Fried Rice, Part II

OK, one thing I'm wondering regarding Condoleezza Rice's testimony: She admits that the Clinton administration warned the incoming team about Al Qaeda cells in the US. The August 6th PDB is TITLED "bin Laden Determined to Strike IN the US" (my emphasis). So why was she focused on overseas targets? What the hell did she think the Al Qaeda cells were doing here? Enjoying the scenery? Preparing to LEAVE the US so they could attack one of those overseas targets?

I've watched as much of Rice's testimony as I can stomach--about an hour and a half, I guess. From the news reports, it seems like the conservatives will try to wipe the slate clean by proclaiming it all "politics," which in their twisted view means "justifiably ignored."

Shit: are the principles in the Bush administration THAT ignorant? It seems as if they couldn't put two and two together to get four, if Ms. Rice's testimony is even partially accurate. Think about it: they KNEW Al Qaeda operatives were in the United States, they KNEW something big was being planned, they KNEW it involved hijacked airlines, they KNEW bin Laden was "determined to strike in the US."

Does someone have to tell these folks that the odds are good that the target would be highly visible? How many "highly visible targets" existed in the United States on September 11th that would attract the attention of a terrorist. I can think of about 20, but reasonably solid intelligence could easily narrow it down.

I've noticed an odd anomaly with the Bush Team: they often bray and bellow about their "decisive actions," but when their actions are carefully scrutinized, you find that they are almost childlike in their incompetence. What was Rice expecting from Al Qaeda? An itinerary?

Apparently so.