The 9/11 Commission would later attempt to learn why the entire system of defense had failed, from CIA** to FBI** to Air Force** to the Administration** to airline security. It was a total, catastrophic defeat of American nation security, so, naturally, they asked the National Security Advisor** for insight. After much resistance and painful negotiation between the 9/11 Commission and White House counselor Alberto Gonzales, Rice was finally placed under oath in testimony April 8, 2004.
If the matter had been left to Alberto Gonzales, Dick Cheney and the President, they would have been happy if everyone had just decided to forget the un-American idea of investigating the greatest failure of American defense and intelligence** in history. Trust them! The administration** would look into it and tell us, through the White House press secretary, exactly what had happened and who was responsible. Philip Shenon, a New York Times reporter who was covering the 9/11 investigations, wrote an account of the stonewalling that transpired between the Bush-Cheney White House and the 9/11 Commission. Shenon wrote that Alberto Gonzales** had outfoxed the commissioners by getting them to agree that Rice** would testify once and only once for a total of three hours. In hindsight, the commission needed something closer to three full days. Again, we see that those being investigated were setting the ground rules for the investigation. The commissioners later wrote that her tactic was obviously to “run out the clock” until the negotiated timewas gone. A simple question would be asked and Dr. Rice** would ramble on unrelated topics; and she began her testimony by reading a ten-page, single-spaced statement that merely repeated what had been said before. [1] Well into the stalling, Commissioner Richard Ben-Veniste tried to stop the nonsense during the subject of the no less than forty pre-attack warnings that had been issued directly to George W. Bush** over the four months before the attack. His specific line of questioning pertained to the August 6, 2001, presidential daily briefing (PDB) entitled “Bin Laden Poised to Strike inside the United States” prepared by the CIA**. “If you could please answer the question!” Rice: “Well, first …” Ben-Veniste: “Because I have limited time …” Rice: “I understand, commissioner, but it’s important … ” Ben-Veniste: “Did you tell the president?”
In 2008, Gonzales began a mediation and consulting practice. Additionally, he taught a political science course and served as a diversity recruiter at Texas …
Education: United States Air Force Academy; Rice University (BA); Harvard University …
President: George W. Bush
Born: August 4, 1955 (age 67); San Antonio, Texas, U.S
Dynastic Successions Book 