| Grilled not Fried |
12 April 2004
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Condi Rice Testifies in Public under Oath
Dr. Condoleezza Rice finally testified under oath and publicly before the 9/11 Commission last week and acquitted herself reasonably well. Certainly, few if any minds were changed. It was much ado about nothing, but ignored a simple truth -- the attacks were preventable.
The Commission has been a political forum since before it was created. The Bush White House opposed it, and the families of the murder victims demanded it. Successful agitation shamed the administration into establishing the body. Its cooperation has been grudging at best. The reason is simple -- this administration operates in an atmosphere of intense secrecy. It may not have a thing to fear from revealing the truth (although that is a dubious proposition), but it avoids letting outsiders in on anything as a matter of principle.
The questioning from the Democrats on the commission has been much tougher than that from the Republicans. Commissioner Ben-Veniste got down right cross with Dr. Rice's long-winded attempts to play out the clock. Commission Kerrey actually apologized in advance for the tone his questions would take. It was theatre, though, because the report will not be read by many people. These images will stick in the political memory of the electorate, while the final decision will remain as arcane as the Warren Commission's report.
There is one bald faced lie, however, that both the supporters and detractors of the White House are foisting on posterity -- the belief that nothing could have prevented the attacks that September morning. That is not so. Imagine how different recent history would be had someone at the metal detectors said, "Excuse me, Mr. Atta, but you can't take that box cutter on board."
The White House seems to have no interest in pointing out that a minimum-wage guard could have prevented the attacks. The Democrats are complicit in this because in the second Clinton administration the idea of strengthening security at the airports was shot down as too expensive and time consuming. In any fight against terror, the people are on the frontlines, and they are the ones whose vigilance can do the most good.
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