Tom Ridge writes a tell all
Pre-press from Tom Ridge's new book.
The first three paint Ridge as a bureaucratic incompetent who was out maneuvered and pushed around, but it's that last one that should get the coverage.
(And there's that bit about the DHS chief being kept in the dark...)
Later: We also have the question of whether and to what degree Ridge talks about this in his book promoting interviews.
Ridge was never invited to sit in on National Security Council meetings;
was "blindsided" by the FBI in morning Oval Office meetings because the agency withheld critical information from him;
found his urgings to block Michael Brown from being named head of the emergency agency blamed for the Hurricane Katrina disaster ignored;
was pushed to raise the security alert on the eve of President Bush's re-election, something he saw as politically motivated and worth resigning over.
The first three paint Ridge as a bureaucratic incompetent who was out maneuvered and pushed around, but it's that last one that should get the coverage.
(And there's that bit about the DHS chief being kept in the dark...)
Later: We also have the question of whether and to what degree Ridge talks about this in his book promoting interviews.
posted by mikevotes at
12:44 PM
4 Comments:
Reminds me of George Tenet and Colin Powell.
By
Anonymous, at 4:09 PM
Very much, but maybe even more so.
By
mikevotes, at 5:29 PM
Sure, they exploited America's utter post 9/11 paranoia for the most base political reasons. Ridge's book is not news. The only thing newsworthy is the fact that someone who was in the know is finally admitting it. He should have written his book five years ago.
I knew what was going on in the hours leading up to the election of 2004. It was so freaking obvious, you had to be an idiot to miss it.
On the first posting on my blog on June 2, 2006, I wrote the following:
"PREDICTION: George W. Bush will be remembered in history, primarily, as the first (pray last) former chief executive to go to federal prison. Sound crazy? Stay tuned.
I stand by those words.
http://www.tomdegan.blogspot.com
Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
By
Tom Degan, at 4:20 AM
Right. The news here is confirmation from the inside, although with all the other whining in the book, the confirmation dampened.
As for Bush going to prison, I would argue the acts are most certainly there, but I wonder if there's a true desire to pursue by the Dems and whether anyone in Bush's inner staff would really break the silence to put him in prison. Ratting out to protect reputation is one thing, but putting "your" president behind bars is another.
By
mikevotes, at 7:12 AM
Post a Comment
<< Home