cannabisnews.com: Drug War Led Bush Astray Before 9/11 Drug War Led Bush Astray Before 9/11 Posted by CN Staff on April 13, 2004 at 13:16:36 PT By Robert Scheer Source: Los Angeles Times Why won't they just admit they blew it? It is long past time for the president and his national security team to concede that before the Sept. 11 attacks they failed to grasp the seriousness of the Al Qaeda threat, were negligent in how they handled the terrorist group's key benefactors and did not take the simple steps that might well have prevented the tragedy. While they are at it, they might also explain why, for more than two years, they have been trying so hard to convince us that none of the above is true. Most recently, we learned that President Bush decided to stay on vacation for three more weeks despite receiving a briefing that told him about "patterns of suspicious activity in this country consistent with preparations for hijackings or other types of attacks" by Osama bin Laden's thugs, who were described as determined and capable enough to pull off devastating attacks on U.S. soil. We also now know that the Bush administration coddled fundamentalist Saudi Arabia and nuclear-weapons-dealing Pakistan, the only nations that recognized the Taliban, both before and after the Sept. 11 murders. But what is perhaps even more astonishing is that, because the Bush administration's attention was focused on the "war on drugs," it praised Afghanistan's Taliban regime even though it was harboring Bin Laden and his terror camps. The Taliban refused to extradite the avowed terrorist even after he admitted responsibility for a series of deadly assaults against American diplomatic and military sites in Africa and the Middle East. On May 15, 2001, I blasted the Bush administration for rewarding the Taliban for "controlling" the opium crop with $43 million in U.S. aid to Afghanistan, to be distributed by an arm of the United Nations. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell announced the gift, specifically mentioning the opium suppression as the rationale and assuring that the U.S. would "continue to look for ways to provide more assistance to the Afghans."Snipped: Complete Article: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/stray.htmSource: Los Angeles Times (CA)Author: Robert ScheerPublished: April 13, 2004Copyright: 2004 Los Angeles TimesContact: letters latimes.comWebsite: http://www.latimes.com/Related Articles:Did the White House Give the Taliban $43 Million?http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10992.shtmlDrug War Redux - Reason Magazinehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10983.shtmlBush Administration Cut Faustian Deal with Talibanhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10954.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Post Comment