Books for Discussion

At least two books are coming up for review and discussion: Scott McClellan’s What Happened and Allen Raymond’s How to Rig an Election. Preliminary thoughts: McClellan’s intentions are good, but he’s just not far enough removed from the “Washington bubble” to do a good job of telling the unvarnished truth. As for Raymond, a former Republican campaign operative who went to prison in 2006 for illegal electioneering tactics, his book makes it obvious that once you enter the world of electoral politics, the biggest struggle is not ideological: it is to retain your soul.

What are you reading? Let’s talk it over.

E-Mail from a Vet

Received this e-mail today from Jesse Herman, the Awareness Coordinator for the Mesothelioma Cancer Center. Jesse asks if we can help spread the word. Indeed we can. I can’t think of a better or more worthy cause than helping our vets. The e-mail is below. Thanks, Jesse.

Hello-

I happened to come across your site when reading other military blogs. I am reaching out to vets and those still serving in efforts to spread awareness on how to best seek mental and physical treatment that may be needed.

I am the awareness coordinator at asbestos.com (AKA Mesothelioma Cancer Center). We offer free assistance to any veteran exposed to asbestos who seeks counseling. The content I wish to provide includes a broad spectrum of information and resources for veterans. If you think you may be down, let me know and I will provide personalized content ASAP for you to review and hopefully publish.

Thank You,

Jesse Herman
Mesothelioma Cancer Center
jesse@asbestos.com
(407) 247-9664

If you can help in any way, whether it’s by making a donation, offering your time, or referring a veteran in need, please do so.

Timeline Summary for 9/11 Commission Executive Director Philip Zelikow

Note: Max is posting this on behalf of Kevin, who’s away from his keyboard at the moment. It’s Kevin’s work, not Max’s!

The 9/11 Timeline has a dedicated category for 9/11 Commission Executive Director Philip Zelikow, because of the key role he played in the investigation and the numerous problems with which he has been linked. The category is not yet complete, but additional material will be added progressively and this summary will be reposted.

Category Summary: Search for Almihdhar and Alhazmi

This is a summary of the 9/11 Timeline’s category covering the search for Khalid Almihdhar and Nawaf Alhazmi after it was discovered in August 2001 that the two of them, known to US intelligence as al-Qaeda operatives, had both entered the US. The CIA had had this information for some time, but, through an alleged series of bizarre missteps, had managed to withhold it from the FBI whilst simultaneously convincing itself it had informed the Bureau.

New 9/11 Timeline Category: Philip Zelikow

Although the 9/11 Timeline already has a category covering the 9/11 Commission, a dedicated one has been set up to cover its executive director, Philip Zelikow. You can find it here. A lot of this material is based on Philip Shenon’s excellent book The Commission, which shows how Zelikow controlled the investigation. Those of you knowledgeable of Zelikow’s role will notice that a couple of things are missing at the moment–they will be added gradually.

New 9/11 Timeline Category: Shanksville

The 9/11 Timeline has been given a new category to cover events in Shanksville, where United 93 is thought to have crashed, on the day of 9/11. You can find it here.

New 9/11 Timeline Category: Anthrax Attacks

A new category has been added to the 9/11 Timeline to cover the 2001 anthrax attacks. You can find it here. Some of this material was on an old version of the site, but got lost at some point. We have been prompted to bring the old entries back and add to them by the recent, as-yet not-terribly-convincing claim that that attacker committed suicide a short while ago. Expect to see lots of new entries for this category in the coming days.

Forgeries and Impeachment

We’re not a breaking news site. We generally let things shake out before we start covering them, in part because we can get a more objective and accurate perspective by waiting for the shouting and posturing from the various sides to subside, and in part because, well, there’s more going on than we can cover in a timely fashion. (That’s why we need you to become part of the Commons.)

At any rate, one of the biggest breaking stories just now hitting the news is Ron Suskind’s allegation that someone at the top of the White House food chain ordered the CIA to forge a letter that portrayed a connection between Saddam Hussein and the 9/11 hijackers. Here’s a link to the Politico story that started the coverage; other media sources such as CBS and NPR are beginning to cover it as well.

We haven’t written about it yet, but we’re up for talking about it as it develops. What do you think? We’ve relied on Suskind’s earlier books for many of our other entries, and in my mind, he’s proven to be quite reliable, so I tend to believe the allegation. If it is true, where does it go? Is it an impeachable offense? Will it impel the Democrats in Congress to take action? Or will it be shunted aside as we wait for the November elections and the White House to change hands?

Category Summary: Haroon Rashid Aswat

London Bombing Mastermind Alleged to Be British Informer

The 9/11 Timeline has recently added a category about a radical Islamist named Haroon Rashid Aswat. Aswat was a prominent mover in Londonistan from the late 1990s, when he became a key aide to radical imam and British informer Abu Hamza. What interested us about Aswat is that he is often referred to as the mastermind of the 7/7 London bombings, but is also said to have worked for British intelligence, which sometimes displayed a striking lack of interest in him.