-elect, or I move to Canada.
*TDNAC Scale: Tricky Dick's Not A Crook Scale of Bullshit.
