Interesting article coming out of Newsweek, when Cheney was Chief of Staff to Ford back in '76. Mike Duval, a White House staffer was writing to Cheney that highlighted "a series of doomsday-type papers showing the potential of substantially increased terrorism activities" generated from a government "working group."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7243357/site/newsweek/

(snip)

quote:

The current Executive Branch organization (which was set up by former President Nixon) to combat terrorism, i.e., the Cabinet Committee and Working Group, is not adequate. There should be a reorganization of this effort reflecting the changed circumstances and President Ford's priorities. The entire effort needs to be geared more to protecting U.S. interests within the United States. Any action taken by the President in this area is subject to great risk. Anything he does publicly could itself trigger terrorist action, although this is a far-overrated threat. Also, great caution is needed in this area because some of the abuses alleged to hae occurred in the Intelligence Community during the late '60s and early '70s were in response to anti-terrorist activities. The Attorney General is very concerned about how our foreign intelligence activities to combat terrorism interface with domestic law enforcement responsibilities. Finally, terrorist [sic] are very difficult to deal with, and therefore the President can easily appear impotent in any given specific situation

Now let's compare that Clarke's memo to Condoleeeeeeeeza Rice in '01:

quote:

The former Counterterrorism Chief warns that "al Qida is not some narrow, little terrorist issue," but an organization that "affects centrally our policies in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Central Asia, North Africa and the GCC." Clarke urged that there be a "discussion of al Qida soon," to determine the terrorist group's threat magnitude, formulate a strategy to deal with the group, and decide whether to "continue the funding increases ... for State and CIA programs to implement the al Qida strategy." http://news.lp.findlaw.com/hdocs/do...ce12501mem.html

Coming back to Duval's conclusion in '76:

quote:

I think the President should move very quietly to strengthen Executive Branch efforts to combat terrorism. I think he should take action now before a major incident turns this latent problem into a major public issue. He must, however, move very carefully. One staff recommendation within the NSC is that the President create a Terrorism Special Action Group under the chairmanship of Scowcroft. This may be a good idea. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7240418/site/newsweek/

Isikoff, the Newsweek reporter mentions that there was no response from Cheney to Duval's memo. Strange that. And Ford downplayed the terrorism threat then too.

History sure does have a way of repeating itself with these GOP folks in office, don't it?

___________________
Whence September dusk grows crisper still,
with leaves all crimson conquered,
I yearn to shout,
and dance about,
and stick pickles in my honker...